BRIDGE at EUSEW 2021 with session on citizen engagement (recording now available)
The BRIDGE initiative participated in the extended programme of the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) with a session focused on the lessons learned from the various, Smart Grid, Energy Storage, Islands, and Digitalisation Projects projects taking part in BRIDGE.
Taking place online on 13th October 2021 under the full title of: “Bringing Citizens on Board the Energy Transition: – Integrated Learning from a Year with Different Measures of Engagement“, the session will engage participants in sharing stories about citizen collective action and their role in the digitalized energy system of 2030. It also sought to highlight what have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how we can continue engaging citizens in the green energy transition of the future.
The session provided examples of citizen engagement strategies and methodologies implemented by BRIDGE projects and proposed recommendations on the main topics that the Consumer and Citizen Engagement Working Group has addressed, together with a thematic discourse derived from leading engagement activities in a time of a pandemic:
The Stage of Change is offering a new concept to understand the development of citizen collective action schemes. The Working Group on Customer Engagement has proposed a set a new way to understand and assess citizen-led projects to encourage their development
Building citizen centric projects will present the engagement strategies for Smart Grid projects. Projects of the BRIDGE initiative have discussed the adaptation of engagement strategies according to current constraints in the energy market, from COVID19 to the lack of diversity. This presentation will present the solutions that have been found so far.
Change is possible – a key take away across BRIDGE projects is that, even under extraordinary circumstances, they have demonstrated ingenuity and willingness adapt. The lessons learned will help to bring the green energy transition even further.
The session presented the outcomes of the conversation between BRIDGE projects and offered the opportunity to participants to ask questions to speakers and engage participants in sharing stories about citizen collective action and their role in the digitalized energy system of 2030.
Speakers to the session include:
Cristiana Marchitelli, Policy Officer, DG Energy
Stanislas d’Herbemont, Development Manager at REScoop and Chair of the BRIDGE Consumer and Citizen Engagement Working group (Representing the Compile Project)
Diego Casado, Doctor en Informática, Deusto (Representing the PARITY Project)
Thomas N. Mikkelsen, CEO & Founder, GECO Global and Chair of the BRIDGE Joint Communication Task Force (Representing ELAND, iElectrix, and SYNERGY projects)
Mats Tiborn, Strategic Communicator, IMCG International (Representing the Flexigrid project)
Watch the recording of the event below