ComActivate final conference - Tuesday, 29 September 2026

Tuesday, 29 September 2026

BIP Meeting Centre,
Salle des Guichets

Rue Royale 2-4, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

About ComActivate and what to expect on the day:

Everyone deserves a home that is warm in winter, cool in summer, and affordable all year round. Yet across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), millions live in energy-inefficient buildings that drive up costs, contribute to energy poverty, and increasingly struggle to cope with rising temperatures.

The buildings sector consumes 43% of energy across the EU, while 75% of buildings constructed before 2000 remain energy inefficient. In CEE, where around 60% of people live in multi-family apartment buildings, renovating these homes is critical but often hindered by complex ownership structures, financing challenges, and collective decision-making processes.

Over the past three years, ComActivate has worked with municipalities in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Lithuania to test how One Stop Shops can support residents through the renovation journey, while developing Neighbourhood Energy Sufficiency Roadmaps for affordable, climate-resilient communities.

This conference brings together EU policymakers, national and local representatives, civil society, and researchers to discuss what comes next. As new EU initiatives, including the Affordable Energy Action Plan and Citizens Energy Package, move into implementation, ComActivate's findings and recommendations offer practical insights into making affordable, resilient homes a reality for communities across Central and Eastern Europe.

Agenda

09:00-09:30 - Registration and light breakfast

09:30-09:45 - Welcome

• Zuzana Matusova, ComActivate Project Coordinator, Habitat for Humanity International

09:45-10:00 - Opening

• Emily Bankert, Senior Researcher, BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe)
• Belma Jahović, Senior Social Consultant, Eko Invest

10:00-11:00 - "Ending energy poverty, one multi-family apartment building at a time: The case for One Stop Shops"

10:00-10:10 - Opening speech

• Éva Gerőházi, Senior Researcher at Metropolitan Research Institute (MRI)

10:10-10:40 - Panel Discussion

• Anna Kerekgyarto, Józsefváros, Head of Department
• Ignas Simonaitis, Deputy Major, Kaišiadorys
• More TBA soon!

10:40-11:00 - Q&A

11:00-11:30 - Coffee Break

11:30-12:15 - "From homes to neighbourhoods: Scaling lessons learned and best practices from CEE"

Fishbowl discussion

• Johann Strese, Project Director at the Housing Initiative for Eastern Europe (IWO e. V.)

• Maarten De Groote, Programme Manager at VITO, oPEN Lab project coordinator

• Edit Lakatos, Policy Officer at the Housing Taskforce

• Empty chair (Take your seat and join the discussion!)

• Moderator: Emily Bankert

12:15-12:30 - Closing

• Zuzana Matusova

12:30-14:00 - Lunch + networking