IASC members are pleased to share this call for participation at the first Forum on Land Commons in France. The organizers are interested in the participation of rights-holders and researchers and associations from other European countries. The event will likely be held in mid-November. Confirmation of dates to follow.
First Forum on Land Commons
VALCOM Chair – Paris – UNESCO Headquarters
Practices, knowledges, transmissions, transitions, futures
Do you collectively manage forests, pastures, water or irrigation networks, swamps, ponds, ovens or other buildings?
Everywhere in France, village communities are keeping alive shared resources, passed down from generation to generation. In 2026, these practices and knowledge will be honored at a Forum in Paris, at the UNESCO headquarters. This meeting aims to recognize land commons as contemporary systems of territorial governance, social cohesion and intergenerational transmission and as solution providers for the ecological transition.
This call is addressed to communities involved in the management or recovery of land commons, inviting them to participate in the development of the Forum. Whether you are a rights-holder, local elected official or member of a community (section de commune, consortage, bourgeoisie, cayolar, Union des prud’homies de pêche… amongst others, names vary from country to country), your experience matters. Come share your story, your knowledge and meet other communities living the same realities.
This call is also addressed to researchers wishing to be part of the dialogue with these communities engaged in managing commons and keen to expand or intensify scientific collaboration on the topic.
Come participate! To express your interest, please write to: contact.valcom@univ-smb.fr
Expressions of interest should specify, for information purposes:
- the type of common concerned;
- the territory and collective involved;
- the form of contribution envisaged (testimony, story, visual support, etc.).
These groups have already committed (regularly updated list): Sections de commune (Lozère : Cheylard-L’Evèque, Haute-Loire: Saint-Paul-de-Tartas, Retournac, Afasc, Puy-de-Dôme : Brousse, Auzelles…), Consortages and ancestral land-owning societies (Haute-Savoie : Chamonix valley, Bellevaux, Saint-Gingolph), Mediterranean coastline: Union des Prud’homies de pêche.
Please express your interest by writing to: contact.valcom@univ-smb.fr.
Organizing Committee: VALCOM Chair (Promoting land commons) and its partners, including the University of Lausanne, Convergence (Platform for reflection, mobilization, and advocacy), LINKS Program (UNESCO).
You can find more details here (scroll down for the text in English): https://projetvalcom.fr/index.php/2026/02/10/appel-a-manifestation-dinteret-forum-sur-les-communs-fonciers-unesco-chaire-valcom/
