This training has been postponed. Until further notice the information below won’t be valid.
Date: Tuesday, 12th December
Time: 9:30 – 17:30 (CET)
Location: Vienna, Austria
The upcoming SIFTA workshop “Supporting the development of Social Housing as Ethical Banks or Social Finance Intermediaries: challenges and best practices in CEE Region” will take place in Vienna on December 12th, and forms part of a broader series coordinated by FEBEA where we delve into various aspects of financing social housing sector.
Housing has become a defining social issue of our times that affects all people and communities. Rising housing prices, stagnating wages, demographic pressures and declining public investment in housing in many countries are increasingly challenging housing affordability.
Beyond the significant differences across countries in the definition, size, scope, target population and type of provider of social housing, this workshop will focus on the financing of quality and affordable social housing, from very social aimed at particularly challenged communities, to social housing for low income households, highlighting challenges and best practices in the CEE region.
This event will feature 4 experienced and meaningful speakers. It will be moderated by Barbara Scheck and Clémentine Blazy from the European Center for Social Finance and Gian-Luca Gasparini from FEBEA with inputs throughout the sessions.
Amongst the expected speakers we can find:
- Raphael Lehmann, Impact Investment Manager at Erste Group (Erste Social Finance Holding), will present Erste Group’s activities to support very social housing operators in Central and Eastern Europe.
- Mikulas Kresanek, co-founder of Socialni Inovatori will share the vision of a social investor on the sector in its region (Slovakia) and the projects they support
- Kurt Hofstetter, Head of Strategic Projects and International Affairs at the Wohnbauforschung for the City of Vienna, will outline how the city promotes the development of social housing, particularly for the most excluded, through programmes such as Housing 1st.
- Christina Lenart, referent policy work for Neunerhaus will shed light on the specific hurdles related to access to housing that they address, as an organisation focused on securing sustainable housing for homeless people and people at risk of poverty. The roadblocks that had to be overcome in terms of funding and operating to actually start and sustain the organisation will be adressed.
Agenda
9:30 – 10:00 – Arrival and registration
10:00 – 10:30 – Introduction to the workshop and agenda Barbara Scheck, Clémentine Blazy, European Center for Social Finance. Introduction of participants
Stefanie Schock – Erste Asset Management
She is part of the responsible investment team at Erste Asset Management since 2016 and is implementing ESG research in general, with a special focus on impact funds like ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT and ERSTE GREEN INVEST. Topics of the funds are key technologies for the energy transition, such as renewable energies, storage technologies or e-mobility. Other core competences are engagement & voting with emphasis on Erste AM’s sustainable voting policy. Before joining the company, Stefanie graduated as environmental economist and worked for the World Wide Fund for Nature in the area of sustainable finance.
