The 2nd International “Women Energize Women” (WEW) Conference, which was held on June 15, 2023, in the context of the smarter E – Europe's largest solar trade fair with over 100,000 participants from 166 countries – in Munich, was a resounding success. The conference is a highlight of the “Women Energize Women” communication campaign that is implemented by GIZ and the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) within the framework of the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action’s (BMWK) global project “Bilateral Climate and Energy Partnerships”. It has already reached over 11.5 million people via X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Financing the Energy Transition & Investing in Women”. The conference boasted almost 300 participants from 50 countries, a first-time live stream watched by over 3000 people and social media reach of over 1.6 million. Exclusively female representatives from banks, insurance companies, governments, international organizations, NGOs as well as journalists and entrepreneurs elaborated on how to increase the share of women in the energy sector and provided valuable insights into both their experiences in the energy sector and into accelerating the energy transition. The talks delved into critical aspects of financing the energy transition, political frameworks for investment, and the significance of education, training, and participation. In conjunction with the conference, a side event entitled “Women in Energy in the MENA Region” was held on June 16, bringing together high-level speakers on issues specific to the region.
In addition, the #womenenergize media fellowship, implemented by GIZ and BEE, brought together 13 talented female journalists dedicated to environmental and renewable energy topics from Algeria, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Jordan, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Vietnam who took part in a study tour during the week of the WEW Conference. They visited a hydroelectric power plant of Stadtwerke München, a biogas plant (Staatsgut Grub), the Intersolar Europe conference, as well as the Women Energize Women conference.
23 select mentees of the “Energizing Women to Advance the Energy Transition” mentoring program attended the conference, also participating in a study tour. Currently, 120 female energy experts from 19 energy partnership countries take part in this program, which is implemented by the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET), GIZ, and supporting partners adelphi and Guidehouse.
The “Women Energize Women” conference is implemented by GIZ, BEE, and the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar e.V.) on behalf of the BMWK. It can count on strong cooperation partners such as, the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET), adelphi, Guidehouse, and the German Energy Agency (dena).
Contact:
Katarzyna Rezza Vega
Katarzyna.rezza-vega(at)giz.de
