ICA to hold side event with UNESCO

The International Cooperative Alliance is hosting a hybrid side event as part of the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – Mondiacult 2022. 

Due to take place on 26 September under the heading  “Cooperatives are Key Stakeholders in advancing SDGs through Culture and the Creative Sector”, the event will advocate for including cooperatives in the global policy processes and dialogues concerning culture and sustainable development.

The conference will feature round tables, panel discussions and keynote presentations on the importance of cooperative culture and the role of cooperatives in safeguarding cultural heritage.  

Following the discussion at the ICA World Cooperative Congress (Seoul 2021), the event will examine the opportunities resulting from the UNESCO Inscription of the idea and practice of organising shared interests into cooperatives as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. Moreover, speakers will show via research and concrete cases how cooperatives in the cultural sector are a viable alternative with a proven track record for organising workers in the cultural and creative sector. Participants will also look at how cooperatives can collaborate for policies for sustainable development or how education can be a tool for promoting the culture of cooperation as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

“I am delighted that the application by the ICA to organise a side-event at the historic UNESCO Mondiacult 2022, which was developed in close coordination with CICOPA and Cooperatives of the Americas, was accepted by the screening committee,” said Bruno Roelants, Director General of the ICA.

Date and time: 26 september 13-17h (CEST)

The full programme for the side-event is available here.

Online participation is free - register here to join the webinar.

What is Mondiacult?

The Mondiacult Conference, which will take place in Mexico City from 28 to 30 September 2022, aims to consolidate progress and set clear new pathways for the future of cultural policies. The event will feature over 100 ministers of Culture, and more than 150 inter-governmental organisations, UN system agencies and civil society organisations. The first Mondiacult conference was held 40 years ago in Mexico City (Mexico) to expand the horizons of what is meant by culture.