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Energy in Humanitarian Contexts: Taking Stock of Progress in Light of COVID-19 25 June 2020 – 10:30am to 12:00pm . On Thursday 25th June 2020 Owen Grafham, Assistant Director for EER, Chatham House, hosted an online discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on energy planning and projects in the humanitarian setting.

Presentations were delivered by energy practitioners working on projects in Rwanda, Jordan and further afield on how the pandemic has affected the delivery and progress of finding solutions to energy needs and aspirations in the humanitarian setting:

• Lama Gharaibeh, Climate and Energy Advisor, NORCAP
• Philip Sandwell, Humanitarian Energy Research Associate. Imperial College London
• Denyse Umubyeyi, Country Manager, Practical Action Rwanda
• Jackson Mutonga, Senior Advisor, GIZ, Kenya
• Karishma Tarannum, Environment Assistant, UNHCR Bangladesh

Transcripts and slides of the discussion will be available at a later date.

This month’s newsletter features:

‘Is Sustainable Attainable?’ Using HEED as a case study, Vijay Bhopal and Sandy Robinson explore the sustainability of energy interventions in the displaced context. Update on HEED Conference ‘Agency of Change: Energy in the Displaced Setting’, Wednesday 1st July 2020, Coventry University, Coventry. Catch Up with … Kriti Bhargava HEED team member Kriti is a research fellow at Coventry University. Part of the next generation of computer scientists, Kriti discusses working on a humanitarian engineering project as an early career researcher.

Important Notice: Postponement of HEED Conference Wednesday 1st July 2020, Simulation Centre, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 2TL

New Date: Wednesday 4th November 2020, Simulation Centre, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 2TL

After much thought, due to the ongoing concerns with COVID-19 and the uncertainty about the lifting of restrictions, we are postponing the conference and exhibition ‘Agency of Change: Energy in the Displaced Setting’ scheduled for Wednesday, July 1st at Coventry University. Although we have looked at other options, after speaking with those who have hosted online conferences, we feel that this conference is best as a face-to-face event.

Please note the post-conference photo exhibition and reception ‘Agency of Change: Human Stories’ will also now be on Wednesday 4th November 5.30 -7.00, Coventry University, Coventry, UK

The venue is unchanged.

We hope you can still attend as we look forward to meeting up with you in November. 

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest about what they saw as a governmental failure to address an increasing global environmental disaster. In recognition of that protest, in 2016, the United Nations chose Earth Day as the day when the historic Paris Agreement on climate change was signed.

This year, Wednesday the 22nd of April is the 50th Anniversary of World Earth Day, but due to the seriousness of COVID-19, there is no worldwide public event. Instead, the organisers of World Earth Day have asked that on April 22nd we take part in 24 hours of action in a global digital landscape with global conversations, calls to action, performances, video teach-ins and more.

It is evidential that more needs to be done to address the continuing environmental and climate crisis. With that in mind, we at HEED will be taking part in this global action by launching a series of videos through social media and the website. These videos document the impact of the HEED energy interventions on everyday lives to tell stories of change.

This month’s newsletter features  ‘Agency of Change: Human Stories’, a series of images by the humanitarian photographer Edoardo Santangelo recording HEED’s work in Nepal and Rwanda from 2018-2019.

In documenting the impact of the HEED project on refugees in Rwanda and internally displaced people in Nepal, these photos give insight into the relationship between energy poverty and technologies in the displaced context.

Access the newsletter here