The dialogue event consisted of three virtual sessions in which more than 28 local urban practitioners have participated, representing 23 municipalities and 6 countries from the MENA region and Germany. Moreover, projects were presented by 6 municipalities from Southeast Europe and Southampton UK during the session dedicated to showcasing and analysing good practice examples (19th May). Below is an overview of the program and content:

1. Day 1- Networking and orientation (18th May): This session aimed at the introduction of/networking among the participating municipal representatives. It also included a presentation by Ms. Haneen Hassouneh, head of local development unit in Sahab municipality-Jordan in which she shared her experience in promoting the role of female practitioners in the field of energy efficiency and strategies to ensure gender-sensitivity in energy efficiency projects. The session also included an interactive quiz with the participants to assess the energy efficiency practices within their municipalities. A highlight of this interactive exercise was that the participants have unanimously agreed that there is an urgent need to emphasize energy efficiency in municipalities to achieve a reduction in annual energy costs.
2. Day 2- Showcasing of good practice examples (19th May): Following keynote speeches from Dr. Naguib Amin (Clima-MED in South Mediterranean) and Dr. Stephan Anders (DGNB certification- Germany), participants have joined 5 groups to watch the presentations and discuss 19 successful projects from MENA, SEE, Germany, UK and South Africa.
3. Day 3- Peer advisory and development of project ideas (20th May): In this session, municipal representatives from MENA have worked in 4 groups to discuss challenges and brainstorm project ideas to overcome these challenges. In addition, Dr. Shady Attieh (head of Sustainable Building Design Lab (SBD)-University of Liège) has delivered a presentation on best practices in sustainable architecture in MENA.

Presentation Day 1: Municipal Energy Efficiency Projects in MENA: Opening and Networking presentation and recording

Group 1 (energy efficiency in private buildings): presentations by Keda- Georgia and Southampton-UK presentations and recording

Group 2 (energy efficiency in public buildings- part 1): presentations by Batumi- Georgia, Amman- Jordan, project from South Africa, Karak- Jordan, Wasatiyeh, Jordan presentations and recording

Group 3 (energy efficiency in public buildings- part 2): presentations by Krefeld- Germany, Amman- Jordan, Glezan- Algeria, Novohrad-Volynskyi, Ukraine presentations and recording

Group 4 (Switch to renewable energies): presentations by Kragujevac-Serbia,  Nabeul-Tunisia, Qaraoun-Lebanon, Nettetal- Germany presentations and recording

Group 5 (Energy efficiency and RE in districts):  Tepebaşı -Turkey, Lviv-Ukraine, Zhytomyr-Ukraine, Korschenbroich- Germany presentations and recording

Energy management, energy regulations and smart buildings (Internet of Things): Bizerte- Tunisia, Hebron-Palestine, Irbid-Jordan, Dr. Simon Jenniches (Healthy Building Network), Riadh Bhar (Build-ME project), Samer Zawaydeh (energy expert in MENA) Link to brainstorming board and project idea

Energy Efficient green buildings: Sfax- Tunisia, Nabeul- Tunisia, Zaki Mahfoud, Dr. Shadi Attieh Link to brainstorming board and project idea

Energy Efficiency in street lighting: Sahab-Jordan, Madaba-Jordan, Juneid-Jordan, Qaroun- Lebanon, Deir Alla-Jordan Link to brainstorming board and project idea

Energy efficiency in waste management: Karak-Jordan, Jerash-Jordan, Glezan-Algeria, Link to brainstorming board and project idea

Municipal energy efficiency projects in MENA

2021 - Detailed documentation of Connective Cities' virtual dialogue event, 18- 21 May 2021

by Shalan Muna |  Connective Cities

To get an even deeper look into the virtual dialogue event on municipal energy efficiency projects in MENA.