Workshop Report Policy Brief 25
The Smart Villages Initiative (SVI) the Global Young Academy (GYA), the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), and the National Science Museum (NSM) held a workshop on off-grid energy for rural development in Bangkok, Thailand from 7 to 9 March 2017. The workshop covered how energy access in off grid villages can enable improvements in education and healthcare at the village level, the role and view-point of young scientists on science-policy issues related to smart villages and rural development, and sought to achieve a synthesis of what has been learned from engagement programmes in South and Southeast Asia on these topics.
Programme
Day 1, Tue 7 March:
Workshop introduction and overview Dr Bernie Jones, Smart Villages Initiative Welcome address Dr Yongyuth Yuthavong, former Deputy Prime Minister, Thailand Introduction to the Smart Villages Initiative – reflections on energy-education/health John Holmes, Smart Villages Initiative Keynote 1 (Health): Opportunities and challenges to enhance village level healthcare in South and Southeast Asia through energy access and ICT Jay Evans, Medic Mobile, Nepal Keynote 2 (Education): Opportunities and challenges to enhance village level education in South and Southeast Asia through energy access and ICT Sowirin Chuanprapun, UNESCO Bangkok, Thailand Keynote 3 (Health): Experiences of the health-energy interaction at village level Avishek Malla, Sunfarmer, Nepal Keynote 4 (Education): Experiences of the education-energy interaction at village level Farid Khan, IEEE Smart Village, India Keynote 5 (Integrating energy-health-education): Experience of the interaction at village level Mike Rosenberg, Aleutia Energy, UK Plenary discussion: ICT as an enabler, attracting staff, synergies, need for holistic/welfare outcomes approach, evaluating outcomes, roles of different players Dr Bernie Jones, Smart Villages Initiative Parallel session: Health 1. Chaw Chaw Sein, Forest Research Institute, Myanmar 2. Nguyen Hong Hanh SNV, Laos 3. Jay Evans, Medic Mobile, Nepal Parallel session: Education 4. Clémentine Vignault, Slate2learn, UK & India
Day 2, Wed 8 March: The role and view-point of young scientists on science-policy issues related to smart villages Welcome and Introduction of the Global Young Academy Dr Almas Awan and Dr Moritz Riede, Global Young Academy Keynote presentation: Challenges and Opportunities for International Collaboration in Green Science, Technology and Innovation Prof Mohamed Hassan, TWAS Executive Director a.i., Italy, President of the Sudanese Academy of Sciences, Past President of IAP Women and their potential role in Smart villages, using Science and Technology Dr Sohasini Sudtharalingam, International Development Consultant, UK Education and Development in Rural Communities Dr Aftab Ahmad, National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), Pakistan Plenary Discussion Dr Sohasini Sudtharalingam Energy Innovations as a Major Factor for Transition to Smart Villages Dr Bart Kolodziejczyk, Business Development Director, H2sg Energy Founder and Managing Director, Scientists-in-Residence, Australia Smart Villages: the power of Innovation and Human Centred Design Dr David Ireland, Chief Innovation Officer, ThinkPlace, Australia Technology & Open Science in Smart Villages Dr Christa Hasenkopf Key messages for policy makers, development organisations, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders Dr Almas Awan
Day 3, Thu 9 Mar: Learnings from South and Southeast Asia Summary of day 1 and 2 Bernie Jones, Smart Villages Initiative SVI: review of findings of engagement programmes in South and Southeast Asia John Holmes, Smart Villages Initiative Keynote 1: Issues and opportunities for rural energy access for development in South and South East Asia Rustam Sengupta, BOOND Engineering & Development Pvt. Ltd, India Keynote 2: Issues and opportunities for rural energy access for development in South Asia Debajit Palit, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India Keynote 3: Issues and opportunities for the water-energy-food nexus in Asia SP Wani, ICRISAT, India Keynote presentation 4: Clean/sustainable cooking in South and Southeast Asia: how do we make it happen? Nguyen Hong Hanh, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Lao Peter Johnston, Environmental & Energy Consultants Ltd., Fiji Peter Johnston, Environmental & Energy Consultants Ltd., Fiji Panel discussion: How can off-grid energy support productive enterprise. 1. Karen Jacob, World Bank, Philippines 2. Citra Savitri, Wobe, Indonesia Breakout Sessions: identify key messages for policy makers, development organisations, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders Bernie Jones, Smart Villages Initiative Next steps John Holmes, Smart Villages Initiative
