The second edition of the African Energy and Renewable Energies Week (SEERA) was held on May 2-7, in Ouagadougou. Many structures attended the event, including the African Network for Solar Energy (ANSOLE). We shared with his coordinator – Prof. Daniel Ayuk Mbi Egbe, a Cameroonian living in Germany – on his advice on energy awareness and promotion of renewable energies. For him, everyone must be trained, even the religious people.
Can you make a brief overview of your structure?
The African network for solar energy (ANSOLE) is a platform of discussions between the various stakeholders in the energy sector who are dedicated to promoting, in a concerted way, the use of various forms of renewable energies, in order to solve the energy problem, an acute problem in Africa, while preserving and protecting the environment. This network is growing rapidly and today we are in 44 African countries, including Burkina Faso.
What are the objectives of your network?
The network aims to promote research, education and vocational training in renewable energies among Africans and non-Africans. ANSOLE approves the use of renewable energies for the social and economic development of Africa and the protection of the environment through the education and vocational training of African technicians, scientists, experts and students. In Burkina Faso, we work with the Ministry of Energy to make sure that training runs smoothly, which is crucial in promoting renewable energies.
What are your expectations for this second edition of the Energy and Renewable Energies Week?
Basically networking, and especially for this Week, it brings together people working in the same sector to share and discuss ideas. But for our network, we attend this event at the invitation of the Minister of Energy. It is a week of giving and receiving. And since we came here, we have learned a lot through presentations. However, we also provided something, such as advice as part of outreach.
From your experience, what are your advocacy tips?
I suggested using religious circles to raise awareness, especially in mosques and churches. This was done in Morocco, where the King requested to put solar panels on 600 mosques. Actually, we are looking forward to bring the religious people to see the importance of renewable energies. It is also important to train imams, pastors and priests on renewable energies so that they become spokesmen in their churches and mosques to convince the population. For me, it is almost a sin to go out of a room without turning off the light, for it is wasteful … When the men of God explain this to their religious people, this shows us, by experience, that they then take this stake much more seriously.
