The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) together with CICOPA, Abacus Cooperative, and the Arizmendiarrieta Social Economy Think Tank (ASETT), hosted a side event during the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development (UNESCO MONDIACULT 2025) on 26 September in Barcelona, Spain.
Themed ‘Cooperatives in Culture for Diversity, Cultural Rights and Decent Work’, the event was part of wider advocacy towards positioning cooperatives in the global discussions and programmes that present culture as an indivisible aspect of sustainable development. It also sought to bolster the work of the ICA Working Group on Cooperative Cultural Heritage while preparing for its representation of cooperatives in the post-2030 agenda.
The event’s first session focused on the role of cooperatives as a force for cultural diversity and sustainability and heard from Maravillas Rojo, President of Abacus cooperative; Nadia Quevedo, Commissioner for Economic Promotion of Barcelona City Council; Iñigo Albizuri, ICA Board Member and Director of ASETT; Ariel Guarco, President of the International Cooperative Alliance (video-message); and Simel Esim, Head of ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit, Chair of the UNTFSSE (online).
“The Unesco inscription of the idea and practice of organising shared interests into cooperatives as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2016 is a way of reminding us that our way of organising is a part of the history and present of people,” said Dr Guarco.
“We are demonstrating every single day that we are very concrete vehicles for protecting cultural heritage,” he added.
“Culture is an essential pillar of democracy,” said Ms Rojo. “We firmly believe that culture reflects society as humanity, a reflection of our diversity and can be a model of social transformation,” she added.
“We see cooperatives maintaining cultural traditions in art, crafts, food, architecture and promoting inclusive learning and supportive livelihoods linked to the creative care and community-based work,” said Ms Esim, emphasising their role during crises.
"Cooperativism is a model that has over decades transformed our territory", said Ms Quevedo. She emphasised the role of the social economy and cooperativism as a tool for economic growth, highlighting that public policies had played a key role in expanding the sector in Barcelona.
“From ASETT, we want to help those cooperatives that exist to grow and those that are not there yet to be formed, because we truly believe that a society where there are more cooperatives is a more democratic society, is a more equalitarian society, and is a better society, in a nutshell,” said Mr Albizuri Landazabal.
The second session focused on positioning cooperatives as cultural actors in achieving sustainable development, and featured Giuseppe Guerini, President, Cooperatives Europe; Víctor Meseguer, Deputy Director-General of Abacus cooperative; Giovanna Barni, Counsellor for innovation and development at CoopCulture and President of CulTurMedia Lega Coop, Italy (online); Patxi Olabarria, President of the High Council of Basque Cooperatives and Vice-President of UCOE (Spanish Cooperative Schools and high-schools); Liz McIvor, Manager at the Cooperative Heritage Trust (online); Heloísa Lopes, Vice President of Sicredi Pioneria, Brazil (online); and Marta Lozano, President of WazoCoop.
Mr Guerini explained that cooperatives are already playing a role in many sectors, building essential cultural infrastructure, such as Magnum Photos cooperative photography agency.
Patxi Olabarria, president of the High Council of Basque Cooperatives and Vice-President of UCOE (Spanish Cooperative Schools and High-Schools), emphasised the role of educational cooperatives in preserving Basque language and culture and supporting local communities. Activities include running schools and organising cultural activities.
Meanwhile, Liz McIvor, Manager at the Cooperative Heritage Trust in the UK warned that cooperatives “can't afford simply to be a mausoleum to something from the past.”
“Through the international cooperative identity, it is our aim to show culture for development and how cooperativism can work in the modern day, to promote culture,” she said.
Ms Barni described how cultural cooperatives play a crucial role in local employment and economy, especially in rural and southern areas of Italy and said that despite the pandemic, cultural cooperation has shown resilience and growth.
Ms Lopes shared similar lessons from Brazil, where cooperatives promote social cohesion, territorial identity, and sustainable development, with a strong commitment to sustainability. OCB, Brazil’s national cooperative federation is involved in the development of the ICA global map of cooperative cultural heritage to recognize the legacy and contributions of cooperatives.
Ms Lozano described the work of her cooperative, which focuses on creative and cultural industries and the social and solidarity economy, empowering rural inhabitants for sustainability.
“Cooperatives are not just heritage. They are well alive. We see it here today. We see it in this Casa Abacus. We see in the Basque Country, with ASETT, with Mondragon, with all the cooperators that present here,” said Mr Meseguer.
The final session of the event looked at cooperatives and culture in the post-2030 sustainable development agenda.
Presented and moderated by Mr Albizuri Landazabal, it heard from David Bonvehí, Director General for Social Economy and Cooperatives at Generalitat de Catalunya; Jokin Díaz, Director for Social Economy at the Basque Government; Osamu Nakano, Board Member CICPOPA; Vice Executive Director, Japan Workers Cooperative Union; P. Santosh Kumar, Director of legislation at ICA; and; and Iñigo Arbiol Oñate, UN office for local development.
Mr Bonvehí praised Abacus cooperative, highlighting its role in hosting cultural activities and reconnecting Catalans with their past and said the Catalan government is looking to support by helping to set up a cooperative for musicians.
Mr Díaz said the Basque Country aims to foster entrepreneurship, youth training, and international networking to support the social economy. Over 100,000 people are working in the social economy, contributing 10% of employment and 5% of GDP.
Mr Nakano explained how worker cooperatives have been established in various fields in Japan, demonstrating the diversification and deepening of cooperative culture. He thinks the culture of cooperatives is crucial for building sustainable and vibrant communities.
Mr Arbiol Oñate talked about the need to integrate cooperatives into territorial development strategies and argued that public policies should support cooperatives to generate social cohesion and cultural diversity.
Mr Kumar suggested ways to improve the legal landscape for cooperatives and ensure a level playing field for them.
“The [Cooperative] Identity is indeed the sum of all our experiences, and all the experiences of cooperation need to be identified, recognised and then celebrated, and I think that's what we're doing today,” he said. On law, he said the central argument of the ICA is that cooperatives must be offered a level playing field in all sectors including culture and heritage. He added that law must not ignore the unique characteristics of cooperatives, nor should it be disadvantageous to cooperatives because of their distinct characteristics.
The event concluded with a call to action presented by Francesca Martinelli, Centro Studi Doc Foundation, and ICA rapporteur, who outlined the recommendations for UNESCO Mondiacult 2025.
Diana Dovgan, Secretary General of ICA Sectoral Organization on Industry and Service Cooperatives, concluded by thanking UNESCO for adding this event in its official agenda of Mondiacult, and Abacus cooperative for hosting the event.
“The message from today is clear, cultural rights, diversity and decent work belong together. Cooperatives embodied this convergence. They demonstrate that democracy in the workplace fosters diversity and that solidarity and democratic governance strengthen cultural freedom,” she said.
The recording of the event will be available soon.
