People's Housing Conference

The People’s Housing Conference – Building a Movement for Homes

London Saturday October 10 2015

Friends Meeting House 173 – 177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ

Website and registration here

(please register now (free) as this will help the organisers get a sense of how many are coming and how large the workshops are likely to be).

Facebook event here please invite all your friends and contacts

A full list of speakers to the conference can be seen here

Please forward this message to all members of your campaign or group  and to everyone you think would be interested.

Housing related campaigners are organising a conference which will take place on Saturday 10th October, at Friends Meeting House in Euston.

The event is being hosted by Unite, Unite Community and The People’s Assembly. It has been supported by UNISON, PCS, TUC young members, GMB young Members, Radical Housing Network, Generation Rent, Defend Council Housing, NUS, Unison, and Disabled People Against Cuts among others.

The housing crisis is one of the biggest issues we face right now in the UK, especially in London. The Housing Conference will be the largest and most comprehensive conference challenging mainstream policy agendas to take place in recent history. It will bring together key actors involved in seeking alternative solutions to the housing crisis, from resident activists, policy-makers, and politicians.

Aims

The conference aims to be the largest possible one-day gathering of housing movement organisations and individuals concerned about the housing crisis nationally. Its aims include:

·         To connect and strengthen the movement - deepening our solidarity

·         To arm ourselves with knowledge

·         To look at potential positive policy solutions, and pressure politicians and policymakers 

·         To raise the profile of the issues facing young people and private renters within the debate on housing 

·         To stimulate and promote action, e.g. a March for Housing, mobilisation for the MIPIM international property developers fair etc.

Workshops – list and details of what the workshops are covering  can be seen here:

Grassroots activists and local campaign groups will be involved in running a series of workshops, the subjects will include: 

An Estate Regeneration Campaigner’s Handbook

Rent Control; Rent is too High!

Local Councils? Can they Help?

Migration, Displacement and the Global Housing Crisis; 

Welfare reform: Resisting the Bedroom Tax, Stopping Social Cleansing

Young people and the housing crisis; 

Eviction resistance; 

Unions and communities campaigning together.

Homelessness: a practical guide to the problems faced and solutions to them

Resistance by design: Architects and Social Housing

The Economics of the housing crisis

Viability for Dummies

Housing rights for Migrants and Refugees

Plenaries & Keynote Speakers – see here

We have a number of speakers from housing campaigns, high profile speakers, including leading politicians, trade union leaders,

Future Action

The final session will involve conference attendees in deciding and initiating further action to be taken by the UKs growing housing movement, including action around MIPIM (the world’s largest international property development fair, being held again in London in October), and a national March for Homes

Straight after the Conference Streets Kitchen will be organising an event/action for homelessness in Euston Square for World Homelessness Day with music protest and solidarity

Draft Structure*

10.00   Intro – Housing: The Big Picture

11.15   Workshops (1)

12.30   Lunch

13.30   Workshops (2) and Political Questions & Answers session

14.45   Workshops (3)

16.00   Call to Action

17.00 Close (with possible Social to follow)

The exact structure of the day is still to be confirmed