Sponsored content |
||||||
|
featured six social housing tenants sharing their experiences through portraits and audio, under the principle of“ not about us without us”. Their recordings were also played at the festival opening ceremony to more than 1,000 delegates.
The report tracks reach as well as reaction. The exhibition webpage recorded 2,333 visits during and after the festival. An Oral History Toolkit, built so others can collect similar stories, has been downloaded 178 times. Delegates rated how meaningfully the exhibition shared tenant experiences at an average of four out of five.
Interviewees described the exhibition as“ eye-opening” and“ grounding”.
|
One delegate said:“ Projects like this help embed tenant-first thinking … hearing lived experience helps design better services.”
Another said:“ It’ s fantastic because it’ s the tenants speaking for themselves … it reminds people that it’ s not just about the houses, it’ s about their homes and families.”
The assets have kept working since the exhibition closed. The ICSH reused them at its National Housing Conference in October 2025 and at the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations( NIFHA) conference in November 2025. Housing Europe now plans a“ living library” of tenant stories from across Europe.
|
Top left: The International Social Housing Festival Convention Centre Dublin 2025. On stage: Ailbhe McLoughlin, director ISHF Dublin 2025. Photo by Paul Kelly
Bottom left: L-R: Amy Bartlett- Conference Partners International; Grace O ' Shea, Fáilte Ireland; Lyndsey Anderson, Irish Council for Social Housing
|
For planners, that is a point worth noting. Content designed for a single congress has now become a touring asset, extending the event’ s reach well beyond its two and a half days.
A breakfast with measurable results The second aim,“ Strengthening the Housing Ecosystem”, was smaller in scale, but arguably the more transferable model. The ICSH and Fingal County Council hosted a Knowledge Network Breakfast on collaborative housing delivery, built around a Fingal case study. Thirty-five stakeholders from 24 organisations took part. Fingal’ s development agreement drew particular attention, with one respondent calling it“ an excellent model to base future developments on”.
Every survey respondent found the session interesting and useful, and everyone said they had gained new knowledge. Some 92 % met people who could help them adopt more collaborative models, and the same share planned to stay in touch with two or more contacts. One participant said:“ This was one of the best moderated forums I have attended.”
The lesson is a practical one. A focused side session with a defined goal and a short follow-up survey can produce harder evidence than a main programme often does.
What comes next As ISHF moves to Lisbon in 2027, the oral history exhibition will travel onwards and an oral history toolkit will be shared, extending Dublin’ s legacy and enabling future host cities to build on its impact. In doing so, the initiative will continue to influence housing discussions across Housing Europe member countries and beyond.
The Dublin model offers a sequence others can follow. Agree an impact intention with stakeholders before the event. Design specific activities to deliver it. Measure against it afterwards, and publish the results. n
|