Czech Human Rights Minister opens important expert conference on social housing

On Friday, 16 September, an expert conference entitled “Social housing:  Sharing practices and draft legislation” was held at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and attended by academic experts, representatives of organizations involved in social housing, and social workers. The conference discussed experiences and practical problems, familiarizing those present with the current draft of legislative changes in this area.

“I see this conference as a technical debate about the planned law on social housing. Now the bill is in the commenting phase and it is important that its provisions be comprehensible to all stakeholders,” Jan Milota of the Platform for Social Housing told news server Romea.cz.

The conference was held by the Department for Social Inclusion, part of the agenda of Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier, who is the co-sponsor of the law on social housing now being drafted and who personally opened the conference. “Social housing is a key instrument in the area of social inclusion. The current Government is aware of the necessity for anchoring this phenomenon in legislation, which is why its Concept on Social Housing was approved, and why intensive negotiations are ongoing about the social housing law… . I believe the adoption of this law will alleviate many of the barriers that have been mentioned. Your experiences are crucial to its success in practice as well,” the minister told those assembled.

Representatives of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion presented their planned “Thematic Network for Social Housing”, the purpose of which is meant to be facilitating communications and the exchange of practical experience at all levels, from the local level to that of various ministries. In addition to practical information about the law on social housing now being drafted, the Agency and representatives of the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry presented information about the ministry’s pilot projects in this area.

The program also focused on the current tasks that must be undertaken with respect to solving the problems that socially excluded persons have with housing and the provision of housing benefits. Those attending the seminar were also familiarized in detail with one of the Czech Republic’s first innovative projects in social housing, Brno’s “Rapid Rehousing” project.