Fairbnb.coop to launch global initiative for refugees in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine
Being Fairbnb.coop an European cooperative digital platform focused on solidarity and communities we have been working for some times on a version of our platform that could be used by NGOs and Humanitarian organizations to find volunteers that could host refugees. The recent events in Ukraine have spurred us to quickly launch what is already available to try to help now while simultaneously keep on working on a long term solution.
The quick MVP solution will be available in the next few days and you can keep on the loop and pre register to list your accommodations or request more info at fairbnb.coop/refugees.
Bear in mind that this will be a clone of our current booking platform so there will be some rough edges initially while we work with partners like Refugees Welcome and other local and international organizations to perfect the model for a long term structural solution.
What we propose and how you can help
We invite all those individuals and organizations that can open their houses and help us vet listings and co manage the platform in a cooperative way. We will provide the initial rudimentary tool but we need hands, brains and hearts to make it work.
As it was already in the plans of FairLab, our laboratory for sustainability, the new platform will remain active even after the end of the current international crisis, which we hope will be imminent, to offer a housing solution to refugees from all over the world, without any discrimination, people forced to leave their lands for the numerous and continuous humanitarian crises afflicting the planet.
In recent years, in Spain as well in Berlin, we have partnered with organizations such as Refugees Welcome, which advocate for a respectful welcome of the most vulnerable people, while in multicultural metropolises such as Paris and Rome we provide support to local language schools to help facilitate the process of resettlement.
Now we ask to temporarily open the doors of the houses in our cities to those who are forced to leave their homes to escape the war. We address this appeal not only to our network of over 500 hosts distributed throughout Europe, but also to local governments and anyone who can provide decent housing.
With a cooperative-owned and democratically-managed platform, our homes can become a temporary, safe and dignified shelter for those fleeing war.
Hoping that very soon, along with peace, we can go back to building together opportunities for cooperation and start rebuilding where others lay waste.
Let’s build for the future.
Useful links:
Press kit – Images and press release in .pdf format
link.fairbnb.coop/help-refugees-now-press-kit
How Fairbnb.coop works
fairbnb.coop/how-it-works
Fairbnb.coop’s solidarity platform
fairbnb.coop/refugee