Agenda

MONDRAGON shows that democratic ownership can reach industrial scale, but its history is also a study in compromise. This conversation examines how the federation balances worker voice, solidarity and shared prosperity with capital needs, international competition and the practical demands of governing a complex global business.

As humanitarian needs continue to outpace available resources, organizations are under increasing pressure to do more with less. Yet many agencies and actors face the same challenges, often investing separately in similar tools, systems, and capabilities. What if we brought together ecosystem players to co-ideate and collaboratively explore how shared ownership, partnerships and scaling approaches can reshape humanitarian innovation? Co-hosted by the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, this session explores how shared ownership, partnerships and collaborative scaling approaches can help address common humanitarian challenges. Together, participants will examine what these common challenges are, and how to strengthen coordination, accelerate innovation adoption and create greater value for the whole humanitarian ecosystem. This discussion will bring together perspectives from stakeholders across humanitarian organizations, technology experts, ecosystem builders, funders, and institutional innovators to collectively address key challenge areas gathered from the experience of the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator, and co-ideate on possible solutions.

Platform cooperatives promised a democratic alternative to venture-backed marketplaces, yet few achieved comparable scale. Using Fairbnb.coop as a candid case study, the session will examine network effects, capital, governance and user convenience, then ask what mutualistic AI ventures must design differently from the outset.

Erik Forman, Co-Founder of The Drivers Cooperative, will present “Lessons from The Drivers Cooperative: Can Technology Ventures Really Work with Democratic Governance?”

What does it really mean to own the platform you work on? This study explores a freelancer-owned cooperative, finding that voting rights do not guarantee equal influence or shared wealth. As fewer members contributed new work and earnings remained concentrated, it asks what turns membership into meaningful ownership.

Louis Kelso argued that broad access to productive capital, rather than redistribution alone, was essential to an inclusive economy. This conversation revisits that claim through models for employees, consumers, residents and producers, asking which can broaden wealth and agency without becoming financially fragile or administratively burdensome.

Ownership becomes tangible when it shapes energy, housing, civic technology and other shared infrastructure. Drawing on cooperative, architectural, robotics and policy perspectives, this panel asks who holds control rights, how stakeholders exercise voice and what stewardship requires when assets must serve communities for decades.

Sustainability systems verify products, emissions and compliance more readily than they reveal who shares in the value created. This bridge session asks whether certification and traceability can recognize worker participation, producer benefit and shared ownership, and what market infrastructure would make those claims credible.

Beneficial ownership transparency can strengthen procurement, investment and responsible trade, but disclosure also creates risks for privacy, security and commercial confidentiality. The panel will explore where visibility builds trust, where it may cause harm, and how digital identity and traceability systems can balance the two.

Environmental data is abundant but fragmented across institutions, formats and rules. This live lab asks whether a federated commons can enable interoperability without creating another extractive platform, focusing on access, contribution, assurance and incentives, as well as the governance needed to make shared infrastructure credible.