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Events
Energy efficiency as a key element of the low-emissin transformation - conference inaugurating the accession of the City of Bydgoszcz to the Covenant of Mayors
On October 29-30, 2019, the City of Bydgoszcz, the Association Metropolis Bydgoszcz and the Association of Municipalities Polish Network "Energie Cités" held a unique conference dedicated to energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency is a key element of the municipality's energy transformation. The meeting gathered local governments representatives, along with business community and the low-carbon transition experts. The conference was inaugurated by the official accession of the City of Bydgoszcz to the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. The Covenant of Mayors Office was represented by Ms. Alis Daniela TORRES while the official accession documents were signed by the City of Bydgoszcz Deputy Mayor Ms. Maria Wasiak.
And again, there was energy!
The 8th Beskid Good Energy Festival is already behind us. The weather was perfect, and the number of participants exceptionally high. Nearly 800 preschoolers in colourful attire holding balloons in the colours of the rainbow as part of the "Bielsko Balloon Release" action, followed by students of primary and secondary schools with teachers in the number exceeding one thousand. The programme of this year's festival was based on a comic book already known to the residents of the city, entitled "Bielski and Biała Save the City", which in a humoristic way presents the subject of environmental protection and energy saving by the inhabitants of Bielsko-Biała. In the previous heating season, anti-smog workshops were organised in municipal kindergartens, which used the comic book as a didactic tool, and every preschooler received a copy as a souvenir. In addition, each of the five categories of the 8th edition of the "Respect Energy, Protect the Climate" competition, the final stage of which took place during the festival, referred to the content of the comic book. The effects of the competition efforts could be viewed during the event in the form of a presentation of competition entries, such as the original performances by two of the kindergartens entitled "Exile of the Smog" or a comedy show performed by high school students entitled "Smog Off". There were also living figures of a stork and a frog - heroes of the comic book. There were excellent presentations of works by primary school students, i.e. posters promoting district heat inspired by activities based on the fairy tale "Red Riding Hood. Black Smog Mission" (by PK Therma) and spatial figures of the Eco-Ant - the hero of the comic book "How the Eco-Ant Taught Bielsko Residents to Segregate Garbage" (by Zakład Gospodarki Odpadami S.A.). And all was supplemented by dance performances with participation of Sebastian Chmiel and teachers from the Cuban dance school of Mikołaj Strzyż and Agnieszka Jarosińska, a magic show by Adrian Mitoraj, sand animations by Tigran Vardikyan, fairytale animations by Roman Baran from “Cartoon Studio” in Bielsko-Biała and giant soap bubbles dancing floating around throughout the festival day. Could it be more joyful and fairytale-like? There were also, of course, workshops popular among younger students, run by secondary schools: Copernicus High School No. 1, High School No. 5, "Mechanic" High School, "Gastronomy" High School, and "Gardener" High School, and as many as five stands organised by the Bielsko-Biała Industrial School. The subject of the workshops varied: from solar cells, through 3D printers, mechanical robots, to planting plants and trees, fashion design and the creation of tasty muffins, delicious beverages and natural cosmetics organised for the first time by the Kopaliński Language School. The students, along with the teachers of the Technical and Trade School, immortalised the images of the new Climate Ambassadors who came to the photo studio set up on the stage in front of the Bielsko Cultural Centre. Long queues awaited the chance to climb an inflatable wall set up by the Bielsko-Biała Sports and Recreation Centre, assisted by trainers from Primaroca.
Cities and towns on the path to energy transition – seminar in Serock
Over 70 people, mainly representatives of local governments, but also banks, universities and companies interested in the development of renewable energy use and the improvement of energy efficiency gathered in Serock on 28-29 November 2017 for the seminar „Cities and towns on the path to energy transition”.
Participants were welcomed by Sylwester Sokolnicki, mayor of Serock and Anna Jaskuła, director of the Association of Municipalities Polish Network "Energie Cités" office.
During the meeting, the most important challenges faced by Polish cities and municipalities following the path of sustainable development were presented, the possible solutions to many current problems, as well as inspiring good practices. A lively panel discussion on the future of renewable energy in Poland was moderated by Leszek Drogosz, deputy President of the Board of the Association of Municipalities Polish Network "Energie Cités" and director of the Infrastructure Office in the Capital City of Warsaw.
Colours and science at the Słowacki Park!
The 7th Beskids Good Energy Festival has already come to a close. The echoes of children cheering and the smiles of people participating in the many attractions organised as part of this year's event is what will remain in our memory.
The sun brightened the sky when, on the morning of June 9, 700 colourful biodegradable balloons were released by cheerful pre-schoolers at the Słowacki Park. We hosted as many as 28 pre-school groups, who were involved in this year's edition of the "Respect Energy, Protect the Climate" competition. The winners of this competition were announced, and the pre-schools with the best costumes were also awarded. As a reward, they will soon get the chance to play with LEGO bricks, TEIFOC bricks, or visit the Historical Museum at Sułkowski Castle. They will surely wait with bated breath for another edition of the festival when they remember their fascinating adventures with the heroes from the cartoons made at the Animated Film Studio, look at their souvenir photos with Reksio or the comic book "Bielski and Biała Save the City" which they received at the festival.
Workshop on energy performance contracting and demand side management in Jihlava (CZ)
On Monday, 22nd of May 2017, representatives of our Association took part in the international workshop on energy performance contracting (EPC) and demand side management (DSM), which took place at the seat of the Regional Authority of the Vysočina Region. The organizer of the workshop was the Vysočina Energy Agency, which is part of the international project called TOGETHER - Towards a Goal of Efficiency Through Energy Reduction. The project is financed from Interreg Central Europe 2014-2020 programme.
Through fun to good energy!
Another, already 6th edition of the Beskids Festival of Good Energy took place in an atmosphere of joy and fun at the Słowacki Park in Bielsko-Biała. The fun included experiments, dancing, releasing balloons and solving energy-related puzzles. If you stayed home afraid of the weather you missed out!
Micro-grants for innovative energy projects awarded
Lublin, Bielsko-Biała, Bydgoszcz, Rumia, Płońsk, Pałecznica, Raciechowice, Sztum, Sopot and Milanówek these 10 municipalities are the winners of the contest for the best and most innovative projects in the area of energy efficiency and RES use. Each of them will receive 50 000 PLN for the preparation of necessary analyses and documentation, as well as will be supported in establishing cooperation with Norwegian partners, who will help them in implementation of their projects.
The winners were announced during the conference, which took place on the 13th of June in Poznań. Organisation of the contest supporting transfer of Norwegian know-how to Polish municipalities was one of the main objectives of our Polish-Norwegian project. In total 20 different project were submitted for the competition by 19 Polish local authorities. All of them successfully passed through the formal assessment and the 1st stage of the content assessment, which was performed by experts in the area of energy.
Local energy forums in Słupsk and Sztum
Mobilization of citizens around common energy goals is very important for the successful implementation of local energy-related initiatives, including the development, implementation and monitoring of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). Municipalities of Słupsk and Sztum (Pomeranian voivodeship) are well aware of this, therefore they decided to organise local energy forums and invite representatives of different groups of local stakeholders to a common discussion on their SEAPs.
Let’s learn from each other – exemplary actions included in Polish SEAPs and LCEPs
The next webinar on Low carbon economy plans and Sustainable Energy Action Plans on 22nd of July, 10.00-11.00 gathered an audience of 39 representatives of LAs and energy agencies interested in SEAP actions in various sectors such as municipal buildings, public lighting, transport and households. They can inspire cities and municipalities developing at present their LCEPs – strategic documents setting the directions in the field of investment and non-investment activities for the period 2014-2020.
LCEPs and SEAPs – get engaged in local sustainable energy action!
27 representatives of cities and municipalities participated in the webinar on Low Carbon Economy Plans (LCEPs) and Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) on the 8th of July at 9.30-10.30.
There are some 700 low carbon economy plans being developed by over 900 municipalities in Poland, while 31 Polish municipalities have developed a Sustainable Energy Action Plan in the framework of the Covenant of Mayors. What are the differences and synergies of these plans? This webinar aimed to provide practical guidance for municipalities involved in the concrete process, expectations and benefits, key success factors in setting their territories on a more sustainable path.
