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Government, Private Sector and NGOs to Meet in Berlin
As Europe’s housing crisis continues to deepen, some of Europe’s leading government officials, private sector representatives and NGOs will seek new solutions at the 3rd Europe Housing Forum, 18-20 November 2015 in Berlin. They will address the region’s three most critical housing issues—affordability, sustainability and livability—and ultimately help set Europe’s housing agenda.
Some of the discussions will focus on:
- Reversing the trend that makes housing unaffordable making it impossible for people to get on the property ladder.
- Increasing social housing stocks which are running well below 10 percent of the current needs forcing citizens to live in inadequate housing or emigrate to find a home for the families.
- Addressing the deteriorating, low quality pre-fabricated Soviet-era housing in eastern and central Europe which experts consider to be a ‘time bomb’ that will affect both residents and each country’s economic growth.
Leilani Fahra, UN Special Rapporteur for Adequate Housing, will kick off the program and speak on the need for housing as a basic human right as well as speak about the impact of the Middle East refugee crisis. Her global view will be complemented by Prof. Dr. Ing. Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, Permanent Secretary for Building and Housing, Urban Development and
Environment, Berlin, who led the team that has kept Berlin one of the most affordable and livable cities in Europe.
Other notable speakers include Dr. Jan Mischke, who helped author McKinsey’s global study on affordable housing and Judit Torokne Rozsa, who is charged with setting up and delivering the EU Urban Agenda. Dr Gunther Bachmann and Maurits Groen will speak on sustainability and developing sustainable cities. And, Jacek Grunt-Mejer, Coordinator of the revitalization program in Warsaw and world-renown architect Alireza Sagharchi talk about how the cities of the future are being created.
The forum also features a series of moderated workshops on the key issues with speakers from national governments, microfinance organizations, housing policy leaders, and the media.
As part of the conference, Habitat for Humanity will launch its 2015 Housing Review which captures the latest thinking on the housing market along with in-depth chapters on affordability, sustainability and livability and how the current refugee situation puts even more pressure on the authorities to create housing for its citizens. The Housing Review contains an update of the key housing statistics in 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe region. The 3rd Europe Housing Forum is co-organized by UN-Habitat, UNDP, UNECE, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Habitat for Humanity International.
For further information about the 3rd Europe Housing Forum please contact:
Media: Katerina Bezgachina kbezgachina@habitat.org
Registration: LabConcepts housingforum@lab-concepts.de
Website:ecahousingforum.eu
