Mica to World Conference: CUs do right thing every day
DUBLIN, Ireland (8/1/06)--Credit unions do the right thing every day, said Credit Union National Association (CUNA) President/CEO Dan Mica, speaking at the World Credit Union Conference in Dublin, Ireland.
Credit Union National Association President/CEO Dan Mica makes a point while explaining the importance of politics and advocacy to credit unions during the World Credit Union Conference. (Photos provided by the World Council of Credit Unions)
“I’ve become so pleased and so proud of this wonderful movement I’m associated with,” he told credit unions from around the world. “We do the right thing for millions of people every single day.”
He went on to explain the importance of politics and advocacy, emphasizing what he called the “three tenets of politics::
All politics is local;
Out of sight, out of mind;
What have you done for me lately?
“I have a dream of a better world,” said Mica. “I have a dream that the credit union movement can make a difference. We can change the lives of individuals, change the lives of communities, and change the lives of countries,” he said.
Gary Plank, chairman of the World Council of Credit Unions, presents art created by a weavers’ cooperative in the Philippines to Mary Robinson, president of Ireland, after she spoke at the World Credit Union Conference in Dublin.
Also at the meeting, hosted by the Irish League of Credit Unions and the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), Mary Robinson, president of Ireland and international human rights advocate, stressed the importance of access to credit in developing nations.
A lack of access to credit, she said, especially for women, is linked to a lack of control over their financial future.
The conference, which began July 27 ended Sunday.