Barcelona hosts the International Social Housing Festival
The fourth edition of the most important social housing congress in Europe is being held at the Palau de Congressos in Barcelona from 7 to 9 June. Nearly 2,000 people have signed up for the event, doubling the participation from the last edition held in Helsinki in June. The programme features over sixty renowned speakers and 200 collaboration organisations.
The International Social Housing Festival is the most important event of its kind in Europe and is intended to foster debate on public housing policies and the challenges to be tackled to guarantee the right to housing for all. The festival is an initiative by Housing Europe, the European Federation of Public, Cooperative & Social Housing, and by its allies, operating in 25 countries and managing 11% of the EU’s housing stock.
Notable speakers include the European MP and affordable housing champion Kim Van Sparrentak; Barbara Steenbergen, member of the managing board of the International Union of Tenants (IUT) and one of the world’s biggest advocates of housing unionism: Shane Phillips director of housing projects with the UCLA Lewis Center Housing Initiative; Adrianne Todman, deputy secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development; Tatiana Rojas, deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Planning in Chile, and Bent Madsen and Sorcha Edwards, chair and secretary general of Housing Europe, respectively.
The ISHF is aimed at social and affordable housing promotors and management, research centres, professionals, local authorities, residents and activists. Nearly 2,000 people have signed up to take part, with 40% expected to come from Catalonia and Spain, 50% from Europe and 10% from the rest of the world. The full programme is available here.
