Celebrating a decade of innovation in participatory and cooperative housing
CoHabitat Network Annual Meeting in Geneva
Press release
24 September 2024
Geneva, Switzerland – The CoHabitat Network will celebrate its 10th anniversary by bringing together housing rights advocates from around the world in Geneva from 30 September to 4 October 2024. Marking a decade of pioneering work in participatory and cooperative housing, the event will feature a series of workshops, networking sessions, visits to housing cooperatives, and a major public conference on 1 October.
Founded in October 2014, the CoHabitat Network, coordinated by urbaMonde, has become a leading platform for inclusive and participatory affordable housing solutions, showcasing inspiring and innovative initiatives led by low-income communities around the world. This year’s annual meeting will bring together more than 40 organisations, primarily from civil society—including international coalitions, residents’ federations, and local and international NGOs—as well as academic institutions. The event will foster collaboration, celebrate shared achievements, and highlight the diversity and long-term sustainability of community-led housing.
Flagship event: public conference on 1 October
On 1 October, urbaMonde will host a public conference at the University of Geneva, showcasing four outstanding participatory housing initiatives from Senegal, Indonesia, Spain and Switzerland. These projects have each received the prestigious World Habitat Award in recognition of their groundbreaking approaches to housing justice and sustainability.
“The Social Production of Habitat goes beyond simply building homes; it is about empowering communities and creating sustainable urban spaces that respond to residents’ needs,” says Léa Oswald, administrator and project manager at urbaMonde. “We are delighted to share these inspiring stories with the public in Geneva and to discuss the conditions needed for these models to flourish on a global scale.”
Event information:
Public conference: Social production of housing around the world
Date and time: 1 October 2024, 18:30 – 20:30 CET
Venue: Uni Mail, room MR280, University of Geneva
For further information, or to arrange a meeting or interview with our guests, please contact:
Nadia Gianoli
Communication manager
nadia.gianoli@urbamonde.org
+41 76 679 8380
List of participants:
urbaMonde
urbaMonde is a Franco-Swiss non-profit association that promotes the role of residents in the production of inclusive and sustainable cities. Its mission is to support and strengthen the capacity for collective action among organised groups of residents, and to assist technical partners in the production of cities by and for their inhabitants.
urbaMonde works at international level through cooperation projects in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The organisation also coordinates the CoHabitat Network, which brings together around thirty civil society organisations engaged in advocacy and the implementation of Social Production of Habitat around the world.
CoHabitat Network
The CoHabitat Network is an informal, non-profit network of civil society organisations and their allies that promote community-led solutions in response to both global and local manifestations of the housing crisis. It represents a global movement of actors involved in Social Production of Habitat (SPH), based on the exchange of experiences, documentation, research, and joint advocacy.
Social Production of Habitat (SPH)
SPH is a process through which residents play a leading role in meeting their own housing needs. With the support of other actors, they join forces to plan, finance, build or renovate, and collectively manage housing, shared spaces and facilities. In doing so, they exercise their Right to the City and help shape their built environment, making it sustainably affordable and safe for future generations.
