Changes at "Policy Assembly on Affordable Housing"

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  Multicultural and multilingual e-democracy at work: A multistakeholder debate on Housing Affordability in Europe

  KEY LINKS - Everything you need in one place

  📚 Knowledge Base: Acces to the knowledge base and discover all the learning materials

  📝 Policy Recommendations: Read the recommendations made during the citizen assembly.

  📄Read the report of the MultiPoD Policy Debate on Affordable Housing

  1. A timely conversation on Europe's Affordable Housing Act

  Housing affordability has become one of Europe's defining social, economic and political challenges. Across the continent, rising housing costs, limited supply and growing inequalities are affecting citizens, cities and regions alike.

  Taking place shortly after the European Commission's anticipated presentation of the Affordable Housing Act, this two- hour deliberative forum brings citizens directly into conversation with the policymakers and practitioners shaping Europe's response. The event is organised by the MultiPoD and IDEAL projects, funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe programme, with the discussion open in every participant's own language.

  2. From citizens' recommendations to European policy - MultiPoD

  The first part of the event builds on MultiPoD's pan- European Citizens' Assembly on affordable housing, which brought together citizens from across Europe to deliberate and co- design policy recommendations on housing. On 22 September, citizens will come together again with key European policymakers, public servants, civil society and housing experts to discuss the priorities they identified and explore how European, national, regional and local action can respond.

  Experience collective intelligence in action!

  Participants will use MultiPoD innovative deliberation tools including the Decidim platform, webylzard Analytics Dashboard and Democratic Reflection, to share live feedback and capture audience sentiment as the session unfolds.

  Five Priorities from the Citizens' Assembly
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• Bring vacant buildings back into use: Convert unused public and private buildings into affordable and social housing through incentives and partnerships.

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• Diversify housing models, strengthen rent protections: Support housing cooperatives, community land trusts, non- profit housing and fairer rental systems.

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• Link housing with social inclusion: Integrate housing policy with health, employment and social support while promoting mixed communities and co- housing.

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• Expand the supply of social housing: Unlock public and underused properties to increase affordable housing and support urban renewal.

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• Reinvest tourism revenues in local communities: Use tourism levies to finance affordable housing, public transport and local infrastructure.

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  3. Multilingual Deliberation Requirements and Tools - IDEAL

  In the second part of the event, led by the IDEAL project, the housing crisis will serve as a case study for a broader question: how can open, multilingual citizen deliberation be translated into policy? Building on insights from the first round of pilot testing of IDEAL's innovative multilingual platform and mobile app, policymakers and practitioners are invited to consider how CivicTech can be more effectively embedded into everyday governance processes.
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• Connecting Civic Tech with Policymaker Needs: Bringing decision- makers together to generate concrete insights on how civic technology can better serve them.

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• Defining Platform Requirements: Exploring exactly what outputs decision- makers need from deliberation platforms to be effective.

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• Producing Tangible Outputs: Turning active discussion into a formal policy brief and actionable next steps.

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• Bridging the Gap: Helping policymakers better understand societal precarity and connect with vulnerable groups to address their needs.

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4. Agenda

Part I Policy Assembly on Affordable Housing

11:00–11:05 | Opening and welcome

11:05–11:35 | Panel debate: Bridging European and local housing policy

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• Lars Svensmark, The Housing Task Force (DG ENER, European Commission) - presenting the Affordable Housing Act

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• Michaela Kauer, Director of the Brussels Office (City of Vienna)

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• Anne Andersson, Managing Director (Stockholm Region EU Office)

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• Laia Segura, Head of the Representation of Barcelona to the EU

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11:35–11:45 | Open floor: voices and solutions

11:45–12:00 | Decoding the debate: real- time data insights & next steps

Part II Multilingual Deliberation Requirements and Tools

12:00–12:10 | From Design to Deployment: IDEAL and innovative policymaking

12:10–12:50 | Deliberation in Action: from individual needs to shared perspectives

12:50–13:00 | The Final Word: Understanding what matters

REGISTER NOW to secure your spot

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Multicultural and multilingual e-democracy at work: A multistakeholder debate on Housing Affordability in Europe

KEY LINKS - Everything you need in one place

📚 Knowledge Base: Acces to the knowledge base and discover all the learning materials

📝 Policy Recommendations: Read the recommendations made during the citizen assembly.

📄Read the report of the MultiPoD Policy Debate on Affordable Housing

What happened on 22 September

Housing affordability is one of Europe’s defining social, economic and political challenges. Shortly after the European Commission presented its Affordable Housing Act, citizens met directly with the policymakers and practitioners shaping Europe’s response, in a two-hour deliberative forum where everyone could take part in their own language.

The event was organised by the MultiPoD and IDEAL projects, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme.

Part I: From citizens’ recommendations to European policy. Citizens who took part in MultiPoD’s pan-European Citizens’ Assembly presented the five priorities they had co-designed:

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Bring vacant buildings back into use.

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Diversify housing models and strengthen rent protections.

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Link housing with social inclusion.

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Expand the supply of social housing.

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Reinvest tourism revenues in local communities.

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They discussed these with representatives of the European Commission’s Housing Task Force, the City of Vienna, the Stockholm Region EU Office and the Representation of Barcelona to the EU. The panel looked at how European, national, regional and local action can work together on housing. [Add one or two highlights from the debate, if you want.]

Throughout the session, participants gave live feedback using the Decidim platform, the webLyzard Analytics Dashboard and Democratic Reflection, so the room’s reactions could be captured and analysed as the debate unfolded.

Part II: Multilingual deliberation and policymaking. Led by the IDEAL project, the second part used the housing crisis as a case study for a broader question: how can open, multilingual citizen deliberation be translated into real policy? Policymakers and practitioners discussed what civic technology needs to offer decision-makers, what outputs they expect from deliberation platforms, and how to better connect with groups who are often left out of the conversation. [Add a sentence on the main takeaways or the resulting policy brief, if available.]

Keep the conversation going

The Assembly does not end here. The discussion continues on Decidim, where you can read the ideas shared by other participants, respond to them and add your own.