Azerbajan Youth Union (AYU) is the national coordinator implementing SPARE in Azerbajan, and is a national organisation working widely on issues related to youth, as gender, health and education. AYU has been running SPARE actively in the country since 2001. Cooperation with the national centre for environmental education, which has regional centers all over Azerbajan, gives AYU the opportunity to spread the project widely in the country.
Azerbaijan Youth Union is a non-governmental organization, founded in September 1991, and officially registered by Azerbaijan Ministry of Justice. AYU is public organization without political goals, but social, economical and cultural. The Union also promotes initiatives and creativity, patriotism and humanity, straightening of friendship and mutual understanding between young people from different countries.
The organization tends to attract young people to nongovernmental movements in order to help to build civil society in Azerbaijan. So far, AYU has been financed by international organizations (ISAR, IRC, UNHCR, UNDP, REC), corporations (AMOCO) and state agencies (ministry of youth, sport and tourism, Local government of Baku), while at the same time using own inner possibilities to carry out dozens of projects of a different character. Organization has its offices in almost all cities of Azerbaijan, which is contributing to the development of NGOs in different regions of the country.
Project SPARE started in October 2002, with 75 pupils from 5 schools. One year later, the project included 10 schools with 160 pupils from different regions of the country. In 2004 some 20 schools took part on SPARE, with 320 pupils participating. In this season, several high schools have been included in the project.
The most active SPARE partner is ecological center of Ministry of education, Center of climate changes of Ministry of environment and natural resources, Norwegian refugee council, Project Harmony.
Meetings with the government
In March 2004 international coordinator SPARE Yngvild Lorentzen visited Baku. During the visit Lorentzen and national coordinator Naila Ismailova have met with the head of Ministry of environment and natural resources of Azerbaijan, Husein Bagirov. At this meeting, Bagirov was informed about SPARE program and its implementation course in the country and several editions of ‘Energy saving’ book in Azeri language, printed with the financial support of Norwegian embassy, was presented.
Bagirov supported idea of conducting the project in Azerbaijan. The minister also showed interest in developing biogas energy use and increasing a number of biogas plants in the country.
Biogas generators have already been set in several regions of Azerbaijan.
Publications
SPARE workers have created a several methodological materials for teachers and pupils. Text book ‘Energy saving’ was printed with a support from the Norwegian embassy.
The Ministry of environment Ecological center made an educational program, based on ‘Energy saving’ book. The program comprises of information on Azerbaijan energy resources and energy supply, and a part with homework tasks.
Two booklets have been made ‘Clean energy – our future’ on necessity for energy saving and ‘The economy of water’, on water saving, since Azerbaijan is, along with two other countries of the region, lacking water.
In July 2003 the book ‘Energy saving’ has been translated into Azeri language and published in 500 copies.
In 2004 a ‘National supplement on energy resources’ has been published, with a support from The Ministry of environment Center for climate change, where information on legal base of energy resources use.
In June 2004 we published booklets ’SPARE Azerbaijan’ and ’Energy saving’.
In September 2004 with a financial support from Norwegian embassy in Azerbaijan we re published text book ‘Energy saving’ in 3000 copies.
