The Grand Prize: Winners of the CU Futures Programme Attend the Inclusiv Conference in Memphis, Tennessee

Friday 26 January 2024

Last month, along with British Credit Union delegates, the winners of the 2022/23 Credit Union Future’s programme attended the Inclusiv conference in Memphis as part of their award. The winning pair are Joel Williams from The Co-op Credit Union, and Maya Birr-Pixton from HEY Credit Union. Joel and Maya said that when beginning their group project last year, neither of them imagined they would end up in Memphis as a result.

Delegates from many countries gathered in Memphis for Inclusiv’s conference; bringing together leaders, policymakers, researchers, and key individuals who champion financial empowerment and community development. Inclusiv’s mission is to help low and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence through credit unions.

The conference provides ample opportunity for learning, and sessions were held on topics such as financial resilience, predatory lending, credit union growth and community wealth building. The conference not only offered growth professionally, but Joel and Maya had some personal highlights from the trip.

Maya said that the visit gave her a “greater appreciation for the credit union movement as a whole” which is a key aspect of the learning journey completed in the CU Futures programme. Furthermore, Memphis is a city with a rich cultural heritage, and played a key role in the civil rights movement and Maya said it was “a privilege to spend the day at the National Civil Rights museum” and described it as a “poignant and thought provoking” experience.

Joel also commented on the significance of Memphis as the conference’s location as being a “pinnacle place for advancing equal rights” and a “fitting location to host a conference about financial inclusion and providing access to financial services for all”. When networking, Joel enjoyed asking attendees to talk about their credit unions and he was struck when the large credit unions often led with figures and statistics, and the smaller US credit unions focussed on their impact upon the community. Reflecting on this, Joel suggested that “Striking a balance [between the two approaches] is key to the success of both the credit unions sustainability and the difference it is making in its community”.

Joel and Maya both expressed their gratitude towards ABCUL for the opportunity to attend the conference and learn more about credit unions – but it was their hard work and bright ideas that earned them a well-deserved place on the trip.

You can read more about the trip to Memphis from other British Credit Union delegates here.