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Energy

Dec 07 2020
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Transformation Towards Energy Democracy

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About the Event:

In this event we will underline the need for a more democratic and inclusive society by addressing the state of democracy within the EU and its candidate countries. As well as looking to economic alternatives and the urgency of climate change.

Context:

The Green European Foundation and Sunrise have in the previous three year period been pioneers on the topic of Energy Democracy in North Macedonia; with this 2020 event we will continue with the elaboration on the European experiences in the energy sector and stimulating positive changes in North Macedonia and the region. In this open Webinar we will discuss energy transformation and set a path to a participatory, inclusive and decentralised green economy through promotion of the Energy Democracy concept. Together we will contribute to the debates and practices on the EU level with experiences and challenges from the Balkans.

Speakers:

  • Aleksandar Gjorgjievski, Sunrise – North Macedonia
  • Dirk Holemans, Co-President of Green European Foundation, Oikos Think Tank
  • Maja Morachanin, green MP from the Macedonian Parliament
  • Stefan Bouzarovski , Professor of Human Geography at the University of Manchester,
  • Melani Furlan, Green Energy Cooperative in Zagreb, Croatia
  • Ervin Redjepagjikj El.Eng. – Energy expert

 

Programme:

18:00-18:10 Introduction

  • Aleksandar Gjorgjievski, moderator and National Coordinator

18:10-18:20 Citizen Energy: Making Energy Democracy Happen publication

  • Dirk Holemans, Co-President of Green European Foundation, Oikos Think Tank
 Introduction of Citizens Energy: Making Energy Democracy Happen Publication

18:20-18:30

  • Maja Morachanin green MP from the Macedonian Parliament

18:20-19:00 Session with speaker’s presentations on Energy Democracy

 

PRESENTATIONS:

  • Stefan Bouzarovski – Professor of Human Geography at the University of Manchester, where he directs the People and Energy Programme within the Manchester Urban Institute

Topic: Energy poverty in Southeastern Europe

  • Melani Furlan MSc El.Eng. – from the Green Energy Cooperative in Zagreb, Croatia

Topic: Community-led solarization for clean energy transition

  • Ervin Redjepagjikj El.Eng. – Energy expert

Topic: Opportunities and Challenges in Renewables in the region

19:00-19:30 Panel discussion and Q&A

 

Practicalities

Registrations are open: https://survey.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_38xXJJ4o46T3FYN 

The primary language will be Macedonian but simultaneous translation in English will be provided.

Acknowledgements:

This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Sunrise and with the financial support of the European parliament to the Green European Foundation

Oct 03 2019
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Climate Jobs and a Just Transition: responding to our climate and ecological emergency (Belfast)

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About the Event

A radical shift towards a green and sustainable economy is needed to address the global climate and ecological crises.

This conference will look at the urgency and scale required to mobilise climate action and how we can deliver an alternative energy system.

Furthermore, we will explore how we can ensure a just transition that is fair to everyone in society, and the technologies we need to change our energy system.

Politicians, energy experts, union representatives and speakers from a range of other perspectives will discuss and exchange, offering key insights into the potential solutions to these pressing crises.

Programme

10:00 to 11:00:
Climate Jobs Report by Green House Think Tank
Speakers include:

  • Jonathan Essex (Green House Think Tank)
  • Peter Sims (Green House Think Tank)

11:00 to 12:00:
Place-Based Policy Alignment and Just Transition – The Belfast Climate Commission
Speakers include:

  • Damien McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast)
  • Clare McKeown (Belfast City Council)
  • Amanda Slevin (Queen’s University Belfast / Place-Based Climate Action Network)

12:00 to 13:30:
Trade Unions and the Just Transition – From Origins and Context to Policy and Practice
Speakers include:

  • Sean McCabe (TASC)
  • Sinéad Mercier (National Economic and Social Council)
  • Stiofán Ó Nualláin (Trademark Belfast)
  • Jeff Robinson (Unite the Union)

14:30 to 15:30:
Keynote Address – Asad Rehman (War on Want)

15:30 to 16:30:
Fuelling the Just Transition – The Role of Non-Carbon Energy
Speakers include:

  • Juliana Early (Queen’s University Belfast)
  • Andy Gouldson (Leeds University / Place-Based Climate Action Network)
  • Paul McCormack (Belfast Metropolitan College)

16:30 to 17:30:
Political Party Panel

Registration

This event is free and open to the public.

Please register your attendance at this event here. 

 

Aug 13 2019
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Energy Democracy Workshop (Ohrid)

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About the Event

This event will bring together different actors from across the region and the EU to find alternative solutions and support positive changes to the energy sector in North Macedonia and in South-East Europe.

The topic of the workshop is how we can set a path to a participatory, inclusive and decentralised Green economy through promotion of the Energy Democracy concept.

The workshop will focus on energy cooperatives and other forms of socio-environmental economy in Europe, contributing to the debate and practice on the EU level with experiences and challenges from the Balkans perspective.

The workshop will connect with multiple priorities, underlining the need for a more democratic and inclusive society and educating on economic alternatives that address democratic deficiencies in EU and candidate countries, as well as the climate emergency.

Programme

Day 1

10:00 – 11:00   Introduction of the event, Opening of the event and Presenting 2019 workshop –

  • Aleksandar Gjorgjievski project coordinator
  • Maja Morachanin – Member of North Macedonian Parliament, Green perspective on Energy in North Macedonia and the Region

11:00 – 12:30   Presentations and Panel discusion:  Energy Sector in EU and the Balkan Region (Current and future perspectives)

  • Moderated by Ervin Redjepagikj – Energy consultant
  • Dirk Holemans – Oikos, Belgium – Presentation: Energy Democracy
  • Hajdana Rukavina, Zelena Energetska Zajednica – ZEZ from Croatia, member of REScoop – Presentation: Community energy experience from Europe and region
  • Natasha Gligorijevic – Center for Sustainable Development of Serbia – Presentation Green Public Procurement: Energy transition, innovation and Procurement

Discussion on Energy democracy

13:00 – 14:00   Lunch

Day 2

GEF Energy Democracy Summer School and Workshop

09:30 – 10:30   Working discussions in groups

Energy cooperatives

  • Hajdana Rukavina, ZEZ Croatia, member of REScoop – European federation of energy cooperatives

The Future of public policies in energy sector,

  • Ervin Redjepagikj – Energy consultant

Economic alternatives as result of democratic and inclusive society,

  • Zaklina Zivkovic, Networked – Serbia

Green Public Procurement

  • Natasha Gligorijevic – Center for Sustainable Development of Serbia

10:30 – 11:00   Conclusions and Closing of the event

The Facebook event for this event can be found here. 

Practicalities

This event will be held in conjuction with a workshop on fair and healthy food. 

Venue
The venue is located about 8 km (10 minutes drive) from Ohrid Airport and 4 km (10 minutes drive) from the Ohrid Central bus Station
By bus (ticket is € 0.5 to €2)
By taxi: (from € 3 to €7)

Language
Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided on 8 September.

The sessions on 9 September will be held in Macedonian without interpretation, although participants and speakers are free to communicate in English.

Accommodation

If you would like to apply for accommodation covered by the organisers, please contact Aleksandar Gjorgjievski aleksgo@gmail.com.

Registration

Please register for this workshop via the form found here. 

Registration deadline: 5 September 2019

 

Jan 24 2019
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Citizens Energy: Making Energy Democracy Happen

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This publication has been produced as part of the GEF transnational project Energy Democracy: Changing the Energy System.  

In this project, Green foundations from the United Kingdom, Greece, Macedonia and Belgium share their experiences and ideas and develop policy proposals to enable a transition to a renewable and democratic energy system.

The publication, written by Dirk Holemans and Kati Van de Velde from Flemish think tank Oikos explores the concepts of a democratic energy regime, drawing from examples in Germany and Denmark, and cooperation between citizens and local governments, focusing on case studies in the UK and Belgium.

Download your copy here. 

This publication is also available in Serbian, Portuguese, Spanish, Macedonian & Turkish.

 

Apr 04 2018
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Creating Eco-Societies through Urban Commons Transitions (Brussels)

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Context: Towards socio-ecological societies

Cities are becoming a new and hopeful transnational governance level. They are organising themselves in a whole tissue of networks (Fearless Cities, Fabcities, etc.), working together in domains like climate policy, renewable energy and urban economy.

At the same time, citizens are developing a whole range of urban commons, based on co-operation and an ethics of care. Tired of only being a powerless consumer or a passive citizen, we get active as maker, urban farmer, solidarity volunteer, user of shared resources, civic or social entrepreneur, etc. This goes along with the establishment of new organisations and infrastructures like fab labs, energy co-ops, co-working spaces, urban food production plots, and many more.

In recent years, we have seen cities like Ghent and Bologna moving a step further, establishing structures and processes that aim at building synergies between the public and the commons domain. This is part of a new political vision, the Partner State. So, a partner city sustains and gives incentives to alternative civil and economic institutions, like the commons and cooperatives. The conference, as part of this year’s transnational project around Urban Commons Transitions, therefore aims to look at these developments of collaborative city-making and to examine those prototypes of transformative cities as a driving force towards socio-ecological societies.

About the Event: A conference to inspire and motivate

Lately institutions, research groups and organisations were created to investigate how commons could be integrated in a more sustainable way in the vivid networks of cities. During this conference, organised with the support of the Flemish Think Tank Oikos, experts from different projects and institutions will inspire you with their knowledge and findings about sustainable commons in cities. 

Draft Programme

19:30 – 19:40 INTRODUCTION Dirk Holemans, Director of Oikos and GEF Board member

19:40 – 20:20 THE VISION OF TWO EXPERTS Michel Bauwens & Elena De Nictolis

20:20 – 20:50 THREE STORIES ON URBAN COMMONS

Marie Haspeslagh, Enchanté – a network of warm-hearted merchants

Lucie Evers, Partago – a coop for electric car sharing – Mobility Factory

3rd speaker to be announced

20:50 – 21:10 PANEL DISCUSSION “CHANGING THE CITY”, Marie Haspeslagh, Lucie Evers, tbc

21:10 – 21:30 CLOSING PANEL “URBAN COMMONS TRANSITION”, Michel Bauwens & Elena De Nictolis

Keynote speakers

Michel Bauwens

Founder and director of the P2P Foundation and expert in peer production, governance and property. Bauwens is a well-known public speaker and thought leader. In 2017 he wrote the Commons Transition Plan for Ghent, after a similar project for Ecuador.

 

Elena De Nictolis

Research associate at LabGov, the LABoratory for the GOVernance of the City as a Commons. She prepares a Phd thesis on public policies for urban co-governance and the relation with the quality of city democracy at LUISS University of Rome.

 

Register now

To attend this inspiring conference, follow this link and order your tickets on the bottom of the page.

To complete your registration, transfer the entrance fee of 5 € to BE29 0015 9877 0164 (BIC: GEBA BE BB) Oikos vzw with the reference ‘Commons Congress’.

Stay tuned for updates

Subscribe to our Facebook event, where you will receive the latest news on speakers and the detailed programme, and follow us on Facebook or Twitter to learn about our other activities.

 

Mar 21 2018
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Energy

Energy Democracy: Changing the Energy System

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Europe has to change its energy system into a fully renewable one to transition to a sustainable economy and to establish a real climate policy. This is a major challenge for every Member State of the European Union, but will only succeed if the states work to together (connecting each other’s grid, exchanging know-how, etc.).

European citizens are taking initiative

European citizens are already playing an active role, together with governments at different levels, as they are organising themselves in national energy cooperatives and also the European Federation REScoop. This state of play was recently recognised when the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee approved what can be called ‘a new Renewables Directive’ that defines the development of renewable energy until 2030. Among other things, the provisions introduce unprecedented rights that provide individual citizens and communities with an equal playing field so they can participate in and benefit from the energy transition.

Studies show that by 2050, around 45% of all EU households could be producing their own renewable energy, more than a third could come through renewable energy cooperatives. This constitutes a huge opportunity for regional economic development, as locally-owned renewable energy projects deliver eight times the value of projects that are owned by private companies not from the area. The reality in the different Member States is however extremely diverse. While the contribution of citizens’ Energy co-ops and local communities is well recognized in Western Europe, the situation in Eastern Europe is quite the opposite.

Project Activities

This project will address the challenge to develop national frameworks (legal, fiscal, etc.) that not only recognise the role of citizens and communities (or regions), but actively stimulate their role while looking at best practices in particular from Germany and Denmark.

On the basis of a framing paper, fed by research of all project partners in their respective countries, all involved partners will organise a project activity to foster the discourse about the change of the energy system in their respective country.

 

This graphic recording was designed by Alejandro Gil, one of our Greenr Visual Interpreters, during the event Energy Democracy: Changing the Energy System that took place on 18th May 2021.