2020 FEDARENE General Assembly: it’s a wrap

Although FEDARENE members and staff from the Brussels office had wished to meet in Brussels this year to celebrate together the 30th anniversary of the network, sadly, this was not to be. On the bright side, the virtual format allowed to gather a record number of members for the annual assembly – more than 80, including some located in remote islands and places.

The event included several interactive sessions and events, during which took place discussions and exercises in small groups:

• A strategic session on 25th November, centred around FEDARENE’s strategy for the future and redefinition of the network’s identity;
• An energy efficiency workshop on 26th November morning, organised in the framework of the EEW4 project, to discuss the results of its wide survey launched earlier this year and work on attractive and effective narratives;
• A networking café on 26th November afternoon, mixing FEDARENE members with the Roger Léron Award community (nominees, past winners and jury members) to exchange best practices in the fields of energy efficiency & financing, renewable energy, climate and energy planning, mobility, multi-level governance & policy, and awareness raising/training.

This “FEDARENE week” ended on a high note with the online Roger Leron Award Ceremony, who was given to Gérard Dellinger from the French village of Saint-Julien-en-Quint. Commissioner Kadri Simson also joined the ceremony to give an inspiring speech on the role of local and regional stakeholders in the energy transition. Read the press release here.

In conclusion, the online format did not prevent FEDARENE members to meet new fellow members, reunite with longstanding partners and friends, and foster together innovative ideas for the future of FEDARENE and the sustainable energy sector. We will end with a quote from our President Julije Domac, who said: “The Energy Transition is not just about changing a panel or renovating a house. It is about a larger change of society as a whole. The meetings we had these past two days clearly show this and that FEDARENE is ready to act as role model in this enterprise.”

Many thanks to the FEDARENE family and our friends for making our 2020 events a success! We look forward to our next reunions, whether online or offline.