How do we do it?

The program helped me gain a deeper understanding of how cooperative principles can be applied to the cultural sector, combining practical assignments with the analysis of real-world examples.
A key outcome of the course was the creation of an actual project, which resulted from my work throughout the program. The course offered effective tools for developing a cultural project based on cooperative principles, with both economic and social potential.
The course format, featuring regular online meetings and flexibility to work at my own pace, allowed me to focus on my project and effectively apply the knowledge I gained. This course will be especially useful for those interested in developing cultural projects with a cooperative approach.
I am grateful to the organizers for the high quality of the training and for providing me with the opportunity to create a project that has opened new horizons for me in the field of cultural entrepreneurship.

Cultural Cooperative Entrepreneurship course at Mondragon University was reflection and at the highest level. Our organization Teaching Artist Institute has operated across nine countries for a decade as a Cultural Cooperative and we often felt isolated in theory and practice. Cultural Cooperative Entrepreneurship course affirmed that we are relevant and not alone in the Art for social transformation ecosystem.

This course first attracted me as it felt very aligned with the work I'm involved with. As a poet and creative as well as someone working in the cooperative sector, this course aligned with everything I was doing and truly delivered.
Through the course, I have been massively inspired through the subjects covered as well as the lecturers and the guest speakers. The information has also been really insightful but laid out in such a way that it was easy to digest and understand. The structure of the course has been great, especially when fitting it around many other projects it has meant that I could do everything in my own time and the assignments were not too overbearing but all directly relevant with practical application for my future projects.
I've been relaying some of the information I learned to friends and colleagues who have also been inspired. I keep bringing up the Futures Thinking thought experiment from one of the recommended resources. The reading on the creative economy I've been looking further into and has been a real addition to discussions within my local scene.

I started the course on Cooperative Cultural Development without much frame of reference and feeling a bit lost at sea with some of the ideas I wanted to explore. Thanks to the course, I was able to be a part of a cohort of individuals from around the world, who's drive and passion to create businesses that had the solidarity economy at their heart was inspiring. This pushed me to develop my ideas further and see how I can use this knowledge to develop my project further. After the course, I have the skills and confidence to take the next steps to start my own cultural cooperative with my community.

This course provided me with the blueprint and tools to build a cooperative—but it did so much more, delivering beyond what I had imagined. The workshop offered invaluable guidance and inspiration, thanks to the amazing people who spearheaded the course and their incredible projects, the invited speakers who shared insights from their own co-ops, and the thoughtful activities and exercises in the worksheets. Equally inspiring were the connections I made with the other participants, whose ideas and experiences enriched the entire learning experience.
This course gave me hope and a sense of possibility. I now feel equipped with solid foundations to start a project of my own. It was a powerful reminder that there are worlds within this world—and that we have the ability to carve them together in solidarity.