This meeting brought together over 100 Credit Union operatives from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Pacific to listen to captivating speakers and exchange ideas with their peers.

By Cynara Moorhouse and Luse Tamani

In early November, the 7th Pacific Credit Union Technical Congress was held in Fiji’s capital City- Suva.  This event brought together credit union movements from the Oceania Confederation of Credit Union Leauges Member countries throughout the Pacific region including Palau, Federated States of Micronesia and Timor Leste. At the congress, credit union advocates exchanged ideas with their peers, and shared skills and knowledge. The event was officially opened by Fiji’s newly elected Prime Minister, Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, who was the keynote speaker.

Led by the Customer Owned Banking Association’s Tony Schesser, the Oceania Confederation of Credit Union Leagues (OCCUL) Board of Directors also held its first strategy planning day prior to the start of congress. The clear priority that came out of the strategy day was talking to members about their own vision for OCCUL over the next 2-3 years.

To do this, a workshop was designed for the first session of Congress that invited members to imagine they were directors on the OCCUL board for the day. Participants reacted very enthusiastically to this workshop, and were vocal about their vision for OCCUL. They debated where the organization was headed, its purpose, and the strategies that would make this possible.

From this workshop, the OCCUL board will be able to develop an inspiring vision, mission, and strategy. The focus is on building a united and equitable credit union movement with the hope of increasing membership and funding. OCCUL will continue to work on finalizing its strategic plan throughout the rest of this year.

Participants were honoured that the Governors of the Reserve Bank of Fiji and the Reserve Bank of PNG closed the event. Governor Whiteside from Fiji delivered the closing address, and Governor Whiteside from PNG awarded certificates to over 20 people for completing their 2-years Managers Certification Program.

Co-hosts OCCUL, CUFA and FSCUL (Fiji Savings and Credit Union League) greatly appreciate and commend the wonderful support of this year’s Congress sponsors -TISA, FESALOS, Software Group, Fiji Police Credit Union, Mesenieng Credit Union (FSM) and BSP Life.