Representing UNESCO at the event is Christine M Merkel, head of the Division of Culture, Communication, Memory of the World at the German Commission for UNESCO, who was part of the team that developed the files and ensured the enlisting of co-operation in UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Heritage.
“The strength of co-operative enterprises around the globe is their capacity to provide common public goods which are essential for human development and well-being, such as housing, food security, health and financial services and energy provision,” she says. “Culture as a public good is essential to achieve the overdue turnaround towards sustainability.
“If swift action is taken, humanity may survive. This is not sure and time is running out.”
She believes it is important to preserve the culture of co-operation as an intangible cultural heritage because “the culture of co-operating in co-operatives has shown an extraordinary capacity for innovation, adaptability and resilience — all vital elements for the necessary turnaround towards more sustainable futures.”
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