International RAIFFEISEN Union (IRU)

The International Raiffeisen Union (IRU) is a worldwide voluntary association of national cooperative organizations founded in 1968 in Neuwied/Rhine on the 150th anniversary of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen's birth. It currently has 61 members across 36 countries. IRU's work is guided by Raiffeisen's principles of self-help, self-responsibility, and self-administration. The organization serves as a platform for member organizations to exchange experiences and analysis of cooperative issues. It aims to translate Raiffeisen's ideas into the current time, implement them using modern means, and propagate them widely. A key priority for IRU is fostering experience exchanges between members from developing, newly industrialized, and industrialized countries. This knowledge sharing helps prevent wrong developments in cooperative organizations. IRU also advocates for improving cooperative regulatory frameworks globally and supports the establishment of free enterprise-oriented cooperatives that focus on member promotion. The organization's vision and mission statement serves as an inspirational guide for its network activities. IRU continues to celebrate Raiffeisen's legacy, noting that over 900,000 cooperatives with approximately 500 million members in more than 100 countries worldwide operate according to his principles. In 2018, IRU celebrated its 50th anniversary, acknowledging how it has maintained its core values while adapting to significant changes in member countries and international challenges.