History

In 1968, the German Raiffeisen Association (DRV) honoured the 150th birthday of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen with a WORLD RAIFFEISEN DAY inviting participants from all over the world. Surprised by the worldwide dimension of Raiffeisen‘s cooperative system, cooperative organizations from Europe decided to establish an association as a platform for international exchange.

On 30th March 1968, IRU was founded in Neuwied/Germany as one of the most important domanins of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen.

The memorandum of association was signed by 19 cooperative organizations from 9 countries. IRU was founded with the purpose of cultivating Raiffeisen’s ideas, propagating them in public and promoting them with modern means. It was supposed to be a network for exchange of experiences between member organizations.

On June 20, 1968, the 1st President of IRU, Count Christian von Andlau, gave a speech during the proclamation of IRU in the Paulskirche in Franfurt:

„The IRU will not be an ideological union which was founded in memory of our great predecessor (Raiffeisen), but it shall be rather something lively, something practical, something that interests and affects everybody.“

In 1989, the fall of the „Iron Curtain“ brought a new (but difficult) access to cooperatives of the Eastern Bloc states.

Under the lead of the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Association (DGRV) the „IRU Guidelines for Cooperatives“ were published. It was the first time in the development sector that a publication was released which contained the collected knowledge of the IRU members.

The new political situation brought up a difficult economic situation and many cooperative organizations withdrew from international unions.

After a challenging period, IRU went through a phase of reorientation at the end of the 1990s towards cooperative fundamental issues such as member issues, globalization and corporate governance.

At the turn of the millennium, IRU unterwent some structural changes and renewals in the management.

On October 1st, 2010, the current President Mr. Franky Depickere, CEO of Cera in Belgium, was elected during the XIIth General Meeting in Paris, France.

The International Year of Cooperatives in 2012 gave a new impetus to IRU to rethink its own objectives. The goal was to develop a modern and attractive appearance to raise the visibility and of the organization. In 2016/17 a new logo was created which illustrates the character of IRU as an international network of idependent members. It was presented at the XIIIth General Meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland.

In 2017 the new IRU website was launched.

IRU strengthened exchange within the network by expanding communication and member-oriented activities. Public communication was reinforced through the IRU Newsletter, and the “IRU Connected” Talks were launched to inform members about each other’s areas of expertise, build on shared cooperative principles, and enhance collaboration across the network.

IRU developed the modular and interactive Raiffeisen Ambassador training programme as a practice-oriented learning format for the global network. The pilot training officially started on 30 March 2023, on Raiffeisen’s 205th birthday, with participants from IRU member organisations worldwide. The programme is designed to combine cooperative know-how, practical knowledge and application as well as international exchange through live exchanges.

The IRU General Meeting took place in Bonn from 3 to 6 October 2023, bringing together more than 35 colleagues from IRU member organisations worldwide. The programme emphasized cooperative values, collaboration and exchange, and the meeting marked an important moment of encouragement and strategic orientation for IRU’s further development. Guy Hoffmann from Banque Raiffeisen was elected as the new IRU President.

IRU continued to strengthen cooperative education and exchange within the network. Several further training rounds of the Raiffeisen Ambassador Training completed. Until today, more than 120 Raiffeisen Ambassadors graduated from the six-month programme.

The United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2025 marked an important milestone for the global cooperative movement and created new momentum for visibility, exchange and advocacy across the international Raiffeisen network. Under the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World,” it highlighted the role of cooperatives in sustainable development, social cohesion and resilient local economies. The Year was officially launched at the ICA Global Cooperative Conference and General Assembly in New Delhi in November 2024. IRU was part of this moment and contributed a video message by Secretary General Andreas Kappes.

Building on the success of the Raiffeisen Ambassador format, IRU further expanded its role in cooperative learning and international exchange during the International Year of Cooperatives 2025. A new Raiffeisen Ambassador training round was launched in November 2025, while the Raiffeisen Ambassador Advanced programme was developed as a next-level format for experienced cooperative professionals and managers. The programme is designed to deepen cooperative expertise, strengthen leadership skills and support the practical application of cooperative principles in governance and management.

The IRU General Meeting on 2–3 July 2026 at Banque Raiffeisen Luxembourg will bring together members from across the international Raiffeisen network for governance matters, elections and strategic exchange. The programme also reflects IRU’s growing focus on member engagement and cooperative learning through a seminar on Governance & Member Engagement and the further development of Raiffeisen Ambassador Advanced.