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11 / 08 / 2009 THE EURO SOLAR PROGRAMME IS HOLDING ITS SECOND REGIONAL CONFERENCE IN HONDURAS · Beneficiary countries are the 8 Latin American countries with the lowest rates of human development, namely, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru. · The end beneficiaries of the Programme will be an estimated 300,000 or more people in 600 rural communities who at the present time have no access to an electricity supply network. Madrid 23 July 2009 . From 22 to 26 July the Second Regional Conference of the EURO SOLAR programme was held in Roatán Honduras, a pioneering initiative organised by the European Commission Cooperation Office (EuropeAid) which aims to reduce poverty, providing isolated communities that lack electricity with access to a source of renewable energy, by installing 600 electricity production kits based 100% on renewable sources. The conference, which is held annually, serves as an occasion for all those involved to get together, providing an opportunity to exchange best practices and coordinate the activities to be carried out within the framework of the Programme. This year, the Second Regional Conference was held at the midway point of the Programme, prior to installation of the kits in the rural communities, a project which is planned for completion by 2011. The official opening of the event was attended by Carlos Pineda Calderón Deputy Minister of the Honduran Council for Science and Technology (COHCIT) the country hosting the event, representatives of the European Commission in Brussels and its Delegations in Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Paraguay, as well as participants from the 8 beneficiary countries, SOCOIN, the Technological Institute for Renewable Energies (ITER) and the companies supplying the equipment for the project (CYMI and AGMIN). The event focused on reviewing the achievements and progress made over the past year (selection of communities, start of the rehabilitation work, inter-organisational coordination and liaison etc) and on defining a common strategy for ensuring sustainability of the Programme for the future. The conference also addressed technical, administrative, institutional and social issues. Time was also devoted to the results expected in the next phases of the project such as installation of the systems, the training and support strategy devised for the communities and inter-organisational agreements to be drawn up in order to ensure a sustainable internet connection. Jose Gonzalez Head of the Education and New Technologies Sector of the Latin American Operations Unit of the European Commission Cooperation Office in his final conclusions highlighted the need to activate from now on, all the mechanisms available for ensuring the Programme’s sustainability in the future, taking into account all legal, technical, economic and social aspects. |
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