Building stronger European partnerships
Housing Europe at the launch of the European Network for Housing & Urban Development
Bochum, 12 April 2016 | Published in Energy, Economy
The European Education Center for Housing and Real Estate Economy EBZ (Europäisches Bildungszentrum der Wohnungs- und Immobilienwirtschaft), a charitable foundation operating under the sponsorship of the Housing Europe German member organisation, GdW established on April 7th a network that aims to promote stronger and more effective partnerships within the framework of EU projects.
The Digital Agenda, demographics, energy transition and the refugee crisis are only some of the issues that affect the German social housing sector. These challenges generate at the same time needs for research and more skills that will help housing associations address them. This is the main reason why EBZ in close collaboration with GdW took the initiative to establish ENH in order to make better use of EU partnerships and funding opportunities.
On April 7th the inaugural meeting took place in Bochum focusing on “Housing and urban development in the EU context”. Representatives from the German political world, the national housing associations as well as civil society and other international organisations had the chance to explore collaboration opportunities and to start putting on paper ideas about projects that would allow them to tackle common challenges.
“With ENH we have created the professional infrastructure for the conception of European collaborative project proposals. Our goal is to network with the best suitable partners across the EU, so that we can exchange knowledge and experiences but also to support each other in carrying out innovative initiatives.”, explained the President of GdW, Axel Gedaschko in his opening statement.
Housing Europe Secretary General, Sorcha Edwards took part at the event. Sorcha presented on the one hand the added value that the European Federation of Public, Cooperative and Social Housing brings to EU projects based to its extensive experience, while she also had the chance to share with the rest of participants the housing related EU funding opportunities. Housing Europe has recently issued a guide on the use of Structural Funds for housing, while it is also the only organisation that offers to its members an online portal that monitors al developments around EU funds.
