The European Policy Centre and EuroHealthNet are pleased to invite you to participate in the online Policy Lab ‘Beyond competitiveness – Housing as the foundation for healthy, inclusive and resilient communities’, organised in the framework of the MERGE Horizon Europe project.
- WHEN: 19 May 2026 from 9.30 to 12.00
- WHERE: online, the Zoom link will be shared with registered participants.
- REGISTER HERE BY 12 MAY.
Housing is a human right. But how do we move from ambition to action?
This Policy Lab will explore how the Affordable Housing Plan can help deliver healthier, more inclusive and affordable housing for all — and what it takes to make it work in practice.
Agenda
9:30 — Welcome and introduction
- Valentina Caimi, Senior Programme Manager, Health and Societal Resilience Programme, European Policy Centre (EPC)
- Silvia Ganzerla, Policy Manager, EuroHealthNet
9:45 — Setting the scene: Housing as the foundation for healthy, inclusive and resilient communities
- Moderator: Lieve Fransen, Senior Adviser, EPC
- The Affordable Housing Plan, Edit Lakatos, Policy Officer, Housing Task Force,
European Commission - Health promoting housing, Carlota Sáenz de Tejada, Staff Scientist, Barcelona
Institute for Global Health (ISGLOBAL) - Inclusive housing for all generations, Hans Dubois, Senior Research Manager,
Eurofound - Housing affordability and the role of sustainable finance, Sorcha Edwards,
Secretary General, Housing Europe - Q&A
10:45-11:45 — Three break-out parallel sessions:
- Theme 1: Health promoting housing: evidence, challenges and solutions, moderated by Silvia Ganzerla, Policy Manager, EuroHealthNet
- Theme 2: Inclusive housing for all generations: evidence, challenges and solutions, moderated by Valentina Caimi, Senior Programme Manager, EPC
- Theme 3: Housing affordability and sustainable finance: evidence, challenges and solutions, moderated by Lieve Fransen, Senior Adviser, EPC
- Participants will co-produce recommendations for policy implementation.
11:45 — Reporting back from the break-out sessions
- Conclusions, Silvia Ganzerla and Valentina Caimi
Join us!
These contributions will set the scene for the presentation and discussion of concrete experiences, challenges and policy solutions in break-out sessions. Participants will also engage in interactive breakout sessions to exchange experiences and co-create practical recommendations for implementation of housing policies at national and local levels.
Register by 12 May here.
For more information, please contact our colleague Valentina Caimi (EPC): v.caimi@epc.eu
