Green-Red Dialogues: Who Owns the Future? Youth, Housing and Cost of Life

For young people across Europe, rising housing costs, precarious employment and the cost-of-living crisis are making it increasingly difficult to build an independent future. What happens when an entire generation struggles to access affordable housing and decent living conditions? And how can we turn growing frustration into collective action and political change?

Join us in Barcelona for Green Red Dialogues 2026, an intergenerational exchange exploring the housing crisis, social inequalities and the political choices shaping young people’s futures across Europe.

About the event

Across Europe, access to affordable housing, job insecurity and rising living costs are increasingly shaping young people’s opportunities, independence and expectations for the future. Beyond deepening social inequalities, these challenges are also fuelling political discontent and raising fundamental questions about Europe’s ability to guarantee social rights and wellbeing.

Against a backdrop of growing youth mobilisation and a changing European political landscape, the Green European Foundation, in collaboration with Fundació Nous Horitzons, invites young people, researchers, civil society representatives and political actors to Barcelona on 12 December 2026 for a day of reflection and intergenerational dialogue. Drawing on experiences of housing movements, youth activism and political responses across Europe, the discussions will explore the structural causes of the housing and cost-of-living crises, the role of public policy and collective organising, and the alternatives emerging across different European countries.

How can we guarantee the right to housing and decent living conditions? What would a socially just and ecologically sustainable response look like? And how can growing frustration be transformed into shared political demands and collective action? Through panel discussions and participatory exchanges, Green Red Dialogues 2026 will create space to connect experiences across generations and borders, explore common solutions and reflect on the future we want to build for Europe.

Programme

Saturday 12 December 2026 

10:00–10:15 | Welcome and introduction

10:15–11:15 | Discussion – A Generation Without a Future? What Is Going Wrong in Europe?

Housing, the cost of living and the political consequences of inequality. Exploring how economic insecurity is shaping the expectations of younger generations and transforming Europe’s social and political landscape.

11:15–11:30 | Live podcast conversation

11:30–12:00 | Coffee break

12:00–13:00 | Discussion – Housing Is Not a Business: What Is Europe Doing?

Public policies, housing movements and European approaches to guaranteeing the right to housing. Bringing together research, grassroots organising and practical experiences from across Europe.

13:00–13:30 | Open dialogue – From Frustration to Action: What Future Do We Want to Build?

An interactive exchange exploring how youth movements, civil society organisations and Green actors can build alliances and develop shared demands and strategies.

13:30–13:45 | Collective reflections and closing

14:00–15:30 | Networking lunch

Programme and speakers are being finalised.

Practicalities

Date: Saturday 12 December 2026
Time: 10:00–15:30
Venue: CCOO Catalunya headquarters, Vía Laietana 16, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
Language: TBC
Participation: Registration details will be announced soon.

This event is organised by the Green European Foundation, in collaboration with Fundació Nous Horitzons and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.