Credit unions are you gearing up for International Year ofCooperatives?

Earlier this year the United Nations declared 2012 as the yearto recognize the contributions of cooperative enterprisesworldwide, including credit unions.

This week, the World Council of Credit Unions launched a specialsection on its website as a way forcredit unions to share ideas, photos and video about IYC along withways to celebrate the U.N. designation.

The site also provides information and resources for WOCCUmember organizations ranging from a growing list of celebration andservice ideas and financial cooperative information, to links torelated sites/events and IYC branding guidelines.

Those interested may subscribe to the RSS feed on the IYC Forum toreceive updates as they are made.

“Credit unions play a critical role in the lives of theirmembers, and it is important to recognize and celebrate that role,”said Brian Branch, WOCCU president/CEO. “We encourage our members toadd to the International Year of Cooperatives section on ourwebsite by sharing ideas related to member service in general andthe year-long celebration in particular.”

The International Year of Cooperatives officially kicks off Oct. 31with a series of meetings and workshops at the U.N.'s New York Cityheadquarters.