Develop knowledge exchange and skills for the implementation of new social economy solutions to the social and environmental aspects of the housing energy crisis.

By implementing the SOCEC HOUSING project, we wanted to achieve several key outcomes that address the urgent housing and energy challenges faced by union members. One of the primary goals was to f...

By implementing the SOCEC HOUSING project, we wanted to achieve several key outcomes that address the urgent housing and energy challenges faced by union members. One of the primary goals was to foster knowledge exchange and peer learning between Hungarian trade unions, local organizations, and European experts. We recognized the need for Hungarian unions and organizations to learn from best practices in other European countries to identify and implement feasible, community-based solutions to the housing energy crisis. This exchange of knowledge was critical in equipping local stakeholders with insights into effective sustainable housing models and innovative approaches to energy efficiency. By training union staff and trainers, we aimed to give them the skills necessary to understand the housing and energy challenges their members face and to map out practical, sustainable solutions. These new skills would help unions to take proactive steps in addressing both short-term needs—such as managing rising energy costs—and long-term solutions (such as energy efficiency renovations).

In the SOCEC HOUSING project, we implemented several key activities aimed at addressing the housing and energy crisis through knowledge exchange, peer learning, and capacity building. First, we organized a hybrid workshop in September, connecting Hungarian unions, local organizations, and European experts. This workshop facilitated discussions on the housing and energy crises in Hungary and the EU, focusing on social economy solutions and identifying community-based approaches to these challenges. Participants exchanged best practices and explored potential solidarity-based responses. Second, we conducted a capacity-building study visit in Belgium, using a peer learning methodology to discuss housing and energy issues at local and European levels. Participants gained insights into sustainable models and shared feedback on the project’s draft handbook. Lastly, we developed a handbook summarizing the project’s findings, best practices, and the results of research on the situation of trade unionists. It outlines solidarity-based solutions and provides a replicable model for addressing housing and energy challenges, based on the knowledge exchanged and insights gained throughout the project.

One of our main achievements is that housing and energy have been included in the trade union agenda. On the one hand, they have learned about good practices abroad and representatives of foreign Europen organisations with whom they can later be in contact, in which we are actively involved. On the other hand, with the active involvement of trade union members and on the basis of a survey of trade union members, we identified a strategy, set short and long term objectives and presented them to trade union leaders and members. We are currently working on the first pilot project with an energy efficiency NGO and on integrating these sets of proposals into the trade union agenda. The union leadership, seeing that members are very committed to housing and energy issues, is open to cooperation, and we have already identified the first rural area where we will start the first energy-efficient advisory visits, which will be the first start of renovations with the active participation of members. In addition, a major achievement is that we have linked housing and energy organisations with trade unions and European peer organisations, forming a network where we are already writing to each other about further cooperation.