More than 1,300 people from 48 countries attended the World Council of Credit Union Conference in Hong Kong from July 13-16.

Two vice-presidents from Credit Union Central of Canada made presentations at workshops during the conference. Gary Rogers, VP Financial Policy, spoke at the workshop:  The Ins and Outs of Credit Union Lobbying from the Pros. Cheryl Byrne, VP, Knowledge Services and CEO of CUSOURCE Knowledge Network, spoke at the workshop:  A National Training and Education Model that Works.
Citing evidence from WOCCU's newly released 2007 Statistical Report, Pete Crear, CEO of the council,  noted that credit unions have continued to grow, with more than 49,000 credit unions serving more than 177 million people worldwide last year. That's an increase from 46,000 credit unions serving 172 million members the year before, an increase that shows that the credit union ideal is working.
"History has shown us that the stability offered by credit unions in both developed and developing nations can help buoy struggling populations and set unsettled economies on a more even keel," Crear said during his keynote speech.
The conference included a video link with a credit union in Kenya and Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive of UN-HABITAT in Nairobi, outlined the urgent need for affordable housing worldwide and the role that credit unions and the African savings and credit cooperatives, known as SACCOs, can play to help meet this need. 
Two representatives from Teachers Credit Union in Hamilton – Rachel Milan and Joe Agro – also won awards from the WOCCU Young Credit Union People (WYCUP) program. They received bursaries to allow them to attend next year’s conference in Spain.
This year's individual Distinguished Service Awards were presented to Chris Baker, former president and CEO of WOCCU, and Karen Schwartz, former executive director for Americas Association of Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Societies. Both Baker and Schwartz were recognized for their lifetime commitment to global cooperative development.
WOCCU also presented a Distinguished Service Award to the Credit Union Foundation of Australia (CUFA) for its leadership in domestic and international credit union development activities.

For more information visit www.woccu.org/