Training for CSOs and media, titled “Energy in my community” was held on May 24. And 25. in Sremski Karlovci. The topic of the training was local energy sector in various aspects: how to understand the local energy sector, how it works and the ways to introduce this topic to broader public in interesting manner.
The training was held in “Radulovački” Environmental Center, with participation of representatives of CSOs and media from cities all across Serbia: Arilje, Priboj, Prijepolje, Paraćin, Niš, Vranje, Užice, Pančevo, Belgrade, Tutin, Lazarevac, Vrbas.
The introductory remarks were followed with presentations on the importance of local energy sector, Energy Development Strategy of Serbia, with particular emphasis on the costs of inefficient local energy sector. Ms Mirjana Jovanović delivered a presentation on local energy sector, its environmental and climate impact and comparison of local energy sector in Serbia to more developed countries. Mr Aleksandar Macura from RES Foundation, in his presentation, focused on the contrast between multiple roles and responsibilities of cities and municipalities with regards to energy sector, particularly since cities and municipalities are both producers and consumers of energy, in the case they have a district heating system.
Dr Olivera Janjić from the Public Health Institute from Užice focused on the harmful impact of air pollution on people’s health. Since majority of households use inefficient stoves for heating and particularities of the terrain, air pollution emerges as a great problem particularly during winter. Ms Milica Stojanović from the Center from Investigative Journalism explained the way local energy sector functions and talked about subsidies given to district heating systems through the example of Majdanpek municipality, which is a case that’s common for other cities as well. Mr Ognjan Pantić talked about the progress in establishing energy management system in Serbia and presented the monitoring matrix, developed by BOS and RES Foundation, which serves as a tool developed for CSOs and media, in order to better understand and easily find data on energy consumption and energy-related expenses. The first day of the training was completed with a presentation from Mr Nikola Blagojević from Vojvodina Environmental Movement, who underlined the important role of civil society organizations in efforts to contribute to local sustainable development, particularly through advocacy and educational activities.
During the second day of training, worskhops were organized for participants in order for them to gain more insights on local energy sectors and work on communication energy-related issues in local media. Mr Nikola Vujović, member of the Network of Good Energy Secretariat, presented the idea of developing the Energy Information Center, as a resource center for citizens in improving energy efficiency. Ms Biljana Kuzmanović, editor-in-chief in Užička Republika Press, shared her experience with the participants, as well as advices on writing news about local energy sector in a manner appealing to the citizens. The interactive workshop dedicated to analyzing and creating media content was the final part of the training.
The participants had an opportunity to visit tourist attractions of Sremski Karlovci, such as Karlovci Grammar School, the oldest one in Serbia, and taste local food. The training was completed with a boat ride on Danube and visit to the protected area of Karlovački Dunavac.
The training was jointly organized by Belgrade Open School, RES Foundation and Vojvodina Environmental Movement, members of the Network of Good Energy. The training was organised as a part of the “Community Energy” project, with support of Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Author of the photo: Belgrade Open School
