Adriana Bascone

From Berlin to Athens: energy transition journeys you don’t want to miss! 🌍

#2023 European Youth Energy Forum, EYEN is recruiting, YES-Europe’s Annual Conference in Athens, BJE in Berlin and much more news!

Connect. Advocate. Empower.
Join EYEN

Welcome back to our network! This month, in our newsletter: 
🔸Our flagship event, the European Youth Energy Forum of 2023;
🔸EYEN at the European Economic and Social Committee;
🔸From our members, a follow up on YES-Europe’s Annual Conference in Athens, and BJE’s trip to Berlin to work on the energy transition in Germany!

[LAST CHANCE TO APPLY] EYEN is recruiting until May 28th! In this newsletter, don’t miss our volunteers’ stories, their experience as energy changemakers in EYEN and their biggest satisfactions and hopes for the organisation. 💭

Our upcoming events for you 📣

Mark your calendars for the 
European Youth Energy Forum of 2023!  🦜

Youth is still in need of a better energy transition. And it’s still time for the stakeholders of the energy sector to rethink and redesign our energy systems. To address the lack of youth engagement in decision-making at the EU level, the European Youth Energy Forum returns in its second edition. Berlin, 30th of October to 3rd of November 2023, we’re coming! 🎉

The European Youth Energy Forum is the yearly flagship event of EYEN. Its aim is to create a space for youth to voice its opinion on the energy transition and collaborate with stakeholders towards a meaningful youth engagement in the energy sector. 💡

Do you remember EYEF’s first edition? 🧐 Since then, a lot of work has been done by our EYEF Implementation Task Force, to ensure that the 12 concrete proposals found in #EYEF2022’s s position paper reach as many stakeholders as possible. This year, the work will get even more hands-on, as the Forum will gather 50 young people based in Europe and between 18 and 35 years old, to work on the improvement & implementation of the proposals. 

Participants will take part in weekly online sessions for the 2 months prior to the event, to prepare for a live 5-days event in Berlin to have discussions and workshops with organisations that are already implementing or interested in implementing the proposals. 📝

We will be opening the call for participants at the beginning of June! 
In the meantime, you can throwback with us to EYEF’s first edition> 📸
Discover more at our event page on #EYEF2023> 🦜

Our latest stories in youth + energy 🚀

A new agenda for democracy and youth engagement at the European Economic and Social Committee 🏛

Since 1957, the EESC has acted as a consultative body of the European Union, providing advice to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council in their activities. It is composed of independent members representing economic and social interests. 📝 These members come from three different Groups: (I) employers, (II) workers, and (III) civil society.

“38% of the countries of the world are not free and do not have a democracy.” 🧐 What does that have to do with EYEN, youth, the energy transition and the EU? At the end of April, Carlotta Ferri – Vice President of EYEN – was invited at the European Parliament for the election of the new President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC): Oliver Röpke.

In his nomination speech, Röpke highlighted the crucial role that the EESC has in strengthening the EU’s democratic legitimacy and effectiveness, and in responding to the lack of involvement of civil society around the world. Röpke reaffirmed that youth participation is fundamental and recalled successful examples of youth inclusion, such as the EESC’s section dedicated to climate change, which works closely with schools and finances youth delegates participating to the UNFCCC’s yearly Conference Of the Parties (COP). 

What next then for youth in the EESC? The measures proposed include: 
1. The creation of participatory EESC citizens’ panels 💭
2. Increased digitalisation of the proceedings 💻
3. A more representative and inclusive EESC 📈
4. Including youth delegates in the EESC Groups 🌱
5. Involving youth in the EESC’s substantial work through the establishment of an ad-hoc advisory council. 🏛

As EYEN, we share the EESC’s renewed commitment: a meaningful youth inclusion at the EU level. 🎯 And that’s why we are already in communication with the EESC’s section dedicated to energy to discuss the involvement of youth delegates on the topic, to create another successful example of engagement. 

Stay tuned! We’re also building our Young Energy Consumers Task Force and other exciting activities, in collaboration with institutions and partners! Check them out in our latest newsletter > ✍️

In pictures: YES-Europe’s Annual Conference 📸

What does sustainability really look like? What systemic changes are needed to sustain the energy transition? Which type of energy changemaker are you – an organiser, a knowledge builder, a conversation starter, or more? 💭 These questions (and many possible answers!) were at the centre of YES-Europe’s Annual Conference in Athens, organised in collaboration with Resilient Planet at the end of April and gathering young energy and sustainability enthusiasts from all around Europe.

The three-day event kicked off with a presentation on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy – to then move into several projects that, in their capacity, contribute to the achievement of SDG7: from Pianeta Energy and their work on how to calculate the environmental impact of a conference, to the Greek Centre of Research and Technology’s work in research & innovation for sustainability, and the WWF’s workshop on Eat4Change, the international project co-funded by the EU to create an enabling environment for healthy and sustainable diets. And as EYEN, we could not miss the event! Tiago Vicente, Board Member of EYEN and Energy Engineer at ADENE, presented our main flagship event, the European Youth Energy Forum (EYEF), as a powerful tool to reshape youth engagement in the European energy transition. 

And among all the discussions on the energy transition, the importance of renewables in accelerating it, the climate crisis and the inequalities it exacerbates, the Conference highlighted the key role of youth and women in making a change. A change that starts small, as participants observed at their visit to Symbeeosis – creating sustainable products from their  fields and beehives – and Helios Eco Lab – an off grid multi-functional environment that provides a home, workshop & farm for its creator David Davis and up to 5 volunteers, demonstrating that zero-waste is possible.

Find out more about Resilient Planet & YES-Europe, founding member of EYEN > ♻️
More on EYEN at YES-Europe’s Annual Conference >🚀

BJE in Berlin: working on the state of the energy transition in Germany 🏙

Bundesverband Junge Energie e.V. (BJE) is one of EYEN’s members, and the biggest and most important umbrella organisation in the field of youth energy associations in Germany. They support and promote the independent networking of student associations and initiatives in the energy industry to enable them and their members to engage in an interdisciplinary, research-oriented, and open-ended dialogue on energy industry issues. 💡

What is there to do in Berlin for youth organisations in the energy sector? 🧐 At the beginning of May, BJE and its member associations Energie Forum Aachen e.V., Essener Energie Club, Akademischer Energieverein Leipzig e.V., Kine, RE Con e.V., met in the German capital to intensify the contact among the associations.

At the heart of the city, they discussed on the state of the energy transition in Germany with Katharina Hartz, former BJE and now Project Officer Power at Agora Energiewende – an evidence-based think thank that informs policy-makers, economists, researchers and civil society on strategies to advance climate neutrality (if you’re curious to know more, you can find their most important findings here!).

The organisations also met with TransnetBW GmbH to discover more on grid planning and the energy transition, and with AFRY Management Consulting to work on a practical case study on PV storage. To conclude your trip in Berlin, the team also advises a trip to the city’s Energy Museum, where you can find over 5000 exhibits from all aspects of power generation, and even control the start-up process of a combined cycle power plant! 🔌

What next for BJE and its members? You can find them and get in touch at the E-World Energy and Water Conference from May 23rd to May 25h, one of the leading trade fairs in the energy sector in Essen, Germany.
Registrations are still open! Check out the Conference’s programme >  📑

What are your big plans? Join EYEN and reshape the energy transition👇

We are a team of young energy engineers, environmental scientists, creatives & comms professionals, heat transition and hydrogen enthusiast, energy operations managers, sustainability consultants, activists, lawyers by day, and so much more, and we have big plans for a better energy transition. 🚀 

This month, we are expanding our team, but only for until the 28th of May!  
👉🌿Is there something you can offer #youth + #energy? If you’re aged between 18 and 35 & are based in Europe, you can join our teams to work on #EYEF2023, #Communications, #Governance, #HR, or the upcoming #COP28. 

Have an impact: apply to our open positions 🚀

Why join the Federation advocating for the meaningful engagement of young people in the energy transition and creating spaces that allow them to have an impact? 🌱 To find out, we asked our teams for you: of your time at EYEN, what are you most proud of?👇

“Creating the European Youth Energy Forum: we gathered 45 young people from 20 different countries to write a position paper and provided them with a space to discuss the energy transition with stakeholders of the energy sector. We also got to present the paper to the Portuguese Parliament and Presidency, and we now have a date to present it to the European Commission.”
 

 Tiago Vicente 
 Board Member at EYEN and Energy Engineer at ADENE  

“There were many achievements I am proud of, but seeing the organisation start, being officially established and running is everyday my biggest pride for EYEN. 

At the European Sustainable Energy Week of 2022, while on stage talking about youth in energy communities, we got to see the full potential of our organisation. We received many questions and the interest of people in the audience showed. Sparking that interest is something that we are proud of.”

 Jacopo Sala 
 Director of Secretariat at EYEN and Ph.D. Researcher 

What would you love to see here? 📝

At EYEN, we’re a work in progress and we’re proud of it. 📈This is why this month we are opening a survey to improve our newsletter: what opportunities, events, news and content from the world of energy + youth would you like to see? 

Answer our short questions and help us get better! ✍️

Did you receive this newsletter from a friend? Feel free to subscribe yourself, spread it further and follow our network’s activities with our linktree!

Sign up here to receive the newsletter!

Copyright © 2023 European Youth Energy Network, All rights reserved.

You received this e-mail because you subscribed to the newsletter via our website www.youthenergy.eu or participated in one of our events for which you consented to be added to the mailing list.

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EYEN Task forces are here: meet their changemakers! 🚀

Our action plans for EYEF Implementation, COP28, Citizens Energy Forum, and much more in our latest newsletter!

Connect. Advocate. Empower.
Join EYEN

We have got news from the world of youth + energy transition!💡This month, we’re celebrating: we have welcomed new volunteers at our teams in EYEN! 🎊 🎊 In this newsletter, you find insights into their stories, the new task forces that have welcomed them, EYEN’s plans for this 2023, and news from our broader network such as YES-Europe’s call for participants for its Annual Conference in Athens. 

Our latest news: energy + youth engagement 

What would you love to see here? 📝

In EYEN, we’re a work in progress and we’re proud of it. 📈This is why this month we are opening a survey to improve our newsletter: what opportunities, events, news and content from the world of energy + youth would you like to see? 

Answer our short questions and help us get better! 💭

The team grows: 3 new task forces & volunteer stories! 🚀

At EYEN, our volunteer’s stories, backgrounds, competences and ambitions for the energy transition define how big of an impact we can make, and how far our voices can reach. 🚀 And this month, we have welcomed new volunteers, who have joined through our last call for applications in February! 

The team’s growth does not only mean more engagement and good news for the energy transition, it also means new projects. To achieve meaningful youth representation in energy decision-making, our new volunteers have joined task forces dedicated to some of the most important events in youth + energy taking place this year. What’s in store for EYEN? Read more about our three new task forces and their members below and find out! 💭

Discover EYEN’s plans and resolutions for 2023 > 📝
What was 2022 like in EYEN? Throwback with us > 📸

1. Implementation Task Force – #EYEF2022🦜

The European Youth Energy Forum is the yearly flagship event of EYEN. It’s aim: to create the space for youth to voice its opinion on the energy transition and collaborate with energy stakeholders towards concrete actions for a more inclusive transition. 💡

Do you remember EYEF’s first edition? 🧐 After three months of preparatory work in identifying the barriers and the opportunities of youth engagement, the first EYEF took place in 2022. The event brought together 45 young energy changemakers from all across Europe, to create a position paper on the role of youth in the future of the European energy transition. The Forum included sessions for participants to discuss the main hot topics related to the energy transition at a 5-day live event in Lisbon. At the end of the event, participants presented in their position paper 12 concrete measures for meaningful youth engagement in the energy transition in the policy, education and the private sectors. 

This year, it’s time to put these proposals into action. To do so, EYEN has created the Implementation Task Force for #EYEF2022! 🎊 The team has been busy defining priority proposals to be implemented – based on their impact, scope of implementation (regional, national or European) – and creating connections with stakeholders to effectively put these proposals into action. 

Curious about the task force’s next steps, on both the European and the Portuguese level?🧐 The two sub-teams of the task force focus on one big ambition each:

1. In a pilot phase, selected proposals will be implemented in Portugal with the relevant partners. This phase will provide valuable insights on the implementation, feasibility and the real impact of the proposals. 🚀

The “Portuguese” Team is taking the proposals that can be applied at a regional/national level, with the aim of collecting data on their output & involved stakeholders in a monitoring report. 📝

2.  The “European” Team is setting up contacts with European stakeholders and is aiming at receiving commitments towards implementing the proposals from relevant partners. 

Want to remain updated on all the next developments on the implementation team and #EYEF2023? Keep an eye on our social media, as more details are coming soon! And in the meantime… hear from Vanessa Faia, coordinator of the newly established EYEF Implementation Team.🦜 

“Today’s youth are among the most active in civic participation, but we don’t feel heard by decision-makers. As a result, young people are increasingly interested in programs that give them a voice and enable them to participate in decisions that will impact their future. And that’s exactly what EYEN is doing!”
 

Vanessa Faia holds a Master in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lisbon. She is a technical expert at ADENE, the Portuguese Energy Agency, in the Mobility Team. She was previously a member of the New System’s Team working on water efficiency in buildings (AQUA+ rating) and fleet on energy efficiency (MOVE+ rating) and Innovation Team, where she was engaged in water efficiency and the water-energy nexus project development. At EYEN, she is Team Leader of the #EYEF2022 Implementation Team.

2. Young Energy Consumers Task Force 💡

The newly formed Young Energy Consumer Task Force aims at creating a background in knowledge on the topic of young energy consumers in Europe, a topic which is not often taken into consideration by many energy policies in member states.  📝

The main short term objectives for the Task Force are: knowledge-building on youth and its role as energy consumer group, and an effective and meaningful EYEN participation, based on the knowledge accumulated, to the 15th Citizens Energy Forum (CEF) in November 2023. CEF is the yearly forum creating a bridge between different stakeholders involved in energy consumption and paving the way for more inclusive regulations and solutions. 💬

Stay tuned, because we’ve got plans for the future! In the long term, the Task Force aims at cooperating more strongly with the regulators and the already established consumer bodies in the EU. The aim? A recognised, legitimate and official advocacy for young energy consumers. ♻️ 

“I joined EYEN as a Young Energy Consumers Task Force member, because I think it is extremely important that we, as youth, do have a say in this particular topic and the ability to shape our future. I also believe that organisations like EYEN are very much useful for the young researchers and activists to evolve and internationally network in the fields that are especially interesting for them.”
 

Halina Jagielska is a law student from Cracow, Poland. Halina is professionally and academically involved in the development of photovoltaic farms and offshore wind farms in Poland. Halina is also an energy efficiency analyst and anti-war and anti-fossil fuels activist in Young Friends of the Earth Europe and in a Polish grass-roots group called Wschód. In EYEN, she is Policy Analyst of the Youth Energy Consumers Task Force. 

3. COP28 Task Force 🌿

This year, the United Arab Emirates will host one of the most important international yearly events on climate change policy: the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The event will take place from the 30th of November to the 12th of December 2023 in Dubai, and it will gather world leaders, NGOs and industries to discuss measures for improved climate change mitigation and adaptation. 📑  

This year, EYEN has created the COP28 Task Force to ensure participation of the network to the Conference through a meaningful contribution, in order to bring to the event the voices of the youth organisations it represents. 🚀

“A crucial aspect of environmental and energy justice is equal participation in decision-making processes. The voice of young people is far too often not (sufficiently) taken into account. I joined EYEN because it is driving change towards greater youth inclusion, and thus more participatory justice for the younger generations.”
 

Yanika Meyer-Oldenburg is now starting her new position as Sustainable Finance Policy Officer at the NGO Germanwatch. Previously, she has worked as a trainee for UNDP’s Nature, Climate and Energy Team in Jordan and at the EU Commission in the Directorate General for Energy. She holds a Master’s in Environmental Policy and Regulation from LSE. Her interests lie in challenges connected to environmental and energy justice. In EYEN, she is part of the COP28 Task Force.

News from the network 📝

Join YES-Europe’s Annual Conference in Athens! 🏙 

LAST CHANCE: register for YES-Europe’s Annual Conference of 2023! The Conference, organised by YES-Europe and Resilient Planet, will be held in presence in Athens from the 21st to the 23rd of April. Join the conference for panel discussions and networking sessions among young energy changemakers! ✍️

The themes of the panels include: energy and sustainability, youth voices, sustainability and industry, inclusiveness and empowerment and finally, solutions on how to make an impact in climate action, how to defeat climate anxiety, how to design sustainable cities & much more. Participants to the Conference also get the opportunity of visiting Symbeeosis’ and Helios Eco Lab’s headquarters in Athens, practical examples of local sustainable business practices. ♻️

Discover the Conference’s Agenda > 📑
Book your ticket to the Annual Conference > 🎟
Find out more on YES-Europe > 🤔

Young leaders in Energy and Sustainability Europe (YES-Europe) is one of the founding members of EYEN. It was created through an initiative of the EPFL University of Lausanne in Switzerland, and it initially brought together 50 students from 9 European countries for its first annual conference in May 2016, to find meaningful ways to make a difference as youth in the energy field. 

Since then, it has grown internationally to have an impact at the EU level. Its projects include policy reactions, policy trainings and knowledge-sharing addressed to the younger generations of energy change-makers. 

Did you receive this newsletter from a friend? Feel free to subscribe yourself, spread it further and follow our network’s activities with our linktree!

Sign up here to receive the newsletter!

Copyright © 2022 European Youth Energy Network, All rights reserved.

You received this e-mail because you subscribed to the newsletter via our website www.youthenergy.eu or participated in one of our events for which you consented to be added to the mailing list.

European Youth Energy Network
80 Boulevard Auguste Reyers
1030 Bruxelles

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European Youth Energy Network · Boulevard Auguste Reyers 80 · Schaerbeek 1030 · Belgium