This story is part of our end-of-year campaign celebrating how the CLT Center is working to serve the global CLT movement. This week, we’re highlighting:
World Community Land Trust Day
The idea for World CLT Day first emerged in 2019. The goal was simple: to create a day that could bring visibility to the people who make the CLT movement possible: the residents, organizers, and neighbors living the values of community stewardship every day. It was envisioned as a moment to “put the ‘C’ in CLT,” extending the conversation beyond experts and celebrating the collective energy at the heart of the movement.
The first World CLT Day was celebrated in 2021, with participation from 45 organizations across 10 countries. Communities marked the occasion by sharing videos, hosting their annual general meetings, organizing site visits, and posting stories online using #WorldCLTDay — a collective, decentralized celebration of solidarity and permanence in community land ownership.
In 2022, participation almost doubled, engaging more than 75 organizations. Across different parts of the world, CLTs and networks hosted both in-person and online events, from days of service and local lobbying to new project groundbreakings, webinars, and community celebrations. In Belgium, Community Land Trust Brussels (CLTB) combined its 10th anniversary and World Habitat Award celebration with World CLT Day, hosting local gatherings, performances, and cultural events that reflected the movement’s values of solidarity and belonging. (Watch the 2022 celebration video)
Each year since, it has grown stronger and more connected by the enthusiasm and creativity of local CLTs and networks. What began as a small campaign has since become a shared moment of reflection and visibility for the movement, coordinated by the CLT Center and partners, but carried forward by the communities themselves.
— Michael Monte, CEO Champlain Housing Trust (Vermont, USA)
“CLTs give us the opportunity to think globally and act locally. Knowing that we are a part of an international movement that chooses to empower our residents and communities is incredibly satisfying. We do this by fighting displacement and gentrification through permanent affordability while giving our communities the opportunities to self-govern.”
2025 Moments from Around the World
2025 marked the fourth World CLT Day. This year’s campaign brought together people from 126 organizations across 41 countries, hosting 25 events in six languages—the most expansive participation yet.
Across April and May, communities gathered online and in person to share what collective land ownership looks like in practice. There were walking tours, panel discussions, plant sales, community assemblies, film screenings, and global webinars spanning the Americas, Europe, and Australia.
What tied them together was a shared commitment to community-led land stewardship and the creative ways local CLTs make that vision real.
Local Celebrations
📍 Australia
📍 Canada
📍 California, USA
📍 Massachusetts, USA
📍 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
📍 United Kingdom
📍 Colorado, USA
📍 Ohio, USA
— Mariolga Juliá Pacheco, Caño Martín Peña CLT (Puerto Rico)
“Community land trusts are a proven tool for conscious, democratic, and alternative development—one that centers human beings and gives them power over their present and future.”
Global Webinars and Learning
Alongside local gatherings, the CLT Center and the World CLT Day Planning Committee coordinated three global webinars that anchored the week’s programming:
A conversation on Brazil’s emerging CLT movement, co-hosted with Catalytic Communities.
Global Solidarity in Action
World CLT Day 2025 was coordinated by the CLT Center in collaboration with partners across the movement, including:
The CLT Center provided communication templates in multiple languages, a shared event map, and technical support. On social media, stories tagged #WorldCLTDay2025 reached thousands of viewers and were amplified by figures including US Senator Bernie Sanders.
— Dr Jess Steele from Hastings Commons
“CLTs resonate across different contexts because they appeal to a fundamental need for belonging and agency. Together, we can meet our own needs, look after our own places and people.”
Quick Resources from Past Celebrations
2021
2022
- Webinar on Land Trusts and Community-Based Agriculture English / Español
- Land Reform in Scotland
- De impact van het CLT model – leren van internationale succesverhalen
- Taking Land Off the Market to Make the City Affordable
- Thanks for Participating in World CLT Day 2022
2024
- Global South CLT Initiative: Land Ownership in Latin America and the Caribbean (English / Español / Português)
- The Official Launch of the Australian CLT Network
- Community Land Trusts Provide Housing Alternatives Worldwide, Forbes
2025
World CLT Day 2026
Mark your calendars: World CLT Day 2026 will take place on Friday, May 15! Planning is already underway, and we’d love to hear how you’re thinking about participating. Please use the short form below to share how you’re thinking about celebrating. Your responses will help us understand what communities are preparing and how the CLT Center and partners can best support you in the months ahead.