Desjardins Group Congress of Elected Officers

What is a Desjardins Group Congress of Elected Officers

A Desjardins Congress takes place every four to five years. It brings together members delegated by their caisses to discuss major themes that will guide the organization's growth in the years to come.

A Desjardins Congress is an ideal opportunity for the caisses to focus their thoughts on their members' needs and on ways in which they can contribute to the economic and social development of their community.

Find out more about the 20th Desjardins Group Congress.

Who takes part

Congress participants are essentially caisse elected officers.

Each caisse delegates a specific number of participants based on the total number of members it serves. As such, a caisse serving:

• up to 5,000 members will send 1 delegate
• between 5,001 to 10,000 members will send 2 delegates
• between 10,001 to 15,000 members will send 3 delegates
• between 15,001 to 20,000 members will send 4 delegates
• between 20,001 to 250,000 members will send 5 delegates
• over 25,000 members will send 6 delegates to the Congress.

Moreover, each caisse is allowed to send one additional elected officer who participates in Congress discussions but cannot vote on proposed orientations.

What themes are discussed

The themes covered during a congress are inspired by the challenges Desjardins Group is facing at the time and the socio-economic context of the period.

Thus, congresses in the 1950s focused primarily on the rapid growth of the caisse network and the need to teach members about savings and inform them about the concept of credit.

The 1960s and 1970s generated debates on the importance of adapting to the needs of the members, modernizing the caisses and expanding the contribution of Desjardins Group to include the economic and social development of communities.

In the 1980s, 1990s and the first part of the current decade, the congresses were the scene of discussions on Desjardins Group's desire to reaffirm its cooperative identity and redefine the role and tasks of caisse officers. There were also talks on restructuring the caisses' support organizations.

The 2009 Congress will concentrate primarily on the paths Desjardins must take in order to remain a leader in a changing world.

To find out more, see A Brief History of Past Congresses (PDF, 21 KB).