Next Annual Forum will be in Athens in April 2027
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Our next Annual Forum will take place in Athens, Greece, on 14–16 April 2027.
As a member since 2025, Athens will welcome our members and urban practitioners for three days of exchange, inspiration and collective action. Together, participants will explore how to build the fair, resilient and liveable cities we need now for tomorrow.
For us, this edition is special. Europe is often viewed from its centre, with cities, narratives and solutions highlighted from similar angles and perspectives. Yet some of the most innovative and inspiring responses to today’s socio-environmental challenges also emerge elsewhere: in neighbourhoods, grassroots movements, local communities and municipalities that are often considered to be on Europe’s “periphery”.
This edition will bring these places into the spotlight and celebrate their contributions, particularly in the Mediterranean, Southern and Eastern Europe.
The 2027 theme: Rebuilding liveable places
“Rebuilding liveable places” is about rethinking how we shape our cities and neighbourhoods to make them more liveable, inclusive and resilient. This means adapting to the impacts of climate change, from heatwaves and floods to other growing environmental pressures, while ensuring that everyone can access safe and affordable living conditions. It also means addressing social inequalities and ensuring that the most vulnerable are not left behind. It is about transforming our places so they can better protect people, respond to future challenges and enable everyone to thrive.
Athens has long been a fertile ground for social movements, grassroots organisations and bottom-up initiatives, all weaving together a fairer and more resilient urban environment. Across the city, communities have developed forms of social innovation, initiatives within an emerging ecosystem of the social and solidarity economy, often in response to profound economic, social and environmental challenges.
Athens is proud to host the Energy Cities Annual Forum 2027 and to welcome cities and communities from across Europe for a conversation that goes to the heart of the challenges we face today. Affordable housing, energy democracy, climate adaptation and the sustainable management of tourism flows may seem like different issues, but they are deeply interconnected. Ultimately, they all come down to one fundamental question: how can we make our cities fairer, more resilient and more liveable for everyone?
For Athens, the answer begins with people. We need human-centred solutions that respond to everyday realities: ensuring access to affordable housing and clean energy, protecting the most vulnerable from the impacts of the climate crisis, and managing tourism in a way that supports the local economy without putting excessive pressure on neighbourhoods, public space and residents’ quality of life.
the communities and people who experience these challenges first-hand and are already developing new responses from the ground up. Because a just transition cannot be designed for people without being shaped with them. In April 2027, we want Athens to become a meeting point for these experiences, ideas and voices and a place where we can learn from one another”.
Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens
Three pillars will frame the forum.
1. Housing: making homes a common good
Cities are facing growing pressure on housing. Much of the existing building stock is old, while public infrastructure, including energy infrastructure, is ageing, and years of under-investment in social housing have left their mark. Social imbalance is increasingly visible, as urban housing becomes accessible mainly to those who can afford it. At the same time, housing demand continues to grow, putting additional pressure on the building and construction sectors, as well as on urban and peri-urban land.
This is where sufficiency becomes key. As we often say: the most ecological building is the one that already exists.
Exploring the housing situation in Europe and beyond will bring participants to work on a multidimensional issue: How can cities reactivate and repurpose vacant spaces, make better use of existing buildings and improve housing conditions without further increasing pressure on land and resources?
2. Energy democracy: taking energy into our own hands
By tapping into local resources, municipalities can design energy systems that are more reliable, affordable, and resilient to global shocks, while keeping the benefits of the energy transition in their communities. One of the most powerful ways to do this is through community energy projects, where citizens, municipalities and local businesses produce, co-own and manage renewable energy together.
In October 2026, Athens Mayor Haris Doukas shared the progress made through the initiative, including support for more than 300 energy-vulnerable households through the exemption of municipal fees, locally produced energy and other measures designed to reduce the cost of living
Navigating homegrown energy will prompt participants to think about how cities can make energy more local, democratic and affordable, while ensuring that the benefits of the transition reach those who need them most.
“Hosting the Energy Cities Annual Forum 2027 in Athens is an opportunity to bring the European debate on a just energy transition closer to people’s everyday lives. This human-centred approach is precisely the philosophy behind the City of Athens’ Energy Poverty Alleviation Office, implemented with the support of Develop Athens: understanding energy vulnerability at household level and turning that knowledge into targeted support and practical solutions.
Our experience has shown us that energy poverty cannot be addressed in isolation. It is closely linked to housing, social inequality and climate resilience. This is why cities need solutions that respond not only to environmental targets, but also to the real needs of the people and communities they serve.
The Forum offers us a valuable opportunity to share what we have learned in Athens while learning from other European cities and communities already developing solutions on the ground. This exchange is essential if we want the green transition to be not only ambitious but also fair, inclusive and truly centred on people”.
Elissaios Sarmas, CEO, Develop Athens
3. Adaptation: guaranteeing urban liveability
Adaptation is an investment for the future of our cities. As winters and summers become more extreme and weather patterns increasingly unpredictable, cities need to prepare for new climate conditions while ensuring that everyone can continue to live well.
Climate injustice and social exclusion often go hand in hand with unequal access to resources, including energy. At the same time, while technical solutions can help cities decarbonise and adapt, their costs can put them out of reach for some residents.
The adaptation theme is key for any urban practitioner at the moment, and participants will explore solutions to better prepare cities for a changing climate, protect their residents and keep urban life liveable for everyone.
Additional challenge: tourism and local wellbeing
In addition to these three pillars, the forum will include conversations around overtourism in cities and territories, and bring participants discuss tensions between tourism, local economy (and economic development), and local community wellbeing.
Be ready for 3 days featuring stories of resilience, stories of hope, stories of transformation.
Official registration will open in early February 2027.
In the meantime, book 14–16 April 2027 in your calendar to join us in Athens and follow updates on the official website: https://annualforum.energy-cities.eu/
