Highlights from the Appliances Empower Campaign
The campaign consisted of a global effort to develop deep linkages between energy access, gender equality and social inclusion
Last month, the Efficiency for Access Coalition celebrated the conclusion to the Appliances Empower campaign, our longest and most successful communications campaign to-date! The campaign consisted of a global effort to develop deep linkages between energy access, gender equality and social inclusion. Together with our 22 campaign partners, we took a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-centric structure to highlight the inextricable link between SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy for All, and SDG 5, Gender Equality.
The messages from the campaign were widely echoed. Over the course of five months, the Appliances Empower campaign earned three million impressions on social media and reached 40 countries. Highlights of the campaign include:
Twitter Chat 1: #AppliancesEmpowerChat
The first Twitter Chat of the campaign raised awareness on the role of energy-efficient appliances in improving women’s health and well-being. A special focus was placed on off-grid technologies capable of benefiting women’s health and well-being, such as electric pressure cookers, solar water pumps, refrigeration and additional technologies needed for maternal and neonatal care.
Twitter Chat 2: #InclusiveAppliancesChat
This Twitter Chat served as a global conversation on how off-grid appliances can help leave no one behind in energy access efforts. The Efficiency for Access Coalition and our participants highlighted the need to include women, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups in global energy access efforts. This conversation reached one million impressions on social media, and saw over 200 shares and 1000 likes — breaking records for the Efficiency for Access Twitter account!
Securing an Inclusive Energy Transition: Female Empowerment and Entrepreneurship in Energy Access
The Efficiency for Access Coalition, in partnership with GOGLA, ENERGIA and Value for Women, hosted a webinar on the ways modern and sustainable energy advances SDG 5 and drives women’s empowerment. A stunning 338 people registered, representing 30+ countries. Check out the recording of the webinar here.
Off-Grid Appliances Facilitate and Expand Gender-Positive “Productive Uses” of Energy Blog
In our first campaign blog post, CLASP Manager, Yasemin Erboy Ruff, posed the question: How can we shift the narrative of productive-use appliances to be more inclusive of the needs of women? The article provides a deep-dive into the gender-energy nexus and provides examples of the positive impacts that productive-use appliances have on women.
Seven Lessons from Working in Sierra Leone’s Clean Energy Sector Blog
Mariama Kamara is the Founder of Smiling Through Light — a business that partners with women to develop innovative solutions for the distribution and sales of clean energy products in last-mile communities. In our second campaign blog post, Mariama shared her top seven takeaways for how to achieve SDG7 while promoting gender equality. Her messages speak volumes to empowering women in rural off-grid communities.
Looking Ahead
Changemakers in Energy Access Blog Series: The Efficiency for Access Coalition has launched a new series on Medium, Changemakers in Energy Access, to spotlight both women and men whose work is deeply committed to championing gender equality and empowerment in the off-grid energy access space. Check out the first feature of the series here and stay tuned for upcoming releases! Know someone that should be featured? Send us a note at info@efficiencyforaccess.org.
Empowering Access Pledge: While the Appliances Empower campaign may be over, our efforts in implementing Gender Mainstreaming into our current and future projects are still going strong. To honor the 25th anniversary of the historic Beijing Platform for Action, the Efficiency for Access Coalition and our partners asked members to signal their commitment to establishing, maintaining or advancing gender mainstreaming within their work. We are now happy to announce that 39 of organizations signed our pledge! Keep an eye out for future announcements on the outcome of our pledge, and read more about the importance of gender mainstreaming here.
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We could not have accomplished the feats of the Appliances Empower campaign without our 22 partners and supporting audiences. A sincere thank you to everyone who helped amplified the roles that appliances play in boosting women’s empowerment!
In June, Efficiency for Access will launch our next awareness raising campaign on the role efficient appliances play in advancing climate resiliency. Please visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter for updates on other Efficiency for Access communications initiatives.