ASoG leads workshop for Clean Energy Project
27 Mar 2019
The Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) spearheaded the Clean Energy Living Laboratories (CELLs) project Inception Workshop held at Pacifico Ortiz Hall on March 20-22 and 25, 2019.
The workshop convened 35 representatives from four institutions namely: the Ateneo School of Government, the Manila Observatory, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, and Xavier University. These institutions are the co-implementors of the project awarded under the European Union's (EU) Access to Sustainable Energy Program, which will run until 2021.
Through the four-day workshop, the said institutions enhanced the project’s logical framework to ensure smooth integration of activities and proper coordination among the co-implementors. Likewise, the participants conceptualized activities that are anchored on the project’s three main pillars: knowledge management, capacity building, and advocacy. The workplan for the first year of implementation of the project was also finalized.
“With our interventions going in we must somehow keep in mind not just the technical but also the governance solutions that we need to bind with the project,” said ASoG Dean Ronald Mendoza as he highlighted the importance of governance and sustainability in ensuring that the project impacts will continuously be felt even after the project concludes.
Dean Mendoza also stressed how the project will create friendships and strong partnerships among implementing institutions as they work towards common goals. “We may not be sure on the governance outcomes of the project. But the friendships that we will build in this project stands a better chance. So let’s work on that certainty,” he added.
EU Project Manager Giovanni Serritella, on the other hand, underscored that the project was designed to support policy-making on renewable and sustainable energy in the Philippines. He further emphasized that the Ateneo de Manila University and its co-implementors are in a very good position to work in this area.
The Clean Energy Living Laboratories (CELLs): The development of centres of excellence on energy access, renewable energy, and energy efficiency aims to link universities and research institutions in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, as well as NGOs and private sectors, to empower key stakeholders to effectively respond to energy challenges. Aside from energy policy support, the project will also promote research on decentralized renewable energy (RE) systems and RE micro- and mini-grids suited for the Philippines as well as the use of RE technologies for livelihood development.