The Cape Peninsula University of Technology in partnership with Green Shift Africa and the Student Energy movement will be hosting the 1st African Student Energy Summit from 19th (tomorrow) – 20th of June 2014 in Cape Town. This summit is powered by the United Nations’ Sustainable Energy for All Initiative and the theme of the summit is “Powering the Future”.

Apart from the summit taking place in Cape Town, there will be other Regional Student Energy Summits taking place on five continents simultaneously. The summit is designed for post-secondary students, early career researchers, business executives, as well as policy makers and academics. These multidisciplinary forums of 200-300 students will provide access to a global platform intended for students to converse on their role and responsibilities in a transition to a sustainable energy future. These Regional Summits are modeled after the hugely successful International Student Energy Summit held in Norway last year. Students from 64 different countries attended the summit and received a personal commendation from the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The summits will be hosted by leading academic institutions in Mexico City, Aberdeen, New York City, Cape Town and Beijing. CPUT has been appointed as the African host of this prestigious event. Each Regional Summit event will address geographically focused issues, and will link the role of each region’s actions to the larger context of global energy dynamics. The vision of this summit is to fuel the future of energy; its purpose is to assist in transitioning the world to a sustainable energy future, with a mandate to open the eyes of the world’s students to all perspectives on energy.

The summit’s goal is to educate students about the current issues in global energy management using a multidisciplinary approach. It would also inspire students with the knowledge and courage to challenge the current energy system. Its overall objective is to unite like-minded youths motivated to lead the world to a sustainable energy future. Mr Monga Mehlwana, Economic Officer in Energy at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; Dr Wolsey Barnard, Deputy Director General at the Department of Energy; Cape Peninsula University of Technology Vice-Chancellor, Dr Prins Nevhutalu; and Dr Elizabeth Rasekoala, Chairperson of Green Shift Africa, are among the speakers to address the summit in Cape Town.

The African Student Energy Summit marks the first time that student leaders from across the entire African continent will gather to discuss, brainstorm and tackle Africa’s major energy challenges. The event will see students from all educational backgrounds and levels of post-secondary participate. Every region of Africa will be represented and student recommendations from the summit will be directly submitted to the African Union Commission and the United Nations to shape the future of energy and energy development in Africa.

The Summit also presents a unique platform for private and public organizations to support the future leaders of Africa’s energy system, recruit top talent from across the continent, connect with world leaders and expert speakers, and to showcase their organizations to youth across the continent. The regional Summit would address the following issues: Energy markets and regulation in Africa; Climate change and global energy dynamics; technology and innovation.