ENERGIANet No.6 March 2002

The E-Newsletter of ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy

Welcome to the sixth issue of ENERGIANet. We are pleased to report that the number of subscribers is still growing and has so far reached a total of 164.

We would like to take this opportunity to encourage you all to forward your announcements and suggestions for future issues to: Chesha Wettasinha

ENERGIANet is archived at ENERGIA's website: http://www.energia.org, under Resources.

Contents

• ENERGIA Announcements
• Conference Announcements
• Projects
• Women Networks
• Publications
• Workshop Proceedings
• Internet Resources
• News from Donors
• Vacancies
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe

ENERGIA Announcements

ENERGIA Phase III Planning Meeting
ENERGIA held a planning meeting, from February 18-22, 2002, at Cenakel in Soesterberg, the Netherlands, for the third phase of its programme. The meeting was attended by 25 people representing key stakeholder organisations and networks from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania.
The primary aim of the meeting was to provide a forum for key stakeholders in gender and energy so that they could contribute to the development of:

• the content and components of the proposal for the next phase of ENERGIA; and
• the future structure of ENERGIA.

The meeting included an overview of ENERGIA activities to date, including a review of lessons learnt, opportunities and limitations from the earlier phases, and the results of the mid-term evaluation, leading to the:

• identification/revision of objectives and concrete areas of activities for the next phase;
• roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in delivering outputs of the next phase; and
• definition of the relationships and linkages among the different stakeholders, and whether and how these should be structured and formalised.

Following this a proposal will be written for the next phase of ENERGIA.
For more information, please contact the ENERGIA Secretariat at: energia@etcnl.nl

ENERGIA News
Issue 4.4 of ENERGIA News was published in December 2001. It was a special issue on Gender, Energy and Health. If you have subscribed to ENERGIA News, but have not received a copy, or if you wish to subscribe to ENERGIA News, please contact the ENERGIA Secretariat at: energia@etcnl.nl
The next two issues of ENERGIA News will be devoted to the following topics:

• Issue 5.1 (April 2002): Gender, Energy and Social Development.
• Issue 5.2 (July 2002): Women and Sustainable Energy in Asia. Deadline for submissions: 25 April 2002.

For more information, or to submit articles for future issues, please contact Chesha Wettasinha

Conference Announcements

Special Symposium on Gender, Energy and Health at the Third International Congress on Women, Work and Health (2-5 June 2002 in Stockholm, Sweden)
The Congress is organised by the National Institute for Working Life
The symposium is being organised by ENERGIA, together with Jyoti Parikh, senior professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai, India. The symposium will be chaired by Professor Parikh and Elizabeth Cecelski (ENERGIA director for Advocacy and Research) and the focus of the symposium will be on indoor air pollution.
The call for papers is now closed.
For more information about this special session on gender, energy and health, please contact the ENERGIA Secretariat
For more information about the Congress, please contact Carina Bildt at: carina.bildt@niwl.se, or visit the Congress website at: http://www.niwl.se/wwh

Regional Workshop on Household Energy, Indoor Air Pollution and Health, 9-10 May 2002, in New Delhi, India
Organised by the World Bank and Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI)
The workshop aims to disseminate recent studies, findings and practical lessons, and provide a forum for discussing current activities and future needs to address IAP issues in India and the rest of Asia. The workshop is linked to the completion of a multi-sectoral study India: Household Energy, Air Pollution and Health, undertaken by the World Bank with support of UNDP/ESMAP.
One of the focus areas of the workshop is gender. Other focus areas include: assessing exposure to IAP from solid fuels; health impacts; mitigation measures; enabling policy frameworks; multiple benefits of improving rural energy services; and awareness raising.
For more information, please contact the Secretariat for the IAP Workshop at TERI at: IAP@teri.res.in
Or visit one of the following websites: http://www.worldbank.org/cleanair/caiasia/index.html or http://www.teriin.org

Proposal for Women's tent at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), 24 August to 5 September 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa
The WSSD Women's Caucus proposes to organise and facilitate an All Women's Voices Tent at the WSSD in order to offer women from all parts of the world a place and common ground to voice their concerns, and strengthen their networks, partnerships, and activities. This activity should promote women's empowerment, contribute to engendering the WSSD, and result in a series of practical follow-up activities.
The All Women's Voices Tent is being organised by a steering committee of women's organisations participating in the WSSD process, chaired by WEDO (Women's Environment and Development Organisation) and a South African Women's Coalition/Johannesburg Secretariat (facilitated by Mandisa Monakali).
For more information, please contact Rebecca Pearl of WEDO at: rebecca@wedo.org
To learn more about the CSD Women's Caucus activities, please check the website at: http://www.earthsummit2002.org/wcaucus/csdngo.htm

Projects

SELCO-Vietnam receive Award for Corporate Excellence by US State Department
SELCO (Solar Electric Light Company) Vietnam received the Award for Corporate Excellence from the United States’ State Department for its work in reducing poverty and spurring economic development in Vietnam's countryside by supplying household electricity to families who lack access to a power grid. Among its many programmes, SELCO worked with local women's groups to secure low interest loans and repayment schedules geared to crop cycles. It also introduced a “Solar Electricity in Support of Women in Rural and Remote Areas” programme.
For more information, please contact: hqtrs@selco-intl.com
Or visit the website: http://www.selco-intl.com/index.htm

Light Up the World
Light Up the World is an organisation that proposes to bring low energy consumption lights to developing countries, the purpose being to help improve literacy, especially of girls. Systems have already been installed in Nepal and the organisation is now active in the Dominican Republic. Light Up the World wants to set up microenterprises/franchises that can sell and distribute both the lights and appropriate renewable energy sources for the lights. The organisation is further preparing a “Socio-Economic Impact Study on the use of Pico Power Lighting in Nepal”.
For more information, please contact Alanna Dean at: adean@solarshop.ca
Or visit the website at: http://www.lightuptheworld.org

IDRC is currently developing an online photo database
The International Development Research Centre in Canada has an images database, containing about 5,000 images, covering various topics, such as international development, gender, health sciences, sustainable development, and technology transfer. Images are currently only available at the IDRC office, but IDRC does offer to conduct searches (which costs $25). Search results are sent as thumbnails with a description of each image. Upon request, full-scale electronic copies, or side duplicates, will be supplied ($7 each). IDRC expects to have the database online within 2002.
For more information, please contact: reference@idrc.ca
Or visit the website at: http://www.idrc.ca/library/images/index.html

Women Networks

SADC Women Mining Trust
The SADC Women Mining Trust, under which the Association of Zambia Women in Mining (AZWIM) operates, was formed with support from UNIFEM. The Trust aims to strengthen women's participation in this highly male-dominated sector. UNDP has supported AZWIM members to participate in various regional and international Trade Fairs and Exhibitions, opening opportunities for the members to have access to markets for their products.
For more information, please contact: gidp@undp.org

National Network of Rural Women in Senegal
This network is an initiative of the Dimitra Project coordination unit in West Africa, which covers seven countries. The network has been established in Senegal with the mission of expanding throughout these various countries. The fields of action of this network range from training and information for women's associations, to the creation of links between development partners, the development of local knowledge, action to promote solidarity amongst associations, and measures to support income-generation activities.
For more information, please contact Fatou Sow: pronat@enda.sn
Or visit the ENDA website at: http://www.enda.sn/pronat

Publications

European Commission: Gender in Research: Gender impact assessment of the specific programmes of the Fifth Framework Programme – Energy sub-programme. Authored by Clancy J., J. Gregory and D. Cornland. Final Report. October 2001.
In June 2000, as part of its action on Women and Science, the European Commission launched a series of gender impact assessment studies to assess the way in which gender issues are being addressed within the Fifth Framework Programme. This study considers the implementation procedures of the energy programme and the research agenda set in this area of the Fifth Framework Programme.
The objectives of the study were to ensure:

• that women's as well as men's concerns and experiences are integrated in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, of the European Commission's policies and programmes that relate to both non-nuclear and nuclear energy so that women and men benefit equally; and
• that the inequality between women and men in this context is not perpetuated.

For more information, please contact: research@cec.eu.int

IREDA NEWS: Women in Renewable Energy Special, Vol.12, No.3, July-September 2001
This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) focuses solely on women in renewable energy. Articles highlight various issues in this area, such as stoves and cookers, health, microcredit, women's entrepreneurship, solar energy, and water.
For more information, please contact: Editorial Office, Core-4A, East Court (First Floor), India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110 003, India

ARECOP:

1. Gender Sensitive Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (GSPME) on Improved Cookstove Program: Profile of guidelines & tools developed by ARECOP
2. Workshop and Training on GSPME

Both articles feature in: GLOW, Vol.25, October 2001, Newsletter of the Asia Regional Cookstove Program (ARECOP).
ARECOP has decided to initiate the development of guidelines and tools for participatory monitoring and evaluation that can be used for improved cookstove programmes. The articles describe the guidelines and tools, and the activities undertaken so far. The current status of this project is that the ARECOP secretariat is working with resource persons to further improve the guidelines and tools, based on participants’ feedback. Further development will be based on lessons learnt from pilot projects being organised in Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.
For more information, please contact Christina Aristanti at: arecop@yogya.wasantara.net.id

Workshop Proceedings

US Department of Energy: US-Africa Energy Initiative. Proceedings of the Women in Energy Ministers’ Conference of December 2000
Winrock International and the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) present the proceedings from the Women in Energy Ministers’ Conference, the Pan-African Energy Ministers’ Conference, and the Second Africa-U.S. Energy Ministers’ Conference held in Durban, South Africa, from December 11-15, 2000.
These proceedings are a collection of the most important material presented during the week's events. Included are papers by the speakers, selected background material, and the resolutions agreed upon by the Ministerial and other participants seeking greater integration of gender into energy programmes, the accelerated scaling-up of clean energy utilisation on the African continent, and other important issues.
The proceedings can be accessed through the Internet at: http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/esmap/pdfs/wew_Proceedings_eng.pdf

Internet Resources

The Himalayan Light Foundation website provides interesting information about their programmes, including the Solar Sisters programme. Solar Sisters focus on improving women's livelihoods by providing affordable solar lighting systems to community buildings used for handicraft production, educational programmes, and community meetings. Read more about this programme at: http://www.hlf.org.np/solsis.htm

The Solar Electric Light Fund, Inc. (SELF) is a non-profit charitable organisation founded in 1990 to promote, develop, and facilitate solar rural electrification and energy SELF-sufficiency in developing countries. Read about SELF's projects in Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Tibet, and the Solomon Islands, at: http://www.self.org/projects.asp

The Rural Development Forestry Network (RDFN) has published a collection of fuelwood papers from their (unpublished) grey literature on their website. The papers are available for downloading in pdf format at: http://www.odifpeg.org.uk/greylit/fuelwoodpdfs/fuelwood.html

News from Donors

Shell Foundation seeking proposals on household energy and health issues
Through a series of background papers, market research, on-line dialogues, and workshops; the Shell Foundation has developed its Sustainable Energy Programme (SEP) strategy. One aim of the SEP strategy is to support exemplary projects that contribute to increasing the access of low-income communities and households in developing countries to modern energy services.

• This Request for Proposals (RFP) addresses two themes: Modern Energy Services, and Household Energy and Health.
• Through this RFP, the Shell Foundation intends to fund a maximum of 20 projects within these thematic areas.
• SEP funding will be limited to a maximum budget of $300,000 with a maximum duration of three years.
• Applicants should complete and return the relevant Concept Proposal Forms to the Shell Foundation by April 25th at the latest.

For more information, please contact: SEP@si.shell.com
Or visit the website at: http://www.shellfoundation.org/rfp/

Mama Cash
Mama Cash (a fund for women) is an independent organisation, which finances women's associations. It is interested in improving the socioeconomic conditions of women throughout the world, and it invests in women's NGOs and associations that work towards that goal. Financial aid provided by Mama Cash ranges between €1,500 and €5,000.
For more information, please contact Mama Cash: info@mamacash.nl
Or visit the website at: http://www.mamacash.nl

Global Fund for Women
The Global Fund for Women is a foundation that donates up to US$15,000 to women's groups to support their efforts to transform their societies. It supports initiatives to protect and defend women's rights, action to improve women's socioeconomic conditions, and innovations giving women access to communication technologies and the media. It is also interested in establishing networks and promoting collaboration amongst women's groups.
Further information can be obtained from: grants@globalfundforwomen.org
And from the website: http://www.globalfundforwomen.org

Vacancies

Multiple Openings at World Bank
In the context of the Energy Business Renewal Strategy, the World Bank's Energy Department is making a significant recruitment effort to align skills mix with current and future needs. The World Bank is looking to fill the following positions:

1. Rural Energy Specialist;
2. Sector Reform/Regulatory/Private Sector Participation Specialist, Energy and Infrastructure;
3. Economist, Energy and Infrastructure; and
4. Global Environment/Climate Change Specialist.

The closing deadline is 5 April 2002, but this is an ongoing strategic recruitment process and applications may be considered after this date.
For more information, please contact: Etorre@worldbank.org
For information on the World Bank's Energy Programme, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/energy/

Job Opportunities to work on Poverty Issues
The World Bank website provides information on selected job opportunities with the World Bank and other organisations devoted to understanding and alleviating poverty.
To find out more about current vacancies in this sector, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/job2.htm

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