September 19th and 20th made a busy weekend for IUR! Together with Allt åt alla Malmö and supported by ABF Malmö Sydväst, we co-organised this year’s ‘Bostadsvrålet’ (‘Housing Roar’) conference. Bostadsvrålet brings together tenants, housing activists, and researchers to debate how to organise for housing and urban justice.
Over the weekend, we learned more about international tenant struggles, community trusts and community ownership, different types of neighborhood work (from working with children to knocking on doors), and the dismal state of social and educational services in our working-class and immigrant-dense neighborhoods in Malmö. The debates took place in the beautiful Rosengårds Folkets Hus and we were joined not only by grassroots activists, colleagues and friends but also many small visitors, some of whom enjoyed our fika thoroughly.
Apart from listening to the different panels, we were also able to offer activities: Pål Brunnström organised the Avanti book and merchandise table, Alicia Smedberg represented the political print and art collective ‘Folkets Tryck’ and we were able to provide tshirts with our own ‘Bostadsvrålet 2026’ print for all who attended. Plus: the Swedish collective ‘RåFILM’ allowed us to stream their documentaries.
We also want to say a massive thanks to everyone from IUR and MAU who helped us to hold this event together. A special thanks also to Backa Kåken and Britt Jurgensen who is not only our current activist-in-residence, but also organised a panel on Sunday on community ownership. We are grateful to our societal outreach coordinator Aina Gagliardo, who contributed with insights on her daily work and the struggles of cooperating (and sometimes having to cooperate) with private housing companies.
All in all, the weekend felt like a massive step towards IUR’s goal to enhance societal collaboration, root its research locally while advancing discussions around urban justice.
Stay tuned for more to come!
