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Since the end of last year, IWO has been supporting the Belarusian-German initiative for the development of local neighbourhoods, self-government and participation on the Telegram channel "Сity for citizens". This is a platform for exchange of experience and cooperation between the Belarusian and German initiatives, organizations and interested citizens. The goal is to create a creative, comfortable and safe environment for the residents of Belarusian cities.

We are interested in attracting more German and international experts and practitioners who are willing to share their experience in the development of the participation processes and neighbourhood projects. If you would like to participate in this initiative, please join the Telegram channel and/or contact Tanja Hartenstein | hartenstein@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802.

Since the end of last year, IWO has been supporting the Belarusian-German initiative for the development of local neighbourhoods, self-government and participation on the Telegram channel "Сity for citizens" (https://t.me/cityforcitizens). This is a platform for exchange of experience and cooperation between the Belarusian and German initiatives, organizations and interested citizens. The goal is to create a creative, comfortable and safe environment for the residents of Belarusian cities.

We are interested in attracting more German and international experts and practitioners who are willing to share their experience in the development of the participation processes and neighbourhood projects. If you would like to participate in this initiative, please join the Telegram channel and/or contact Tanja Hartenstein | hartenstein@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802.

The book resulted from the project "Revitalization and renovation of large prefabricated housing estates: Learning from East Germany". The project was funded as a German Chancellor Scholarship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and implemented with the support of the Competence Center Large-Scale Housing Estates.

The book deals with how urban planners and city managers can further develop the large housing estates on the outskirts of the city. The book is for the Russian public and is therefore only available in Russian. It is based on long hours of reading planning documents in German, conversations with dozens of experts, mile-long visits to large housing estates in various German cities.

IWO contributed by providing materials and information especially related to Chapter 8: Technical modernization and energetic renovation of apartment buildings.

IWO starts with German & Georgian partners an online training series on the topic "Building Manager". The trainings are conducted by German experts of the „European Education Center for Housing and Real Estate” (EBZ) and the Hanseatic Parliament. The aim of the programme is to raise awareness of the Building Manager / Caretaker profession and present new maintenance services for building maintenance and operation.

More than 40 Georgian participants from administration, vocational schools, construction and housing industry will be trained in eight events from 24 November to 18 December 2020.

The trainings are implemented in the framework of the project "Master of My House - Share Good Perspectives" that is realised by IWO together with the NGOs CHCA and & EDEC based in Kutaisi and Tbilisi, the non-profit foundation EBZ in Bochum and the Hanseatic Parliament e.V. from Hamburg. The project is funded by the Federal Foreign Office (AA) as part of the programme “Expanding Cooperation with Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia”.

For further information please contact Johann Strese | strese@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

IWO launches the project "Master of My House - Share good Perspectives" funded by the German Foreign Office. The project provides young Georgian internally displaced persons (IDPs) with specialized knowledge in the field of housing & construction and offers them a professional perspective. The project will be realized by IWO e.V. together with the NGOs "CHCA" & "EDEC" based in Kutaisi and Tbilisi, the EBZ Foundation and the Hanseatic Parliament e.V. from April 2020 to June 2021. It builds on previous projects "Master of my House" (2018, 2019) by developing the janitor training in Georgia into an officially recognized teaching program and making the training accessible to all Georgian vocational schools. In a virtual series of events vocational school teachers and other multipliers are trained to integrate the training topics at their schools. In addition, people from Abkhazia will receive professional training about the construction or housing sector in Kutaisi, Georgia. This will help them to reach for better career opportunities and higher income.

For further information please contact Johann Strese | strese@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

On October 07, 2020 the training programme for the specialists from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan who are involved in the process of introducing professional education on the profession `housing manager` was opened by an online event.

Silvia Pietropaolo, Programme Manager, Turkmenistan and Regional Programs, Operation Section, Delegation of EU to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan opened the event and presented EU activities in Central Asia designed to strengthen the competitiveness of small businesses.

The main modules of the first part of the programme (40 hours) - residential property justification and management / building structures and building engineering systems / energy efficiency in buildings / energy modernisation / communication / digitalisation - were presented by Rüdiger Grebe, Director of the Academy of the European Educational Centre for the Housing and Real Estate Industry (EBZ), Germany. The total number of hours of the entire program is 256.

The event provided an opportunity for representatives of the relevant ministries in the partner countries to share their experience in the field of housing-related reforms. There was mutual understanding between all speakers on the issues of personnel development and training. The sustainable professionalisation and qualification of housing management is conjointly supported. This conviction was reinforced by the presentation of Martin Kaßler, Director, The Association of Property Managers in Germany (VDIV), in which he talked about the challenges of the management profession in the context of climate change and the rise of the digital age. The energy modernisation of residential buildings and the digitalisation of the housing industry make it necessary for managers to develop new competences, skills and training. This profession has great potential for development and growth in the partner countries of this project!

For further information please contact Larissa Schreckenbach | schreckenbach@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

IWO starts this Autumn as partner in the new H2020 project - ComAct - Community Tailored Actions for Energy Poverty Mitigation beginns. Consortium of total 10 partners with compulsory skills and expertise will work on the best actions for Energy Poverty Mitigation.

The countries in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and in the former Soviet Union republics (CIS region) have the most energy-poor people in Europe. Main reasons contributing to energy poverty for people with low income are due to high energy prices and poor energy efficiency of the buildings, building heating systems and household appliances. The ComAct project is focusing on these regions and in particular on their specificity that the housing stock (characterised with large percentage of multi-family apartment blocks) is predominantly in private ownership and consequently energy-poor households live in their privately-owned apartments. To address the complex roots of energy poverty, there is a need to develop a new approach in order to influence the energy costs substantially and make the energy efficiency (EE) interventions affordable, and consequently reduce the high energy poverty level in the CEE and CIS region.

The ComAct project aims to make high-impact/high-cost energy-efficient improvements in multi-family apartment buildings in the CEE and CIS regions affordable and manageable for energy-poor communities as well as to create the necessary assistance conditions for lifting them out of energy poverty.

To achieve this main goal, firstly, an approach to identification and selection of energy-poor communities is developed, followed by interventions in three main dimensions: 1) empowering and activating the communities of homeowners’ associations; 2) developing/adapting financial tools that provide financing for low income families; and 3) optimising technical solutions that provide most favourable cost-benefit ratio for the energy efficient improvements at a multi-family apartment building level. In order to demonstrate applicability, benefits and potential for alleviating energy poverty, 5 pilot cases take place in Hungary, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Lithuania and Ukraine.

For further information please contact Inga Rovbutas | rovbutas@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

The bilingual handbook "The Housing Industry in Central Asia" is the result of two projects in the course of which the Initiative Wohnungswirtschaft Osteuropa (IWO) e.V. and the European Training Center for the Housing and Real Estate Industry (EBZ) - for many years a member and board member of the IWO - were able to combine their strengths and expertise.

In the project Professional Housing Management in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (Pro House), which IWO carried out from 2016 to 2019 with EU funding, the EBZ Business School was closely involved together with the research institute InWIS as a partner. Thanks to the experience gained there in setting up property management in the two Central Asian countries, EBZ Business School had the opportunity to successfully apply to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for the Sustainable Cities - Urban Development Perspectives for Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (SuCiPUK) project. A central component of this project was the implementation of two so-called Travelling Conferences at the locations of the two involved university partners in Almaty/Kazakhstan and Tashkent/Uzbekistan. Thanks to the synergies between Pro House and SuCiPUK it was possible to organize three-day conferences in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: Together with the Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering (KazGASA) and in Uzbekistan with the Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering (TASI), the importance and added value of 'professional housing management' and 'energy-efficient refurbishment of housing stock' in the context of sustainable urban development were demonstrated. In the wake of the conferences, the EBZ came up with the idea of a publication entitled "Housing in Central Asia", which incorporated two comprehensive reports from the EU's Pro House project: "Improving Housing Management and Housing Conditions in Uzbekistan in the Light of the Ongoing Housing Policy Reform Process" and "Housing Reform in Kazakhstan - Problems and Perspectives". Both reports were written by German experts in cooperation with the Central Asian partners. In this way, the publication expresses the great added value and benefits of cross-project cooperation and mutual support and the resulting synergy effects.

For further information please contact Larissa Schreckenbach | schreckenbach@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

In July and August, the partner countries of the PROMHOUSE project - Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan - hosted webinars, which were organized jointly with IWO and the European Training Centre for Housing and Real Estate (EBZ), Bochum.

The target groups of the webinars were the members of the working groups, that were initiated as part of PROMHOUSE:

group CURRICULUM to develop a curriculum for vocational colleges for housing managers
group STANDARD to improve professional standards for the housing manager and caretaker.

The groups were composed of representatives of relevant ministries, housing management associations, educational institutions and business practitioners.

Webinar 1 "Dual Education in Germany. Profession - Real Estate Agent" introduced the participants to the vocational education system and training in this field. This experience will be useful for developing vocational education for housing managers in partner countries.

In both countries, it is also planned to introduce the profession of "caretaker". The caretaker is the housing manager’s “right hand”, or as they say in Germany, "the good soul of the house". His task is to identify possible technical problems in the house and to solve them. Webinar 2 was dedicated to this topic. The job "caretaker" has already been addressed and successfully promoted by IWO in several projects in Belarus. Already in the predecessor project PRO HOUSE, the Central Asian countries have shown great interest in this topic. Since the beginning of 2020, the PROMHOUSE partners have therefore actively included this topic in their project activities.

It is planned to introduce this professional standard in both partner countries, as well as in Belarus. The webinars, which presented not only German but also Belarusian experiences, are intended to motivate and guide the working groups in this regard.

For further information please contact Larissa Schreckenbach | schreckenbach@iwoev.org | +49 (0)30 2067 9802

Since 2015, the German Energy Agency (dena) has been devoting itself to the topic of energy-efficient refurbishment of residential buildings in Ukraine with the model project "German-Ukrainian Efficient Houses", which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi). To conclude the project, dena and its partners, including IWO, organised a series of three online symposia on the potential and future of energy-efficient refurbishment in Ukraine. Renowned German and international experts presented the findings from the past five years and discussed the need for action in Ukraine as well as practical examples from other countries.

The series started on 30 July 2020 around the topic of "Further development of energy-efficient refurbishment in Ukraine". After an impulse on the opportunities and challenges of energy-efficient refurbishment in Ukraine, expert discussions followed on technical and financial framework conditions and on suitable refurbishment models such as the individual refurbishment roadmap.

The second colloquium on "Energy and economic efficiency" followed on 27 August and focused on the economic aspects and significance of energy efficiency.

The series ended on 30 September with the colloquium "Professionalisation of refurbishment processes". After an impulse from Germany on the organisation of refurbishment processes, Latvian, Ukrainian and German experts were invited to exchange views. The main focus was on the role of apartment owners in refurbishment processes.

For further information please contact Alena Piatrouskaya | piatrouskaya@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

In this extraordinary year of events, the annual Energy Forum West will be held digitally for the first time, opening up a view and perspective to the East. The great potential and demand in the Eastern European region for energy efficiency, climate protection and decarbonisation is of great importance, not least for the implementation of the Green Deal and the announced Renovation Wave. Therefore, the webinar "Housing and Urban Development in Eastern Europe: In Transition for more Energy Efficiency and Sustainability - Same goals, different challenges and a lot of potential for the construction supply industry -" was also part of the comprehensive programme, which will spread over several days. The webinar took place online on 19 August 2020 from 3 pm till 4 pm (via the EBZ conference tool). IWO and dena held keynotes.

For further information, please contact Knut Höller | hoeller@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

On 17 June 2020, the OECD presented its stocktaking and recommendations for Latvia's housing policy online. The event was well attended and included keynotes by Latvia's President Egils Levits and the Minister for Economy Jānis Vitenberg.

For the first time in Latvia's history after the country's (second) independence in 1991, an international organisation and the Latvian government have carried out an in-depth study of the housing sector - which is in great need of reform and characterised by an individual ownership rate of a good 95 percent. The Latvian government has committed itself to develop a strategy and instruments to help improve the situation on the housing market.

A particular challenge is to provide adequate housing for the so-called 'missing middle class', which comprises about 44 percent of the Latvian population and whose income is either too high to qualify for social housing or too low to obtain a mortgage loan. The energy-efficient renovation of the building stock, which remains at a low level, is also one of the outstanding tasks for the future.

On behalf of the OECD, IWO was involved as an expert in the preparation of the study and the recommendations for reforming the housing market.

For further information please contact Knut Höller | hoeller@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

In the second half of 2020, the project "Development of innovative instruments for professional housing management in Belarus" will start with the support of the Belarus Promotion Programme (Förderprogramm Belarus, FpB). The aim is to establish, strengthen and professionalise cooperation of relevant institutions in the field of housing, especially between associations of home-owner associations and municipal housing management companies. The current political and sectoral conditions favour this project and offer good conditions for the development of necessary and sustainable market and innovation structures.

For further information, please contact Bernhard Schwarz | schwarz@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

A good year after the completion of the SOL project, the topic has gained further relevance in Lithuania. SOL analysed the technical, social and legal conditions for the increasing introduction and implementation of renewable energy technologies in the country. Activitites resultet in recommendations that are still influencing the political and professional discourse and can contribute to the further promotion and use of renewable energies in Lithuania, especially solar energy.

For further information, please contact Inga Rovbutas | rovbutas@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

At the regular board election during IWO's General Assembly on 26 May 2020 - which took place online for the first time - the high-ranking composition and good work of IWO's Board was confirmed. The Board has been supporting our association with great commitment and energy since the end of 2016.

Klaus Leuchtmann, Chairman of the Board of the European Training Centre for the Housing and Property Industry (EBZ), was re-elected as Chairman of IWO's Board. Hans-Jürgen Gaudig PhD, Partner of the Berlin-based Engineering Company BBP Bauconsulting mbH, was also confirmed in his previous position as Deputy Chairman of the Board. Knut Höller will continue to manage IWO's businesses as Managing Director.

Additionally, IWO's Board consists of the following members for the coming three-year term of office:

Axel Gedaschko, President of GdW Bundesverband deutscher Wohnungs- und Immobilienunternehmen
Andreas Kuhlmann, Chairman of the Management Board of the German Energy Agency (dena)
Ulrich Fischer, Managing Director Global & Developing Markets at ista international

Since 2016, Thomas Zinnöcker, CEO of ista international, had represented ista in IWO's Board. Prior to IWO's 2020 General Assembly, he proposed his dismissal and the candidature of Ulrich Fischer. Ulrich Fischer had previously stepped in for Mr Zinnöcker at Board Meetings, and his responsibilities at ista also span a large part of IWO's target regions.

IWO is proud and happy to have renowed experts and strong networks at its side with its board members in the future. We are looking forward to working with them over the next three years.

For further information please contact Saskia Lührs | luehrs@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

In Ukraine, owner-occupiers in apartment buildings play a key role for refurbishment, as they own almost the entire housing stock in the country. However, many owners do not feel responsible for the maintenance of the common property (basement, entrance, roof, facade). Furthermore, there is a lack of strategic management and financial capacity to implement complex energy efficiency measures.

The "Recommendations for homeowners on how to carry out energy efficiency retrofitting" have been developed to help homeowners understand their role and options in modernising a residential building and to guide them through all the important steps: from the initiative to the completion of the construction works. Not only for owners, but also for housing managers, the publication proves useful because both sides will initiate, organise and take responsibility for modernisation processes. The recommendations were published in Russian and produced as part of the project "German-Ukrainian Efficient Houses", which is being carried out by the German Energy Agency (dena) in cooperation with IWO and the Kompetenzzentrum Großsiedlungen e.V. with support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The project provides comprehensive support to homeowners and decision-makers in the Ukraine in the field of housing and residential building refurbishment, including recommendations for energy-efficient refurbishment, visualisations of building conditions before and after refurbishment, targeted surveys and awareness-raising measures as well as specialist seminars for project participants and other target groups.

For further information please contact Tanja Hartenstein | hartenstein@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

The PROMHOUSE project was launched at the beginning of 2020, following on from the work and results of the Pro House project: Like its successful predecessor, which was completed at the end of 2019, PROMHOUSE is concerned with the professionalisation of housing management in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with the aim of rolling out possible approaches and solutions in other Central Asian countries. The activities focus on the development of an education and training offer for "Housing Managers" and corresponding curricula as well as their later introduction in selected educational institutions in both project countries. Economic implications and potentials that lie in the definition and development of the profession "Housing Manager" are also to be investigated for both countries and market actors in this field are to be strengthened. The kick-off conference will take place in Almaty, the date will be published here in due time.

PROMHOUSE is funded by the European Union (Central Asia Invest V). In addition to project manager IWO, the European Training Centre for the Housing and Real-Estate Industry (EBZ) is a German project partner. Partner in Uzbekistan is the Association of organizations of professional housing management and services funds (Tashkent), Kazakhstan is represented in the partnership by the SHANYRAK Association of management entities, services and energy services in the housing sector (Nur-Sultan).

For further information please contact Larissa Schreckenbach | schreckenbach@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

The conclusion of the Pro House project at the beginning of 2020 was used by the project partners and supporters to recapitulate the milestones and major successes since the start of the project in 2016 and present them to a wide circle of experts.

IWO developed, managed and implemented the project, which was funded by the EU, together with Kazakh, Uzbek and other German partners. The final conference took place in Tashkent on 3 December 2019.

The main aim of the project was to professionalise the housing industry and in particular housing management in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in a sustainable manner - and thus also to pave the way for future, expert renovation projects for more energy efficiency and climate protection in buildings. In addition, the revival of the market for housing management and the promotion of small and medium-sized service companies also contributes in the long term to an improved range of services for housing owners and an increase in quality of housing management. New work areas and workplaces are further advantages.

Key measures included training series for various stakeholders, the staff of administration companies and associations, competitions as an incentive and sensitisation for the project topics at all levels involved, legislative initiatives and proposals for possible reforms, consultations with local, regional and national decision-makers in both countries as well as various publications and conferences. With the participation of various Pro House project partners, standards for training and further education in housing management were improved and new ones introduced.

Altogether, a good 370 participants received further training on almost 70 training days during the course of the project and, as part of an information campaign, 10 public events were held in 6 Kazakh and 7 Uzbek cities with a good 550 participants. Pro House welcomed representatives and experts from Central Asia as well as from the Baltic States, Ukraine and the Caucasus at five international conferences.

The results of the various Pro House activities provided a sound basis and direct connection possibility for a future project, which will further deepen and consolidate the work done so far: PROMHOUSE started in 2020 for a period of three years and is also co-financed by EU funds.

For further information please contact Larissa Schreckenbach | schreckenbach@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

At the end of the EUKI-funded project "Further training of managers for urban redevelopment in Lithuania" the results were published in the form of a brochure. The brochure contains the neighbourhood concepts drafted by the participating municipalities. These were developed as part of the project and further training. The brochure also includes questions, answers and overviews of integrated neighbourhood and urban development.

IWO and the State Agency for Housing and Energy Efficiency BETA implemented the project funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) in Lithuania between October 2017 and February 2020.

For further information please contact Inga Rovbutas | rovbutas@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

To conclude the VITAL project, which was dedicated to the topic of professional housing management in the Lviv region of Ukraine, the project team organised a final conference in Lviv on 25 February. It was attended by representatives from the field of housing management as well as by political decision-makers and experts from Germany and Ukraine, who were presented a comprehensive conference programme on professional housing management, discussions on the conditions and contents for the professional qualification of housing managers, and legal aspects. IWO was represented by its member, lawyer Thomas Ruhland, who actively contributed to the programme.

VITAL provided young people and internally displaced persons from Ukraine with specialist knowledge of building management and a career perspective. Together with the NGO "Research Centre for Local Self-Government" in Lviv, in cooperation with the European Training Centre for the Housing and Real-Estate Industry (EBZ) and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, IWO implemented the project between June 2019 and February 2020. The activities also strengthened links between German and Ukrainian NGOs in the field. Besides a study tour to Germany, measures included the development of a basic curriculum (72 hours) for residential building managers and four seminars in Ukraine.

For further information please contact Larissa Schreckenbach | schreckenbach@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

As part of the VITAL project, which is dedicated to the topic of professional housing management in the Lviv region of Ukraine, a study tour to the European Training Centre for the Housing and Real-Estate Industry (EBZ) in Bochum took place at the end of January. The ten participants from Lviv are the best of the previous further training to become a "housing manager", which has been held in the Ukraine with the involvement of German experts since June 2019.

VITAL provided young people and internally displaced persons from Ukraine with specialist knowledge of building management and a career perspective. Together with the NGO "Research Centre for Local Self-Government" in Lviv, in cooperation with the EBZ and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, IWO implemented the project until the end of February 2020. The activities also strengthened networking between German and Ukrainian NGOs. In addition to the study tour, measures included the development of a basic curriculum (72 hours) for residential building managers and four seminars in Ukraine.

For further information please contact Larissa Schreckenbach | schreckenbach@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

The one-day Lithuanian-German conference under the patronage of the Lithuanian Ministry of Environment marked the conclusion of the project "Training of managers for urban redevelopmentl, in Lithuania" and was . IWO and the State Agency for Housing and Energy Efficiency BETA have been implementing the project, which is funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), in Lithuania since 2017. In addition to high-ranking representatives from Lithuania and Germany, trained local authority representatives and experts from both countries also had their say. Part of the programme was also the ceremonial awarding of the certificate and the presentation of the project brochure.

For further information please contact Inga Rovbutas | rovbutas@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

At the end of the EU-funded project "Com Managing Municipality (COMMA) - Communication and Management for Civic Participation in Local Government in Belarus", key recommendations of the project were published in the form of a brochure: the "Guidelines for Stakeholder Involvement" summarise the EU and Belarusian experience in stakeholder involvement in a handy and comprehensive form for practitioners and the public in Belarus. Because experience in Belarus has been limited so far, almost all the content on the Belarusian situation (stakeholder analysis, SWOT, recommendations for improving national legislation, recommendations for monitoring and evaluating participatory processes, practical examples and others) is new and was developed specifically by the project experts. The guidelines were published together with all relevant project events and results on the project platform "Common City". An expert database is also available there.

The central goal of the German-Belarusian-Latvian project, which started in May 2015 and was completed at the end of October 2019, was the development of municipal administration systems in the housing and municipal sectors, which also include participation and civic involvement.

For further information please contact Tanja Hartenstein | hartenstein@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

Already in mid-November, IWO organised the planting of a tree in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Here it is already quite green, and the city wants to become even greener in the future. The young tree was planted next to the Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment and is a gift from IWO to the city to compensate for the carbon emissions generated during the project "Further training of managers for urban redevelopment in Lithuania". The project itself was successfully concluded with the conference "Integrated Urban and Neighbourhood Redevelopment" on 23 January 2020 in Vilnius.

IWO colleague Inga Rovbutas actively accompanied the tree planting and is available for further information on the project: rovbutas@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802

As part of the project "Master of My House - Build up for the Future" funded by the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and carried out in the city of Kutaisi jointly with the Georgian partners EDEC & CHCA, two events were held in December. The aim of the project is to establish the profession of caretaker in Georgia. In a stakeholder workshop on 19 December, Georgian and German representatives from administration, vocational schools, housing industry and civil society discussed the future introduction of a caretaker training and the potential of the profession for Georgia. Previously, in a three-day "Training for Trainers", Georgian vocational school teachers had been trained in three modules by EBZ and IWO for the caretaker training, including on the topics of communication, safety obligations, maintenance issues and building defects.

For further information please contact Johann Strese | strese@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802.

This year, the international annual conference of the International Association for Real-Estate Management IVIM took place in conjunction with the final conference of the COMMA project. Numerous participants from Belarus, the Baltic States and Germany attended both events, among them representatives of various city administrations, NGOs, educational institutions as well as urban planning institutions. COMMA is funded by the EU since May 2015 and until the end of October 2019.

For further information please contact Tanja Hartenstein | hartenstein@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802.

On June 12 and 13, IWO organized the annual EFL Study Tour on behalf of the European Federation for Living (EFL), which this year for the first time took place in an Eastern European city: the Latvian capital Riga. As part of the programme, participants were given a detailed overview of the housing market, the housing system and the challenges for the future housing stock in Latvia and exemplary also in other countries of the post-Soviet area.

The organisation of such study tours has been part of IWO's service offers to interested parties and members for many years.

If you are interested and for further information on the Study Tour please contact Knut Höller | hoeller@iwoev.org | +49 30 2067 9802.

News & Events

Exchange of experience on sustainability in the housing industry and energetic building refurbishment

,,It's not just about buildings" published

Training series on the subject of "Building Manager / Caretaker" starts

Project to be continued

Opening of the "Training for Trainers" programme

H2020 ComAct - Community Tailored Actions for Energy Poverty Mitigation

Bilingual handbook "The Housing Industry in Central Asia"

Webinars - "Real estate agent" and "Caretaker"

"Professionalisation of the refurbishment process" on 30 September 2020

Webinar "Housing and Urban Development in Eastern Europe" on 19 August 2020

OECD study on the housing market and recommended reforms in Latvia published.

Innovative approaches for professional houisng management in Belarus

One year after project completion: Looking back at SOL

IWO's Board to continue for the next three years

Corona Pandemic: Events & Travels postponed

Recommendations published for Ukrainian owner-occupiers

New project launched: PROMHOUSE

Housing management in transition

Successful completion: "Further training of managers for urban redevelopment in Lithuania".

VITAL Final Conference in Lviv

Study Tour in the VITAL Project

Conference "Integrated urban and neighbourhood redevelopment

Successful completion of the COMMA project

One more tree in Vilnius

Caretaker training in Georgia: Training & Workshop

International IVIM Annual Conference & COMMA Project Closing Conference

Solar energy use in Lithuanian apartment buildings

EFL Study Tour 2019 to Riga

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