In 2017, I went to Amsterdam to the first ever International Public and Social Housing Festival. Public housing staff from over 20 different countries were present at events that lasted for over a week. I was the only American at the event and found the sessions and networking to be exciting and innovative in nature. First thing is first. The event is June 4-8th in Lyon, France. You can find out more here- Now here are three reasons you should attend.

1. Best practices from International Perspective: I love NAHRO and CLPHA conferences. However; you will not learn how the French are supporting residents finding work at these conferences. You will not find out how the Portuguese are re-structuring rental programs to save money during a recession. You will not come up with new structures in contracting to find employment opportunities for residents from the Scottish.
2. Present Your Work to An International Crowd: I had the opportunity to present about education programs in Tacoma, homeless work in Seattle and give an overview of the entire public housing system in the USA. I was the only American and I would love to have company. You can message me or the event sponsors. Tell them about your FSS program successes, your new MTW programs. Tell them about your housing authority’s connections and collaboration with the homeless systems or Medicaid systems. I was surprised to learn that many of our colleagues from around the world did not know America even had social housing.
3. Life Long Friends: I met amazing people who are passionate about social housing in the same way I am in. The co-ower/editor of this website Pepijn and I created the website Housing Futures together. We met at the festival in 2017. I routinely email with colleagues from Housing Europe. I email with housing staff in Scotland, Estonia, Thailand and Taiwan. I plan on visiting some friends after attending the festival in their home countries. These are connections that can help you setup future meetings, visits and tours.

I recommend you head over. Please feel free to connect with me here or at jcrites007@gmail.com for more questions or if you want to plan a session.