Join the CHOICE Community of Storytellers

In the face of Europe’s housing crisis, communities are creating new ways to make housing more affordable and sustainable. Yet policy too often overlooks the people behind these initiatives and the hard-won lessons their experiences have to offer. Through storytelling, we can help make that knowledge visible.

The CHOICE project, coordinated by GEN EU and a consortium of European organisations, brings together community-led housing initiatives, researchers and practitioners to strengthen the movement through knowledge exchange, collaboration and advocacy. By connecting local experiences with European policy, the project aims to make community-led housing more visible, better supported and easier to replicate.

To help build this collective narrative, the project is launching CHOICE community Storytellers: a digital storytelling programme for people who want to document and share the stories behind community-led housing initiatives across Europe.

Why join?

The digital storytelling lab is more than a communications training. It is a collaborative space where participants will learn to document community experiences, reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing community-led housing, and turn these stories into tools for advocacy.

As a participant, you will learn how to:

• identify meaningful stories within your community;
• interview people ethically and document lived experiences;
• create engaging multimedia stories using accessible digital tools;
• connect local experiences with broader housing challenges and policy discussions.

Your work will contribute to the project campaign, be featured on the project’s online platform, and help inform recommendations for European housing policy.

What you’ll create

Throughout the programme, you will develop your own Community Story Portfolio, including:

• a documented community-led housing story;
• a multimedia storytelling piece (video, photo essay, audio story or written article);
• communication materials for the CHOICE campaign;
• a short Story Insight Brief highlighting key lessons and policy reflections.

You’ll also become part of a growing European community of storytellers, practitioners and changemakers working to strengthen community-led housing.

Who should apply?

We welcome participants from across Europe, including people involved in:

• community-led housing initiatives;
• housing cooperatives;
• ecovillages;
• Community Land Trusts;
• local community groups;
• grassroots movements;
• housing, sustainability or social justice advocacy.

No professional communications experience is required. Curiosity, commitment and a willingness to learn are far more important than technical skills.

How it works

The programme combines six interactive online workshops with practical assignments, peer-learning sessions and mentoring. By the end of the programme, you’ll have produced your own digital story while learning alongside peers from across Europe.

Every community has stories worth telling. Together, we can build a richer, more diverse picture of community-led housing in Europe.

Application deadline: 18 September 2026

Programme starts: October 2026