Last Saturday, April 26th, we celebrated the 3rd Meeting of Members of Sostre Cívic at the Nau Bostik in Barcelona. Nearly 200 people participated in an intense and exciting day, full of reflections, learning and meeting spaces.

1- We opened the day by reflecting on racism and housing. The activist Safia El Aaddam and the journalist Xavier Giró They reminded us that racism is structural and affects fundamental rights such as access to housing. It was emphasized that institutional racism is not the result of ignorance, but a conscious policy of discrimination that must be combated collectively and that conditions fundamental rights such as access to housing.

2- We delved into the roots of real estate capitalism and the risk of the far right. Carmen Arcarazo, spokesman for Union of Tenants, denounced the political blackmail that uses fear of the far right to justify inaction on housing, pointing out that the lack of courageous policies fuels social unrest. Miguel Ruiz, member ofDESCA Observatory, agreed that, as long as housing remains a speculative asset, it will continue to fuel and open the door to the far right.

3- We discussed how to combat racism in communities. Fátima Taleb, David Karvala and Luz Helena Ramirez, from Migration, focused on the need to build anti-racist communities, based on equity and the recognition of differences. They stressed that the anti-racist fight must be everyone's responsibility. These reflections highlighted the need to address racism not only from personal awareness, but also from the transformation of social and economic structures, and the need to have tools and protocols to address racist conflicts in communities, at all levels.

4- We experienced how coexistence is built or broken. In the workshop facilitated by Mercedes Estebanez of the DiP cooperative We experienced how privileges and inequalities permeate our daily lives. Being aware of our own privileges is very important to create just and diverse community spaces.

5- We began to decide how we want to grow as a cooperative. In the corporate debates we addressed three major issues: the extension of the right of use for cohabiting partners, establishing what time limit and what replacement criteria; the exchange of homes within the same project, prioritizing transparency and seniority rights; and the territorial development plan, focusing on promoting new housing projects in large municipalities, with a consolidated network and access by public transport, while continuing to focus on affordable housing that guarantees social diversity. All of these debates will have to be specified and approved at the next Ordinary General Assembly, which was already announced to be on Saturday, June 14th at Bloc4BCN, in the Can Batlló de Sants (Barcelona) area.

6- Humor can also be a powerful tool for dismantling prejudices. We laughed and got emotional with Rocío Quillahuaman and his sharp and committed humorThe comedian closed the morning with a monologue written for the occasion, addressing racism from a personal and critical perspective. He reminded us that humor can also be a powerful tool to dismantle prejudices and break silences.

7- Nearly 80 expectant members took the first step towards a project. In the knowledge space we created the first connections between expectant members: we learned about ongoing projects and groups with vacancies, shared expectations and better understood the path to go from expectant member to coexistence member.

8- We left with the conviction and strength to build an anti-racist cooperative roof. The meeting reaffirms our founding idea: cooperative housing must not only guarantee shelter, but do so from an inclusive, anti-racist and social transformation model. Our communities must be spaces of welcome, equity and resistance to discrimination, and a driver of change to eradicate social injustice.

Thank you to everyone who participated in making such a lively, committed and transformative day possible! Let's continue to build, together, a cooperative, anti-racist and inclusive roofSee you on June 14th at the Assembly!

👁️ CHECK OUT THE GALLERY OF IMAGES FROM THE MEETING: