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At this year’s 38th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, leaders rallied around a bold and timely theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.” While reparations are often viewed through a financial lens, the summit emphasized the need for deeper structural change - addressing inequalities that continue to hold communities back.

One of those inequalities? Housing.

Cities across the Global South are on the frontline of climate impacts, yet the needs and voices of communities in informal settlements are often overlooked in climate research, policy responses, and financing. This gap was a central theme at the recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report on Climate Change and Cities (SRCities) workshop, held on the sidelines of the Africa Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN).

In cities across the Global South, people are increasingly pushed to the margins by insecure land tenure, climate displacement, and exclusion from urban planning. At the 2025 LANDac International Conference, Habitat for Humanity joined global changemakers

On 12 August, volunteer sector experts from across Africa gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to mark International Youth Day by celebrating the transformative power of volunteering. For the first time, the African Union recognized the contributions of volunteers across the continent by launching the State of Volunteerism in Africa Report.

The report positions volunteerism as a vital driver of Africa’s development aspirations, particularly in advancing Agenda 2063. It highlights that Africa contributes an estimated 5.9 million hours of voluntary service every month—valued at over USD 353.5 million annually. 

Empty Spaces News is the official hub for updates, articles, and insights on the project’s progress, featuring developments from both Poland and Great Britain.

Habitat for Humanity works with many foundations to eradicate poverty housing. Our foundation partners’ donations help us to continue providing families with homes and the hope of a better life. We are grateful for their kind support.

Habitat for Humanity works with many companies to eradicate poverty housing. Our corporate partners’ donations of funds or services help us to continue providing families with homes and the hope of a better life. We are grateful for their kind support.

The Resources page offers a curated collection of materials, guides, and tools to support and inform the Empty Spaces to Homes project.

For two remarkable days, Covent Garden became a gathering place where reflection, conversation and connection unfolded through art, storytelling and shared experiences. On May 29–30, Habitat for Humanity’s global public art installation Let’s Open the Door arrived in London, transforming one of the city’s busiest public spaces into an immersive experience exploring what home means, why it matters and why everyone deserves one. As one of only two international cities selected to host the campaign outside the United States, London joined a global movement that has already inspired audiences in New York, Washington D.C., Orlando, Atlanta and Chicago. Through striking artistic doors, real homeowner stories and opportunities for public participation, the installation invited thousands of people to consider a simple but profound question: What does home mean to you?

Across Europe, millions of buildings stand empty while people struggle to find affordable places to live. HFHI conducted this research to better understand which financial mechanisms and models are most effective in converting vacant spaces into affordable housing. Looking across different European cities, the study examines how tools like loans, grants, revolving funds, and blended finance actually perform in practice - and why some approaches succeed while others fall short.