Investing in Sustainable Renewable Energy for Youth.

By: Mutasim Essa Abdallah Adam -Sudan (African ChangeMakers Fellow, Cohort 1 (ACFellow)

Today the global demand for energy is increasing rapidly, because of population and economic growth, especially in emerging market economies and unfortunately access to energy in Africa is too low to meet development needs, furthermore 2.6 billion people – more than a third of the world’s population – do not have access to clean and energy efficient cooking technologies.
According to International Energy Agency, 2017 Africa is far from being on track to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 targets. Energy security concerns can emerge as more consumers require ever more energy resources; at the same time, the number of people without access to electricity remains unacceptably high but such challenges can create opportunities. A sustainable energy future will require new thinking and essentially a transformation in the way we produce, deliver and consume energy so we believe that sustainable energy provides new opportunities for growth. It enables businesses to grow, generates jobs, and creates new markets, children can study after dark, clinics can store life-saving vaccines, countries can grow more resilient and competitive economies. With sustainable energy, countries can leapfrog over the limits of the energy systems of the past and build the clean energy economies of the future.
Moreover the governments, private sectors, civil societies and energy youth movements need more effort to put their hands together to address energy poverty, challenges in using fossil fuels to generate electricity because as we known fossil fuels are susceptible to major variations in price that have significant impacts on the economic viability of electricity production. Burning fossil fuels in power plants creates significant health risks as a result of dangerous smog as the burning of fossil fuels drives climate change, which threatens to compromise food security, drive sea-level rise, exacerbate drought and flood events, and increase exposure to disease because the majority of people in Africa depend on candles as a light source or on kerosene lamps which are a health hazard.
Mutasim (ACFellow Cohort 1 from Sudan) currently continuing his journey in Cairo as intern in The Arab Program for Sustainable Energy Youth™ (APSEY) internship at Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), the center believing that the region’s young talents are its most valuable asset. The Arab Program for Sustainable Energy Youth™ (APSEY) aims to boost technical and operational capacities of the region’s young talents interested in renewable energy and energy efficiency fields and targets young professionals and post graduate students who, in turn, create change in their own communities and forge people-to-people bridges between nations.

(Attached photo 1) The people in the photo Future Energy Leaders Arab Youth Renewable Energy Energy Efficiency APSEY round 11 interns from right to left Abdalrahman Daakir from Somalia, Mutasim Essa from Sudan, Abdullah Khalis from Iraq, Kawther Al shareef from Yemen, Abdulrazaq Ismaeel from Bahrain, Omar Ahmed Almosmary from Libya

Today the world believes that the young people are a unique human resource for a peaceful, secure and sustainable future. Mutasim encourage youth to work, connect, engage and collaborate together to build a future in which everyone can have efficient and sustainable access to energy, he highly recommends every young person to join energy youth movements. It is going to be a really nice experience and the best way thoroughly understands the value of our planet!
After doing his first ever (ACFellowship), he learned how to build a stronger community of future leaders across disciplines and countries through and he believe that we are certain that the only way to do it is all together. The second opportunity he currently complementing (APSEY). He thought that two internships would be enough, but would strongly encourage youth who have the opportunity to do as many internships as possible to gain as much experience as possible as graduation approaches.

As my internship draws to a close at RCREEE and I reflect back on all I have learned, I realize what an excellent experience this has been; as I go into the “real world” having this internship experience was good for me to start out as a professional. I learned responsibilities of working: being on time, dressing professionally, working hard and more.