THE SMARTEES PROJECT

LOCAL SOCIAL INNOVATION

Webinar: How to work together with your citizens towards a low-carbon society?

8 October 2019

Webinar: How to work together with your citizens towards a low-carbon society?

Energy transitions from fossil to renewable energy sources demand not only technological solutions. Meaningful changes in energy systems also require the engagement of people. To achieve such engagement in the context of an energy transition, it is important that technological solutions are utilised for social ends and ultimately for achieving a higher quality of life for people. SMARTEES starts its webinar series 'What’s new in social innovation and energy transitions?' that considers the social and political nature of energy transitions under the notion of social innovation.

Throughout our webinar series, insights into how new forms of energy use were invented and developed are going to be illustrated, based on 10 exciting examples from cities and islands displaying social innovations.

The series starts with the webinar 'Local Leadership, or From Usual Suspects to Local Heroes. How to work together with your citizens towards a low-carbon society.'

DATE: 13 November, 11.00-12.00 CET

SIGN UP: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/351719878044822285

Target audience: local governments, entrepreneurs, organized citizens.

Our first webinar starts with the following panelists’ contributions:

1. Dr. Erica Löfström (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway)

Erica works as a researcher and teaches human computer interaction, where she combines her competences in both technical sciences (smart houses, smart grids and meters, etc.) as well as social sciences (science and technology studies, environmental psychology). During her presentation, 'People at the heart of transitions: networks of social innovation', Erica will introduce webinar participants to the overall topic in question.

2. Søren Hermansen (Samsø Energy Academy, Denmark)

Søren is a social innovation practitioner and is the driver behind the energy transition on the island of Samsø. Amongst other influential actors, he received Time Magazine’s 'Green Hero 2008' award. Since 1998, he has been working as CEO of the Energy Academy (EA), an NGO that now holds 20 years of experience in creating bottom-up communication strategies for different stakeholders on the island. The experiences in engagement, financing, education, and the training of local leadership is today exported to international partners, institutions, municipalities, and NGOs. Søren is going to share his experience with us during the webinar as he tackles the question: 'What can local governments do to engage and empower their population?.'

3. Dr. Frances Sprei (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden)

Frances works as a professor at the Department of Space, Earth and Environment at Chalmers University of Technology. Her research assesses the different personal mobility options, such as alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles, as well as innovative mobility forms, such as car sharing and ride sharing. She has been the co-chair of the Behavior Energy and Climate Change conference and has received, in 2010, the Jan-Eric Sundgren Award. Frances is going to take us a few meters back from hands-on innovating to a broader perspective that addresses: 'What are the main patterns and differences among successful transitions?'

We invite you to join these inspiring presentations and are looking forward to your participation!

PROJECT PARTNERS

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 763912. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the SMARTEES project. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the European Union.