Yesterday, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) officially launched the Cooperative Cultural Heritage Platform and the first World Map of sites illustrating how cooperation has shaped culture, education, and livelihoods across generations. Unveiled in a ceremony at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasília — headquarters of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an architectural masterpiece by Oscar Niemeyer — the platform marks a small yet historic step in safeguarding and celebrating the cooperative movement’s living cultural legacy.
“Cooperatives are not only enterprises; they are bearers of culture, history, and identity,” said Ariel Guarco, President of the ICA. “With this global map, we celebrate cooperation as humanity’s shared heritage, linking people and communities through solidarity and self-help.”
The inaugural 2025 edition highlights 31 founding heritage sitesfrom 25 countries across all regions, from the birthplace of modern cooperation in Rochdale (UK) and the Monumento ao Cooperativismo in Nova Petrópolis (Brazil) to the Amul Dairy Cooperative and Verghese Kurien Museum (India), the Federation of Southern Cooperatives (USA), Moshi Co-operative University (Tanzania), and the ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit (Switzerland). The map was built together with ICA Members the Organisation of Brazilian Cooperatives (OCB) and the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) of India, through close collaboration with the ICA Global Office.
“These sites are living classrooms of solidarity,” said Márcio Lopes de Freitas, President of OCB. “They show that cooperation is both history and horizon a cultural force that continues to build fairer societies.”
"I am delighted to share that NCDC has partnered on the technical front in developing this global platform and website, contributing to the documentation and showcase of the timeless legacy of cooperation for the world to see," said Pankaj Bansal (IAS) Managing Director, NCDC.
A number of high-level dignitaries attended the event, includingVanderley Tiger, Secretary of Family Farming and Agroecology; Ambassador Maria Laura de Rocha, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Rodrigo Lima, Special Advisor to the Director's Office (UNESCO).
A Global Launch and the Beginning of a Nomination Process
The launch marks the beginning of a global nomination process through which cooperatives, federations, and communities worldwide can propose sites, institutions, and living traditions that reflect the cooperative identity.
This process will be guided by clear international criteria defined in the new Charter on the Recognition of Cooperative Cultural Heritage Sites. These standards ensure that each recognised site demonstrates authenticity, community participation, inclusivity, sustainability, and a continuing cooperative mission.
The ICA invites all member organisations, federations, researchers, and citizens to:
- Explore the 2025 world map of cooperative heritage;
- Review the Charter and selection criteria; and
- Nominate new sites and traditions representing cooperative culture in their countries, the process is open atwww.culturalheritage.coop/nominations
Recognised nominations will receive the ICA - CCH Label and be featured on the Global Map with a Statement of Recognition from the ICA. The Cooperative Cultural Heritage initiative is led by the ICA Working Group on Cooperative Cultural Heritage (CCH-WG), chaired by ICA Director General Jeroen Douglas with the mentorship of Márcio Lopes de Freitas, President of the OCB. The group brings together cooperators from Morocco, Germany, Nigeria, India, Japan, the UK, Brazil, and the United States.
Coming Soon: The Intangible Cooperative Heritage List
Building on this momentum, the ICA announced the upcoming release of the Intangible Cooperative Heritage List (foreseen in 2026)—a register of oral traditions, practices, and rituals that embody cooperative culture. This next phase will complement the physical heritage map by highlighting living traditions that carry cooperative values into the future.
The ICA’s cultural work also aligns closely with its participation in UNESCO MONDIACULT 2025 event held in Barcelona, where the ICA co-hosted the session “Cooperatives in Culture for Diversity, Cultural Rights and Decent Work.” The ICA reaffirmed that culture must be recognised as a pillar of sustainable development, with cooperatives as key actors in linking cultural rights and decent work.
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For further queries please contact Santosh Kumar: kumar@ICA.coop
