2008

SPARE international energy saving day started on November 10 at AARHUS Center Georgia, at Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. Representatives from AARHUS Center Georgia, OSCE mission to Georgia, Private Company WoodService (WS), Tbilisi State University, Georgia Green Movement, NGO EcoVision, Tbilisi and Gori SPARE schools were among the organizers and participants of the event.

On the 11th of November in Uzbekistan the SPARE international energy saving day was celebrated in 18 schools and 191 participants in the clubs passed about the classes and described to students about the program, the anthropogenic environmental effect, about global climate change and the program SPARE.

The joint meeting of SPARE group and students of schools from 3 villages – Marza, Mugni and Aragacotn was carried out on November 11th - on the international day of energy saving, in the school of № 2. Teacher, Mari Hodjoyan, described the reasons for the global warming, the present and expected consequences for the planet.

Some 45 schools teachers participated at the seminar of different specialities, as well as the representatives of the schools administration. The seminar was carried out by the national coordinator of project SPARE in Ukraine with the organizational support of the Sevastopol Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Participants in the seminar were introduced to the various forms and methods of the training work with the children on the energy saving and development.

Saving energy is important for improvement of local and global environment. Nobody can do everything, but if everybody does something, we can achieve a lot together! In order to increase attention for the importance of energy saving, SPARE arranges an international energy saving day today!

We invite you to join the SPARE international energy saving day on the 11th of November 2008.

Saving energy is important for improvement of local and global environment. Nobody can do everything, but if everybody does something, we can achieve a lot together! In order to increase attention for the importance of energy saving, SPARE arranges an international energy saving day. Schools and pupils from many countries will participate, and we invite also your school to join!

Development of energy education, SPARE development, on the level with NGO vision and involvement to the climate/energy policy were discussed October 13-15, 2008, at the INFORSE-Europe seminar in Montreuil, France.

SPARE coordinators, teachers and pupils from the three Caucasian countries Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have in the end of September gathered for regional SPARE seminar in the mountain village Gudauri, Georgia. The participants have been discussing the development of SPARE in the region, the consequences of climate change and methods to teach pupils what climate change is and how it will affect the Caucasus.

Our Bulgarian partner has recived seed money in order to develop project on energy saving and renewable energy use in schools. The project is EEA funded and is expected to improve conditions in schools as well as to bring up new generations of environmentally aware citizens.

Last winter countries in Central Asia experienced severe energy shortages, the situation being most severe for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. In temperatures down to 30 degrees below zero electricity disappeared for days and weeks, with grave consequences for households, hospitals and schools. Kyrgyzstan is now preparing for a new winter with energy shortage. Daily power cuts are now reality in the capital Bishkek, and “winter holiday” from 20th of December till February is already announced for all schools.

The new Armenian Prime-Minster Tigran Sargsyan has met with representatives of “Ecological Union of Armenian NGO’s”. Members of Prime-Minister staff, Minister Nature Protection and Heads of different departments and gencies of ministry were present at the meeting.

Togrul Nuri who presented SPARE project at TUNZA International Environmental Conference held in Stavangerd on June 17-21, started his speech with these words. "I would like to talk about international school project SPARE, which provides detailed and valuable information on saving energy resources, using alternate energy sources, and which recommends us to isolate doors and windows in classrooms for keeping energy in”.

- Schools must become more active in telling how we must act in order to avoid dangerous climate change.
This was the message from Dag A. Hoystad, working with energy in SPARE, to teachers and youth leaders at the UNEP children’s conference TUNZA. The conference takes place in Stavanger Norway from 15th to 20th of June 2008, and gathers children and youth leaders from 105 countries.

Small scale sustainable energy solutions developed within SPARE and the role of nuclear power in climate change were among the topics when Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) met in Bonn at the UNFCCC Climate Change Talks (Subsidiary Bodies 28), where delegates from all countries are cooporating in technical working groups to prepare for the Climate negotiations later this year in Poznan, Poland.

SPARE in Kyrgyzstan has implemented a bigger project on solar water heating in rural regions of the country. In 20 villages a number of families have got the possibility to be trained on how to build low cost solar water heaters. The project has met great interest all over Kyrgyzstan, and in total more than 300 persons has been trained on solar water heaters.

SPARE in Belarus establishes a new project on development of educational program on energy, climate and environment in Belarus. Main cooperation partner is the Ministry of Education of Belarus, but also Ministry of Environment, UNDP, NGOs and various educational institutions participates in the project. SPARE will serve as basis for the new program in Belarus.

SPARE coordinators from 11 countries have in the end of April been gathered for international SPARE meeting in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. The coordinators have been discussing results and development of educational and practical energy activities. The activity of SPARE is higher than ever, with 3 000 schools and 150 000 pupils participating in the project during the educational year 2007-2008.

On the 29.3.2008 a successful initiating workshop was held in Tajikistan‘s capital Dushanbe. The workshop introduced the ICS to officials and other NGOs in Tajikistan and asked for cooperation, participation and support in the effective implementation of the program.

Workshops whit the slogan “Energy Saving; Past, Present and Future” was held in the mountain regions of South-Georgia. This very successful experiment gave possibility for more than 100 teachers and schoolchildren to learn about the energy saving program SPARE.