Community Development Credit Unions Take Center Stage in New York City – For Immediate Release

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Community Development Credit Unions Take Center Stage in New York City

Launch International Year of Coops, NYC Coop Year & Teach-in at The New School

(October 8, 2011 – New York, NY) New York City was the site of a series of local and international events that highlighted the growing importance of cooperatives in finance, social development, and poverty alleviation, and community development credit unions (CDCUs) have been stepping up to promote the credit union model and philosophy.

Federation President/CEO Clifford N. Rosenthal headshot

Federation President/CEO Cliff Rosenthal (left) with CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney at the United Nations for the Oct. 31 announcement by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives.

UN Launches International Year of Coops

On Monday, October 31, the United Nations officially inaugurated 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC), which coincides with a campaign to highlight environmental sustainability. As many as 300 representatives of cooperatives from 52 countries observed as the official delegates of 19 member states of the United Nations delivered addresses in support of the IYC.

Prominently featured during the inauguration was Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) President/CEO Cliff Rosenthal attended the UN ceremonies along with CUNA President CEO Bill Cheney.

Building a Cooperative City

On Tuesday, November 1, the Federation convened a seminar at the Ford Foundation, entitled New York: Building a Cooperative City. Rosenthal, the lead organizer for the event, noted that as many as 1.5 million New Yorkers are members of at least one cooperative. Representatives of credit unions, food, housing, and worker cooperatives spoke, along with a panel of under-30 cooperative activists.

“One area that is especially exciting is the upsurge in new co-op development. We heard the stories of immigrant women banding together to form green housecleaning, childcare, elder care, and other cooperatives and gaining a sense of dignity through their collective work,” Rosenthal said.

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