24.04.2025 | Aurore Dudka from University of Trento participated in Seminar.
ECOEMPOWER was recently spotlighted in a prestigious seminar series hosted by the University College London United Nations Association, where the theme of Energy Democracy in Africa took center stage. The event, which gathered leading voices in the energy access and sustainability fields, provided a timely platform for ECOEMPOWER to share its core mission: engaging and empowering citizens to co-create energy solutions that are socially embedded and locally meaningful.
Invited by UCL and Professor Xavier Lemaire, ECOEMPOWER’s representative Aurore Dudka presented a deep dive into the development of energy communities across the European Union, drawing vital lessons for similar initiatives in African contexts. The presentation emphasized how grassroots engagement strategies and collective organizational models — such as the Centrales Villageoises in France — can be adapted to build local capacity, mutualize knowledge, and strengthen community-led governance in energy transitions.
The seminar sparked vibrant discussions around both bottom-up and top-down approaches to energy development, with valuable insights from international contributors. These exchanges underscored a recurring theme: energy systems are never purely technical; they are fundamentally social and political, shaped by power dynamics and cultural relevance.
"This workshop truly resonated with our values," said the ECOEMPOWER speaker. "It reinforced why we do what we do: to create energy solutions that are not imposed but grown from the ground up, through trust, knowledge sharing, and shared purpose."
