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DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A global network of cooperative and mutual leaders launched at the World Summit for Social Development – and its first action was to publish a Contract for a New Global Economy.
The Cooperatives and Mutuals Leadership Circle (CM50) is an initiative of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) bringing together leaders of some of the world's largest cooperative and mutual enterprises, including Jayen Mehta (Managing Director, Amul, India), Shirine Khoury Haq (CEO, Co-op Group, UK), Howard Brodsky (Co-founder and Chairman, CCA Global Partners, USA), Fabíola da Silva Nader Motta (General Manager, OCB, Brazil) and Rob Wesseling (President and CEO, The Cooperators, Canada).
The launch came as the Doha Summit recognised the cooperative business model as a tool to advance sustainable development, social inclusion and economic resilience.
The Doha Political Declaration highlights the role of cooperatives as leaders of the social and solidarity economy, through encouraging entrepreneurship, creating decent work, and driving social inclusion.
During the event, the ICA and the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) co-hosted a Solutions Session attended by Heads of State, UN representatives, cooperative and mutual leaders, and international partners.
The session included the closing ceremony of the United Nations 2025 International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025), celebrating cooperatives' achievements and contributions to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and the launch of the ICA's 2026-2030 Strategy.
Ariel Guarco, President of the ICA, said:
"Cooperatives have demonstrated their power to build fairer, more resilient economies and societies. The Doha Political Declaration and the 2025 UN Secretary-General's report on Cooperatives in Social Development both recognise this unique contribution. As we close IYC2025 in Doha, we look ahead with renewed energy to expand the cooperative footprint as a key accelerator to the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
The ICA also launched a special edition of the World Cooperative Monitor, highlighting the movement's social and economic impact. It shows the world's top 300 cooperatives have a combined turnover of US$2.8 trillion, equivalent to the world's eighth-largest economy. It also includes interviews with cooperative leaders demonstrating how democratic, people-centred businesses thrive in modern markets.
About the International Cooperative Alliance
Founded in 1895, the ICA works to promote and strengthen cooperative enterprises, guided by the principles of democracy, equality, and shared prosperity.
www.ica.coop
DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A global network of cooperative and mutual leaders launched at the World Summit for Social Development – and its first action was to publish a Contract for a New Global Economy.
The Cooperatives and Mutuals Leadership Circle (CM50) is an initiative of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) bringing together leaders of some of the world's largest cooperative and mutual enterprises, including Jayen Mehta (Managing Director, Amul, India), Shirine Khoury Haq (CEO, Co-op Group, UK), Howard Brodsky (Co-founder and Chairman, CCA Global Partners, USA), Fabíola da Silva Nader Motta (General Manager, OCB, Brazil) and Rob Wesseling (President and CEO, The Cooperators, Canada).
The launch came as the Doha Summit recognised the cooperative business model as a tool to advance sustainable development, social inclusion and economic resilience.
The Doha Political Declaration highlights the role of cooperatives as leaders of the social and solidarity economy, through encouraging entrepreneurship, creating decent work, and driving social inclusion.
During the event, the ICA and the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) co-hosted a Solutions Session attended by Heads of State, UN representatives, cooperative and mutual leaders, and international partners.
The session included the closing ceremony of the United Nations 2025 International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025), celebrating cooperatives' achievements and contributions to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and the launch of the ICA's 2026-2030 Strategy.
Ariel Guarco, President of the ICA, said:
"Cooperatives have demonstrated their power to build fairer, more resilient economies and societies. The Doha Political Declaration and the 2025 UN Secretary-General's report on Cooperatives in Social Development both recognise this unique contribution. As we close IYC2025 in Doha, we look ahead with renewed energy to expand the cooperative footprint as a key accelerator to the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
The ICA also launched a special edition of the World Cooperative Monitor, highlighting the movement's social and economic impact. It shows the world's top 300 cooperatives have a combined turnover of US$2.8 trillion, equivalent to the world's eighth-largest economy. It also includes interviews with cooperative leaders demonstrating how democratic, people-centred businesses thrive in modern markets.
About the International Cooperative Alliance
Founded in 1895, the ICA works to promote and strengthen cooperative enterprises, guided by the principles of democracy, equality, and shared prosperity.
www.ica.coop
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Cooperative leaders unveil manifesto for new global economy at Doha Summit
ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the official opening of Desert X AlUla 2026, the landmark fourth edition of the international, open-air biennial exhibition. Arts AlUla, in collaboration with Desert X, welcomes visitors to experience a stellar line-up of Saudi and international multi-generational artists whose site-responsive earthworks, sculptures, and installations will engage in a powerful dialogue with the awe-inspiring landscapes and layered heritage of AlUla.
As a premier destination rich in ancient history and breathtaking nature, AlUla, located in Northwest Saudi Arabia, solidifies its position on the global stage as a dynamic, emerging land art destination with Desert X AlUla, the region's first public art biennale, and a key highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival.
The 2026 edition of Desert X AlUla brings together 11 acclaimed artists whose diverse works reflect a wide spectrum of ideas, materials, and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sound-based explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships to AlUla's distinctive environment, further cementing Desert X AlUla's reputation as a globally significant platform for site-responsive land art.
Desert X AlUla runs until February 28, 2026, as a cornerstone of the annual AlUla Arts Festival. Curated by Wejdan Reda, Zoé Whitley, with artistic direction by Neville Wakefield, and Raneem Farsi, its fourth edition explores 'Space Without Measure.' Inspired by Kahlil Gibran, the theme fosters contemplation of imagination within AlUla's natural settings. The exhibition, set in the desert canyons of AlUla, serves as a pre-opening programme for Wadi AlFann, offering a pivotal glimpse into AlUla's plans to create a permanent land art 'Valley of the Arts.'
Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: "At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will engage with art that deeply converses with AlUla's unique landscapes and rich heritage. These compelling commissions highlight AlUla's dynamic transformation into a major global destination, where ancient and contemporary expressions converge. This exhibition is part of our broader revitalisation of AlUla as a culturally rich destination to live, work and visit and integral to positioning AlUla in the global dialogue of contemporary art and as a precursor to monumental projects like Wadi AlFann."
Participating artist/artworks are:
- Sara Abdu, A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance
- Mohammad Alfaraj, What was the Question Again?
- Mohammed AlSaleem, The Thorn, AlShuruf Unit, The Triangles, Flower Bud, and Al Ahilla (courtesy of Royal Commission for Riyadh City)
- Tarek Atoui, The Water Song
- Bahraini-Danish, Bloom
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Imole Red
- Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid
- Ibrahim El-Salahi, Haraza Tree
- Basmah Felemban, Murmur of Pebbles
- Vibha Galhotra, Future Fables
- Héctor Zamora, Tar HyPar
For further information, please contact:
Sabrine.Shaw@bursonglobal.com
AlUlaArtsFestival@bursonglobal.com
Multimedia gallery:
High-resolution photos of all 11 artists and their artworks can be found here.
About AlUla and Arts AlUla
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes was developed from at least the 12th century and has been revitalised as the vibrant hub for visitors and residents.
The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance and shaping a future inspired by artists built be artists. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Wadi AlFann, meaning 'Valley of the Arts,' will be a global cultural destination for land art, unveiling from 2028 onwards, where era-defining works by artists from around the world will be permanently sited in the monumental landscape of AlUla, the extraordinary desert region of north-west Saudi Arabia.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Desert X AlUla 2026: monumental land art exhibition opens in the ancient oasis of AlUla
