[:en] Far-flung islands in the South Pacific and treacherous terrain in the Himalayas: both pose enormous challenges for rural development and energy. In this webinar, we’ll gather experts who will tell stories about their experiences working in remote areas where energy access is limited or almost non-existent – and what they are doing to promote […]
Webinar: Off the beaten path – rural energy & remoteness Read More »
The Smart Villages workshop in Myanmar forms part of our regional engagement in Southeast Asia. The workshop brought together key stakeholders engaged in the cookstove value chain in the region. In many developing countries, energy for cooking needs accounts for the largest share of total energy consumption and is normally met by using biomass as
Sustainable Dissemination of Improved Cookstoves Workshop Read More »
The Smart Villages in South America Workshop aimed to facilitate the analysis and exchange between the public and private sectors and civil society, from first-hand experiences in the field of energy in rural off-grid communities. Topics for discussion include rural electrification; energy generation and distribution; the inclusion of renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy
Smart Villages in South America Read More »
[:en] Questions: It is generally considered that private enterprises and independent power producers have a key role to play in bringing sustainable energy-enabled businesses to un-served rural communities. What are the main opportunities and challenges in establishing viable business and financial models for these organisations, and what innovative approaches are emerging to meet these challenges?
Business and Financial Models Workshop Read More »
Social Enterprises and Industrial Markets for Smart Villages in developing countries technology breakthroughs over the next 10-15 years with potential applications Definitions Social enterprises or Inclusive businesses: Product or service which is socially beneficial Inclusive markets: Industries that create jobs and affordable goods and services Questions What is the breakthrough opportunity in productive use of
Potential Breakthroughs in the Use of Energy in Off-Grid Villages Forward Look Workshop Read More »
Our Colombo media workshop was a two-day residential event featuring a combination of background briefings from local and international experts and entrepreneurs on energy markets and developments in the South Asian off-grid sector. The workshop offered an opportunity to explore the Smart Villages concept and study nascent Smart Village projects and relevant technologies from around
South Asia Media Dialogue Workshop Read More »
The India Off-grid Energy Impact Competition took place in early 2016. India has a vibrant community of competitive, motivated off-grid energy entrepreneurs. This competition was designed to highlight examples where the off-grid energy they provide has acted as a catalyst for development in remote villages. Companies from throughout India applied to the competition and Smart
India Off-grid Energy Impact Competition 2016 Read More »
The Smart Villages workshop to be organised in Pakistan is a continuation of the regional engagement in South Asia. The Pakistan workshop aims to glean insights from the country’s experience of off-grid energy provision to remote rural communities through the deployment of micro-grids. In particular the workshop aims to tease out the enabling framework conditions
Islamabad Smart Villages Workshop Read More »
To help collect and distil the knowledge and experience from the last 15 months of engagement in East Africa, a concluding workshop was held in Kigali, Rwanda on 8 September 2015. The workshop brought together over 40 government representatives and other key stakeholders from across the region to share information on progress and remaining challenges,
East Africa Summary Workshop Read More »
Off-grid electrification for development of small islands represents a number of unique challenges under the broad category of rural electrification. Small, off-grid island communities are particularly vulnerable to diesel price fluctuations and natural disasters, and thus, enhancing resilience through more sustainable and cheaper energy technologies should be a key priority. Financing the transition to these
Off-Grid Islands Electricity Workshop Read More »
The Smart Villages Initiative has partnered with Aga Khan University Examination Board in Pakistan to launch a poster competition for children in the country.Participants were challenged to create a poster presentation on ‘When Ideas Flow, Villages Grow’. Access to modern energy is a big problem in villages all over the world. New technology makes it
Pakistan National Student Poster Contest 2015 Read More »
The East Africa Masterclass at Terrat focused on the village level experience of off-grid energy. We have invited local leaders and rural energy providers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi and Tanzania. We were keen for village headmen and headwomen to share their village experiences of energy provision and to tell us about the outcomes
East Africa community leaders’ dialogue workshop Read More »
As part of the series of regional engagements in South Asia, Smart Villages organised a workshop on off-grid rural energy provision in Bangladesh. The country has the fastest growing programme in the world with an estimated 70,000 solar home systems (SHS) installed per day. More than 3 million SHS have been installed in off-grid rural
Dhaka Smart Villages Workshop Read More »
Our Seoul media workshop was a two-day residential event featuring a combination of background briefings from local and international experts and entrepreneurs on energy markets and developments in the South East Asian off-grid sector. The workshop offered an opportunity to explore the Smart Villages concept and study nascent Smart Village projects and relevant technologies from
Southeast Asia Media Dialogue Workshop Read More »
Dr Scott Watskins speaks about perovskites: absorbing materials can be used in an organic solar power. They act as the light absorbing part of the cells but can also transmit the charges. The exciting part about this is that they are dramatically more efficient than previous thin film solar cell technology. He demonstrates his work
Webinar: In discussion, with Dr Scott Watkins Read More »
“Energy is a prerequisite for sustainable rural development” – UNESCO Smart Villages pitches its vision for rural communities with the aim of developing villages primarily in the areas of education, enterprise and health. It promotes the use of off-grid energy, mainly powered by sustainable means, as an alternative to being isolated from the national grid.
Introduction Webinar Read More »
Cambridge University graduates in science, technology, engineering, humanities and social sciences were invited to apply for one of an initial 20 places at a New Year Forum on 12th January 2015, sponsored by the Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre, Smart Villages and the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability. The purpose of the Forum was
Cambridge Graduate Innovation Contest 2015 Read More »
The aim of the Smart Villages Kathmandu workshop will be to learn lessons from the Nepalese experience in off-grid energy provision to rural communities that will be of interest, and potential relevance, to other countries in the South Asia region. The workshop will focus on the conditions necessary to ensure development benefits flow from energy access
Kathmandu Smart Villages Workshop Read More »
The first annual East African Energy Innovation Challenge was an entrepreneurial training course and competition that took place in summer 2015. Over 225 East African applicants across nine countries applied to the programme by pitching their ideas for providing energy services to off-grid villages. The entrepreneurs identified a number of issues and opportunities in the
East Africa Energy Innovation Challenge 2015 Read More »
This opening workshop of our engagement in Southeast Asia, organised with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), was held to gather input and stimulate discussion from stakeholders involved in off-grid projects in ASEAN countries. Participants included renewable energy experts, technology providers, funders, community projects leaders, corporations/ private sectors, policy makers,
Southeast Asia Regional Workshop – Kuching, Malaysia Read More »