Launched in 2025 at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, as part of the UN International Year of Cooperatives, the CCH programme celebrates places and traditions that embody the legacy, idea and practice of cooperation worldwide. The 2025 launch highlighted an inaugural list of tangible elements or sites connected to the birth and development of cooperative movements, institutions and practices that have shaped societies around the world. The initiative is guided by the ICA CCH Working Group (WG).
The programme describes CCH as encompassing both tangible elements (such as sites, institutions, museums and legacy enterprises) and intangible traditions (including local practices and traditions that safeguard cooperative values, practices and governance systems) of cooperation.
In 2026, the goal is to include around 35 additional sites from 25 countries – nominated by members and verified by the working group – amplifying the geographic and cultural representation of the cooperative movement. In addition to physical sites, ICA will also explore the inclusion of intangible cultural elements that reflect cooperative ideas, practices and traditions. Attention will be given to practices safeguarded under the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), the FAO Global Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, and more, where a strong cooperative connection can be identified.
Read the rest at International Cooperative Alliance
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