CareKit: CIVICA Students Address Homelessness Through Action in Vienna, Paris, and Madrid

In April 2026, students from across the CIVICA alliance will come together in Vienna, Paris, and Madrid for CareKit, a Student Engagement Fund (SEF)-supported project focused on addressing homelessness through both dialogue and direct action.

The initiative will host a series of panel discussions alongside hands-on activities, including the assembly and distribution of care kits containing essential hygiene products. By combining academic perspectives with practical engagement, CareKit aims to foster a deeper understanding of homelessness while contributing tangible support to local communities.

In Vienna, the panel discussion Between Policy and Practice: Housing Access and Homelessness in Vienna will take place on 15 April at the CEU. The discussion will bring together experts from organisations including Fonds Soziales Wien, Central European University (CEU), Caritas, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

In Paris, the panel will be held on 16 April at Sciences Po, featuring academics, NGOs, and volunteers working on homelessness-related issues.

In Madrid, the event will take place on 27 April, with speakers addressing local perspectives on housing access and social support systems.

Organised by a cross-campus student team from CIVICA universities, CareKit reflects a shared commitment to addressing social inequality through collaboration, awareness, and action.

Ahead of the events, CIVICA spoke with members of the organising team about their motivations for launching the initiative, the importance of challenging stigma, and what participants can expect.

What inspired your group to create CareKit? 

CareKits was born from the desire to bridge the gap between academic discourse and meaningful social change. As students studying politics, economics and philosophy, we often discuss inequality in theoretical terms but rarely actual opportunities to make meaningful change. Thus, when we saw the CIVICA funding opportunity we decided to apply. Knowing that homeless people often struggle to access basic hygiene products, we decided to develop the idea of care kits, hence the name of our project, which would be a kit containing hygiene products that would be distributed with the help of local NGOs across metropolitan cities of Vienna, Madrid and Paris. 

Why do you believe it is important for students to engage with issues of homelessness and challenge stigma in today’s society? 

As students engaging with different difficult topics, including homelessness, we understand that stigma and misconceptions often prevail in everyday life. As with any other topic dominated by stigma and negative connotation, the best way to combat it is to stimulate dialogue and attempt to subvert the already existing public opinion. To do this, we believe that universities play a crucial role, as students and youth can help build awareness, empathy and a deeper understanding within their communities, which in big cities such as Vienna, Madrid and Paris are abundant. 

What do you hope participants will take away from both the educational seminars and the hands-on experience of assembling and distributing CareKits? 

We hope that participants will gain both knowledge regarding the issue of homelessness in their hometown as well as get the chance to engage directly with the issue. The seminars will allow the public to learn about the structural causes of homelessness and how the city in which they live works to combat it, through a moderated discussion between key NGO players, academic researchers, professors, and city officials. While the assembling and distributing CareKits will allow participants to translate the conceptual understanding developed during the seminar into actual change with the aim to better the situation of homelessness in their city. Through these experiences we encourage participants to reflect on the issue as well as presenting them with the opportunity to become engaged in the sector.  

The project brings together students from CIVICA universities. How does this cross-campus collaboration enhance the reach and the impact? 

The cross-campus collaboration strengthens the initiative by creating a wider range of impact. By expanding the project to 3 capital cities, we not only reach a larger audience, but also help more people affected by homelessness. By organizing panels that revolve around the same topic and having joint reflectional activities, the initiative fosters the idea of CIVICA, demonstrating how local actions can create broader impact. 

Is there anything in particular that you would like to highlight? 

As representatives of CareKits, we strongly believe that each student can create a meaningful impact as long as they are truly dedicated and engaged in their topic of choice. Thus we encourage all students to both support initiatives such as ours, to engage with social justice issues, as well as believe in their dreams to change the world – it’s possible, you just need to take the first step!