COM EAST CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES
Capacity building for actual and potential CoM Signatories in EaP countries is one of the core directions of the CoM East project activities. The main efforts of the CoM East experts were focused on improving and strengthening the capacities of municipalities that joined the new Covenant, as well as CoM National Coordinators and Supporters in terms of developing and implementing municipal projects in the field of energy and climate. In August 2019 – February 2020, a number of specialised trainings and a study visit were organised in Moldova, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine.
BELARUS
Baranavicy (December 19-20, 2019)
CoM Signatories trained in climate and infrastructure issues
About 40 representatives of Belarusian CoM Signatories gathered in Baranavičy for a two-day training dedicated to climate and infrastructure issues. During the event, the CoM East Country Expert in Belarus Ivan Shchadranok delivered a presentation on how municipalities can adapt to climate change. The training participants discussed the “grey”, “blue” and “green” infrastructure as well as specificities of working with each of them.
GEORGIA
Lagodekhi (August-September, 2019)
“Energy efficiency and energy management” trainings for City Hall staff
In August-September, 2019, the CoM East country office and Covenant Supporter to Georgia team organised a series of 2-day trainings dedicated to energy efficiency and energy management for representatives of CBOs, City Hall and administrative units of Lagodekhi municipality. In the course of training sessions, the participants got acquainted with the policy and legal framework in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. The trainees discussed SECAP template and how to fill it with all the required information. They also studied the main components of SECAPs, such as implementation of baseline emission inventory (BEI), risk and vulnerability assessment (RVA) along with identification of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.
Ozurgeti (September 21-22, 2019)
Telavi (October 26-27, 2019)
Telavi (October 26-27, 2019)
“Think globally – act locally” trainings for civil society organisations
On September 21-22, the CoM East country office and Covenant Supporter to Georgia team organised a 2-day training on energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and modern clean energy technologies for local civil society organizations in Ozurgeti municipality, which is one of the Georgian CoM Signatories. Later on in October 2019, a similar training was organised for local community of another Georgian CoM Signatory – Telavi municipality. During the training sessions, the participants were familiarized with the CoM initiative, which brings together cities and towns to take climate and energy actions to secure a better future for their citizens, the commitments undertaken by the Georgian Signatories under the Covenant of Mayors and concrete projects that contributed to the reduction of CO2 emissions and increasing resilience to climate change in their municipalities.
MOLDOVA
Calarasi (November 21-22, 2019)
City2City technical exchange study visit
Representatives of five CoM Signatories from Moldova – Ceadîr-Lunga, Copceac, Lozova, Nisporeni and Teliţa – together with eight experts from the host municipality, participated in a technical exchange study visit to Calarasi, Republic of Moldova, organised by the CoM East project within the City2City training programme. The purpose of the visit was to facilitate the exchange of experience between corresponding specialists of five municipalities, who are in the incipient stage of implementing actions in the field of prevention and adaptation to climate change, and the authorities of Calarasi City, which have developed and successfully implemented the strategies of decarbonising and increasing community resilience. The host city in turn benefited from the new perspectives and useful information in the field of energy and climate.
UKRAINE
Kyiv (November 27-28, 2019)
Capacity building training for CTCs from Ukraine and Georgia
On November 27-28, 2019, representatives of 15 Covenant Territorial Coordinators from Ukraine and 3 from Georgia took part in the specialized training dedicated to increasing their capacities for supporting municipalities that join CoM initiative. One of the most important goals of the training was to ensure a uniform and consistent transfer of CoM East project functions to the relevant institutions in the Eastern Partnership countries. Participants discussed the role of the Territorial Coordinators, the state of cooperation with Signatories and how to improve it.
Kyiv (December 10-11 and 17-18, 2019)
Small CoM Signatories trained in effective planning and attracting funds to implement municipal projects
How to strengthen capacities for efficient planning, project implementation and attracting optimal funding sources on the municipal level to meet the Covenant of Mayors commitments? On December 10 – 11, 2019, more than 30 representatives of small Ukrainian CoM Signatories took part in the training dedicated to these issues organised by the CoM East project in Kyiv. With the help of the CoM East Country Expert in Ukraine Oksana Kysil, participants learned how to establish an effective project management structure and to develop a successful long-term investment strategy for implementation of their Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plans (SECAPs). Practical component of the training included calculation of the project economic model in the key SE(C)AP sectors to choose the optimal funding mechanism. The trainees also had an opportunity to present, share and discuss the experience of different Ukrainian Signatories in the course of implementing their SE(C)APs. One week later, on December 17-18, the same training steps implementation was offered to 32 representatives of 16 mid-size and big Ukrainian CoM Signatories.
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