Case Study: Solar Energy: Awareness Raising & Fund Raising for Developing Projects, Belgium

Website: www.solarsolidarity.org

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Summary

Solar Solidarity is an AISBL (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif) aiming to:

• Raise awareness amongst the general public (citizens, schools, universities, decision makers, ...) of the potential of solar energy by organising exhibitions, with the famous "Dancing Solar Flowers" of the artist Dang (www.dang.be). The flowers are equipped with solar cells and dance thanks to the solar energy.
• Raise funds to support solar electrification projects in the developing world.

Lots of exhibitions were organised EU wide (in Belgium: at the European Commission, at the European Parliament, at the Council of the EU, in Barcelona (Spain), in Valencia (Spain), in Milan (Italy), in Tenerife (Spain), in Essen (Germany) and in Chambéry (France)). Each time the exhibitions triggered tremendous impact amongst the visitors. More than 10.000 of the "Dancing Solar Flowers" of the artist Dang were sold. The whole activity of Solar Solidarity enabled to support the solar electrification of schools in Burkina Faso, Senegal, Haiti and Nepal. Solar solidarity was also able to support Maternity facilities at Mali and Water Supply facilities at Madagascar.

Results

Some of the results of Solar Solidarity can be mentioned as follows:

• Roughly 40 exhibitions and events were organised featuring the Dancing Solar Flowers or generally Solar Art all over Europe, at the European Commission, at the European Parliament, at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Sart-Tilman (near Liège in Belgium), with school children in Brussels, and European wide: in Barcelona, Milan, Tenerife, Chambéry, Essen, Valencia, etc.
• More than 10.000 Dancing Solar Flowers were sold.
• Education program was carried out for 3000 school pupils.
• Numerous video clips were shown at TV in Belgium, Germany, Spain, France (Euronews, RTBF, RTL, ARD, LCI etc. ) and there were numerous publications.
• Solar electrification of 7 schools, 8 maternity facilities and a water supply for 3500 people was supported (Haiti, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Nepal, Madagascar)

Lessons learned and repeatability

The repeatability of the project is particularly easy and well adapted:

• All the exhibitions with the Dancing Solar Flowers have been reproduced a lot of times.
• The cost of the exhibition is zero euro! This is possible thanks to the fact that the artist Dang has offered for free his copyrights to Solar Solidarity and that the flowers are made available to the public after the exhibition to raise funds for integrally covering the exhibition costs and additionally for supporting solar electrification of projects in the developing world.

Economically viability is the heart of the scheme:

Impacts regarding energy:

• Each time, the exhibitions with the Dancing Solar Flowers triggered significant interest and impact amongst visitors. Firstly they are arousing the curiosity of the public when they are passing by, then stimulating a debate and finally raising awareness on the potential of renewable sources of energy. It came clearer to the visitors that renewable sources of energy have a huge potential for supplying mankind with energy and at the same time for tackling climate change. Furthermore, lots of people have bought a Dancing Solar Flower and show it to their family, friends, and colleagues hence further conveying the message of the potential of solar energy. These people become the carriers of the message of the potential of solar energy thanks to the Dancing Solar Flowers that embodies this message.

Environmentally benign / Socially and politically acceptability:

• The activities have contributed to the solar electrification of several projects. The projects give people in developing countries access to electricity and at the same time reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The socio-economic benefits are evident for the beneficiaries of the solar electrification projects. Furthermore, the exhibitions with the Dancing Solar Flowers are now recognized and the Dancing Solar Flowers are used for educational purposes in agreement with the artist Dang.
• The techniques and tools used are particularly well adapted for raising awareness to a large public and in particular for school children: the Dancing Solar Flowers carry a message which anyone can understand. They move thanks to solar energy. In addition, the more energy there is, the quicker they move. They even move in the shadow which highlights the fact that energy is also present in the shadow. No complexity, no reference to techniques which are not possible to understand, everything is very clear to understand hence making the activity particularly attractive and well suited for a large public and for children.

Video

A video is available in English and French presenting the project of solar electrification of a school supported by Solar Solidarity and realized by Electricians sans Frontièrs on TV Link

To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
Citizens : DE - Deutsch : Decision Makers : ES - Español : Electricity : Emissions : FR - Français : IT - Italiano : Internet Broadcasts : ManagEnergy : PL - Polski : Photovoltaics : Renewable Energy Sources & Systems : Research Institute / University : Schools & Colleges : Solar Thermal : User behaviour

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