From Chromium to Community (2025)

In the first week of June (2025), our team at Igalia held our regular meeting about Chromium.

We talked about our technical projects, but also where the Chromium project is leading, given all the investments going to AI, and this interesting initiative from the Linux Foundation to fund open development of Chromium.

We also held our annual Igalia meeting, filled with many special moments — one of them being when Valerie, who had previously shared how Igalia is co-operatively managed, spoke about her personal journey and involvement with other cooperatives.

In Brazil, co-ops are seen mostly in financial services, like banks providing loans and savings, and in the agriculture businesses, for the production of commodities like soybeans and coffee.

A co-op is an interesting model that I never thought could be a good fit in different areas and types of organizations. Igalia is one such compelling “counterexample”, in the sense that it goes beyond the bounds of typical cooperatives in Brazil.

So, with that perspective, I’ve been wondering: could we apply principles like transparency, communication, democratic participation — along with other criteria that define a successful sustainable organization — as guiding values for other organizations aiming to embrace cooperative ideals?

For instance, do you think a non-governmental organization (NGO), a civil society organization (CSO), or, say, a neighborhood association could operate as a cooperative? I’d love to hear your thoughts — it’s something I’ve been reflecting on! 🙂

You don’t need to be a formal cooperative to act like one – transparency and shared agency are muscles any group can exercise.