10 minutes with João Carvalhosa, President of CECODHAS Portugal
Meet the faces behind housing providers across Europe
Lisbon, 18 June 2015 | Social, Urban, Economy, Energy
Every month we introduce you to one of the people leading the work of our member organisations. In this edition, just a couple of weeks before the Housing Europe General Assembly there, we head to Lisbon to introduce you to the President of our Portuguese member organisation CECODHAS Portugal, João Carvalhosa.
CECODHAS Portugal ID
- I would describe CECODHAS Portugal in 10 words as the umbrella organization of (almost) all social housing providers in Portugal.
- Our key objective is to gather the different positions of our members, establish a joint one and spread the word, nationally and internationally, as well as to promote the share of knowledge around housing issues.
- Apart from housing provision, our mission is to join the actors of Social Housing in Portugal, from Government to providers, and help build a common path with the objective of providing housing solutions for all.
- We are members of Housing Europe because it’s where the European action is! Housing Europe gives us the opportunity to discuss everything with other members and dig deeper regarding European issues and institutions.
In Portugal...
- Housing is considered to be in Portugal the most important thing for families, but the sector has suffered from the housing bubble and from bad planning, leaving about 700.000 empty homes, while more and more people are without a home...
- Our key partners in the country are the National Housing Institute for Housing and Rehabilitation, the municipalities/regional governments, cooperatives, and social providers.
- Our main housing policy priority at the moment is the approval of the National Housing Strategy.
- The major challenge for the country today is to have a balanced public budget that allow us to grow in economic terms and to give more social protection to those in need.
Personal
- I start my working day taking kids to school and then going to the company where I work, the major social housing provider in Portugal, managing about 23.000 dwellings.
- After leaving the office I go to work at a local authority where I’m elected and also to the Scout Association as I’m currently the Regional Leader of Lisbon; with 136 groups and more than 13.000 scouts.
- Currently I am reading... "Evangelii Ggaudium" of Pope Francis and “O Anjo Branco” from José Rodrigues dos Santos...
- ... while listening to Luisa Sobral and music spread in the house or in the car by my kids.
- I move around on a motorcycle.
- I prefer having around my table family and friends! On it I like Portuguese wine and typical Portuguese food!.
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