Workshops & Events

The organisation of and the participation in workshops and events is an important component of this engagement. Specifically, the Africa Hub organises and participates in three types of events: 

1. SEforALL Africa workshops, that help to shape the Initiative at the global and regional level;
2. High-level conferences; and 
3. Country and regional implementation workshops

SEforALL Africa Workshops organized by the Hub

In May 2018, the Fifth Annual SEforALL Africa Workshop was held on 04. May 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, back-to-back with the SEforALL Global Forum from 02.-03. May, 2018. Over 70 participants from the public and private sector, financial institutions, developments partners and civil society gather under the headline “Financing the Pipeline” and participated in a lively debate about the need for a country-led coordination of the implementation of SEforALL Action Agendas (AA) and to leverage SEforALL Investment Prospectuses (IP) to fast-track investments towards achieving the SDG 7 targets in Africa.

Previoulsy, the Hub held the following events. 

In March 2017, the fourth Sustainable Energy for All Africa Workshop was held in Abidjan, with the theme: Joining foorces for universal energy access. The workshop saw the partecipation of Ms. Kyte, CEO and SRSG for SEforALL, and provided reccomendations on implementation structures, coordination of initiatives and acceleration on the implmementation of the initiative in Africa. 

In December 2013 the Hub organised the first of these events in Tunis whose main outcome was an agreement on the principle that a certain degree of uniformity and standardization in the implementation on the SEforALL Initiative in Africa is required. The 2013 workshop concretely led to the development of the Country Action Reference Document (CARDS) and the Action Agenda template.

One year later, in January 2015, the Hub organized the 2nd Abidjan workshop on advancing SEforALL country action in Africa at AfDB headquarters in Abidjan . The workshop was attended by key stakeholders: SEforALL country focal points, development partners, regional institutions, and civil society organizations. The workshop assessed the progress made to date on the development of SEforALL AA/IPs and explored quality assurance options and targeted follow-up to AAs/IPs. (See the Outcome document).

In February 2016, the Hub organised the 3rd annual workshop on advancing SEforALL country Actions, from 9 to 11February whose focus is on the implementation of the country actions, coordination of energy initiatives, country level tracking and reporting. The workshop also features four side events on renewable energy implementation, IRENA marketplace, 

High level Conferences

The Hub contributed to the following high-level conferences:

• In May 2018, the Hub participated in the SEforALL Forum, which was attended by more than 800 people - including Ministers and Governments’ representatives, private sector, Development Finance Institutions and civil society – with the objective to chart the steps needed to accelerate progress on achieving SDG7 by 2030.
• In May 2014, the AfDB hosted the launch of the Sustainable Energy for All Decade for Africa at its annual meetings in Kigali, Rwanda.
• In June 2014, the Hub participated to the first SEforALL Forum in New York chairing a session on SEforALL country action.
• In July 2014 The Hub also contributed to the launch of the SEforALL decade for the Least Developed Countries at the Ministerial Conference on New Partnerships for the Development of Productive Capacities in LDCs, 28-31 July 2014 in Cotonou, Benin.
• In April 2015, the Hub participated in the SEforALL Energy Access Committee organised in Vienna. The Hub contributed to the proceedings of the Advisory Board Committee on Energy Access, leading one of the work streams of the Committee on Energy Access in the Country Action Agenda and Investment Prospectus processes.
• In May 2015, the Hub participated to the second SEforALL Forum in New York where organized a session on the advancement of the country actions in Africa.
• In June 2015, the Hub supported the organization of the launch of the West African Energy Leaders Group (AELG).
• In September 2015 the Hub partecipated to the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Policy and Investment High Level Forum in Abidjan. 
• In September 2015 the Hub supported the organization of the Energy Week in Abidjan focusing on lighting up and powering Africa, and unlocking the continent’s huge energy potential.

Country and Regional Implementation workshops 

• In March 2018, the SEforALL Africa Hub participated in the “Sustainable Energy Forum for East Africa” organized by EACREEE and UNIDO in Kigali, Rwanda. The objective of the event was to launch the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE) and exchange ideas and promote cooperation to support the acceleration of sustainable solutions to the region’s energy situation. The SEforALL Africa Hub was represented by one staff and the Kenyan SEforALL Focal Point who presented the status of the SEforALL Initiative in East Africa, as well as concrete experiences and lessons learned from Kenya.
• The Hub is collaborating with the ECOWAS Centre on Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) on the development of the Action Agendas in all the ECOWAS countries following a workshop on the Development of ECOWAS EE and RE Policies and SEforALL Initiative in March 2014 in Abidjan. The meeting was attended by representatives of the 15 ECOWAS countries and saw the validation by participants of the Action Agenda (AA) template for its development in the ECOWAS countries (more info here).
• One year later, in March 2015, ECREEE convened a follow-up workshop on RE & EE National Action Plans and SEforALL Action Agendas in Abidjan, hosted and supported by the Hub, to make the point of the status of advancement in each country, facilitate regional exchanges, provide guidance as needed to complete the processes, support networking between countries and development partners and plan for the follow-up actions (more info here). 
• In May 2014, the Hub organized a workshop on SEforALL Action Agenda and Investment Prospectus processes in East, Central and Southern Africa in Addis Ababa that was attended by representatives of focus countries from the region and key development partners.
• In October 2014 the Hub participated in a regional meeting in Yaoundé Cameroon on the ECCAS-CEMAC white paper on energy access. The Ministers adopted a resolution encouraging the Central African countries to embark on the process of developing SEforALL Action Agendas and Investment Prospectuses. The white book s available here. 
• In November 2014, the Hub organized a stakeholder workshop in Harare to brief Zimbabwean authorities on SEforALL country action processes and the next steps in terms of development of the SEforALL Action Agenda.
• In November 2014, the Hub actively contributed to the 1st Forum on Renewable Energy (FoDER) in the context of UN-led Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) initiative organised in Kinshasa, DRC. The event was very well attended with some 150-200 participants and highlighted the potential for renewable energy in the DRC and the framework that is being put in place to attract private investments
• In April 2015, the Hub organized a workshop on Regional Workshop on Country Preparation for SEforALL Action Agenda and Investment Prospectus in Yaoundé, focusing on Central and Southern African countries that are about to embark on the AA/IP process.