MICROFINANCE EVENT: World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Annual Conference, Barcelona, July 26-29, 2009

Event Name: World Credit Union Conference, Barcelona 09

See Our Comprehensive Event Calendar Here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

Cost: Members USD 1,195; Non Members USD 1,395. A 7% VAT tax will be added at the time of registration. A discount of USD 100 is available for Developing Movement Countries, Under 35 Scholarships and Regulators. The conference fee includes the opening ceremony, welcome reception, general sessions, breakout session, closing night, 5 lunches and 1 dinner.

Summary of Event: This is an annual conference where key players throughout the global credit union community gather to network and discuss best practices. Session topics will cover almost every aspect of credit union operations and culture.

Background on Organizer: The WOCCU consists of 49,000 credit unions with over 177 million members in 96 countries. It was incorporated in 1971 and has its headquarters in Wisconsin, USA. The mission of the WOCCU is to assist its members and potential members to efficiently and successfully develop and run credit unions worldwide, empowering populations through access to quality and affordable financial services. Credit unions are democratic, member-owned financial cooperatives that operate as not-for-profits and use excess earnings to offer members affordable loans, returns on savings, low fees and access to other banking products and services.

Event Themes and Discussion Topics: A focus will be on the current global and financial crisis and how credit unions can respond. Five questions that will be answered at the conference are:

How are credit unions and financial sector leaders securing credit union members futures in the light of the crisis?
How are today’s credit union pioneers attracting new markets?
Which new technologies can credit unions in developing countries use to reach more people?
Does ‘greening’ your credit union go out the window when a crisis hits?
What can credit unions and cooperative banks learn from each other to build stronger institutions?

Who Is Invited to Attend: Everyone

About the Presenters: The key note speaker will be the former President of Mexico Vicente Fox. During his term he reformed credit union legislation and was committed to increasing financial access for the rural poor. Speakers from credit unions around the world will present during the three day conference. Full details of the conference program and speakers can be found here.

Important Dates: WOCCU recommends that participants register before 24 June 2009. Deadline for WOCCU Young Credit Union People Program (WYCUP) scholarship applications is 15 June 2009.

Online Registration Address: https://secure.lenos.com/lenos/omegameetings/woccu09/

For additional information, please contact:

Contact Name: Allison McCarty, Conference Specialist

Telephone/Location: (608) 395-2095 USA

Email: amccarty@woccu.org

Submit Your Event: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events

Event Type: Conference

Event Starts (time and day): 5pm Sunday 26 July 2009

Event Ends (time and day): 11.30pm Wednesday 29 July 2009

Location: Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB)

Street: Rambla Prim 1-17

City/Town: Barcelona, Spain