By Abdelkarim Jaiteh
Forum on renewable energy modules for secondary, vocational and higher education, organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation opened Thursday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi
Two days validation is meant for promoting the use and integration of renewable energy in productive sectors.
The forum also brought together various players in the energy sector under the UNIDO/GEF 5 project titled: “greening the productive sectors in Gambia”, aimed at promoting the use and integration of small to medium-scale renewable energy systems in the productive sector.
Khadidiatou Diallo, project coordinator of UNIDO/GEF in her opening remark commended the ministry for the partnership to deliver several projects in promoting the use and integration of renewable energy in productive sectors.
According to Mrs Diallo, several milestones have been achieved, noting that with commitment and strong partnership and availability of funds, the projects will have a real impact on the involved communities.
The event, she went further represents a milestone for Gambia education sector as curriculum has been developed for young entrepreneurs to enhance their understanding of the subject matter.
Lamin Camara, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, stated that the event could not have taken place at a better time in The Gambia due to the increasing influx of renewable energy technologies.
He added that there is need to develop the academic and technical capacity of Gambian for sustainable utilization of these technologies.
PS Camara expressed delight over the validation which he said The Gambia would for the first time have developed not only the first re-entrepreneurship curricula but also designed suitable training modules for the different educational levels in the country, from secondary to higher education.
“In order to facilitate smooth implementation of this assignment, expert panel consisting of key stakeholders was set up to help review, and provide inputs to curricula, and also provide advice on strategic approaches as well as solutions to ensure that the project objectives are achieved,” PS Camara pointed out.
Anthony Mendy, representative from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research Science and Technology, described the exercise as “vital” in the development of education sector and the country as a whole.
Renewable energy is the energy collected from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat which provides energy in four important areas such as electricity generation, air and water heating or cooling. With this validation workshop, officials are hopeful that it will have great impact on communities involved.