On Friday, September 26, at 9 a.m. in the Great Hall of the Croatian Chamber of Economy in Zagreb, a conference called M² for the Future - Affordable and Sustainable Housing will take place under the motto “New generation of affordable housing - build smarter, live better”.
The conference is organised by Nikolina Brnjac, a Member of the European Parliament and the coordinator of the European People's Party in the Special Committee on the Housing Crisis (HOUS), the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb.
The aim of the event is to gather all key housing policy stakeholders - ranging from local, national and European institutions, academic and professional communities to the economy sector and citizens - in order to initiate a discussion on the future of housing in Croatia and the European Union. A special emphasis is put on the connection between housing policy, demography and the quality of life.
In the introductory part, Member of the European Parliament Nikolina Brnjac, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture Siniša Justić and President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Luka Burilović will welcome the participants. Keynote speeches by Deputy Prime Minister Branko Bačić, Minister Nataša Mikuš Žigman and Minister Marin Piletić will focus on the National Housing Policy Plan, social measures aimed at families and the possibility of using European funding.
From the European Commission, the participants will listen to
Matthew Baldwin, head of the EC working group for housing, who will give a presentation on European policies and financial instruments used by the European Commission to support solutions to the housing crisis, and Katarina Ivanković Knežević, Director for Social Rights and Inclusion, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission. From the EIB, the audience will listen to Luis Hebrero, head of division, Housing, Cities and Regions Department.
The conference will further focus on the role of local authorities in planning, construction and maintenance of dwellings, with speeches from Mayor of Split Tomislav Šuta and Mayor of Osijek Ivan Radić, County Prefect of Karlovac County Martina Furdek Hajdin, Mayor of Novska Marija Kušmiš, Deputy President of the City Assembly of Zagreb Mislav Herman and coordinator for Croatia Olga Pascenko. The audience will then listen to presentations about the best European experiences and architectural solutions given by architects Saša Bradić from Vienna, Branimir Medić from Amsterdam and Ivan Jovanović from London, followed by a presentation about financing models given by Pawel Krasny, a specialist for human capital and regional development from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The second part of the programme will centre on sustainable housing through presentations given by Prof. Alenka Delić and Asst. Prof. Vlasta Zanki from the University of Zagreb, Anđelka Toto Ormuž from Rockwool Adriatic and Snježana Turalija from GREENiKA.
The final part of the conference will focus on the presentation of the Gredelj urban regeneration project as an example of transforming a space into a new centre for quality living and housing in Zagreb. The project will be presented by architects Marko Dabrović (3 LHD) and Tihomil Matković (OPA d.o.o.).
The conference will be concluded by Ivana Katurić, the director of Urbanex and a member of the Housing Advisory Board of the European Commission.
The M
2 for the Future conference will gather all relevant stakeholders who can contribute to better housing affordability; from policymakers at the European, national and local levels to representatives of the academic and scientific communities, the professional and the economy sectors.
The participants will present the best practices and suggest solutions for energy efficient, ecologically responsible and affordable housing as an important component of quality living and demographic revitalisation across Croatia.
Participation is free, but the number of seats is limited. Registration is mandatory via the following
link or by contacting nikolina.brnjac@europarl.europa.eu.
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