Background | Objectives | Highlights | Programme | Materials | Report

The Regional Training Workshop on the Integration of Energy and Rural Development Policies and Programmes was held from 12 to 14 May 2004 in Bangkok. Twenty-four government officials from energy and rural development sectors and academics from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam attended the event.

The Regional Training Workshop was organized jointly by UNESCAP and UNDP under the project "Capacity-building on integration of energy and rural development planning", which is designed to improve the access of rural populations to clean and affordable energy services. The key project objectives include the promotion of the integration of energy issues into rural development policies through enhanced involvement of stakeholders, and facilitation of information and experiences exchange.

The Regional Training Workshop, in the nature of training of trainers, aimed to (i) enhance the knowledge and skills required of the national specialists to enable them to improve the integration of energy and rural development policies and programmes; (ii) strengthen the capacity of the national teams or representatives to undertake and conduct training, and facilitate similar workshops in their own countries; and (iii) provide guidance for the national teams to use the Guidelines for the integration of energy and rural development policies and programmes and for preparing country strategies.

The modules of the Workshop focused on the following elements: (i) background, purpose and application of the Guidelines on the integration of energy and rural development policies and programmes; (ii) concepts of energy and rural development; (iii) how to integrate energy and rural development; (iv) mechanisms and planning framework - strategic planning and management; (v) gender mainstreaming; (vi) stakeholders involvement and mechanisms; and (vii) how to manage the planning process and implementation. The Workshop concluded with the design of draft country training programmes and work plans.

The next step of the project is to implement activities at the national level, including the development of training materials, organization of training workshops and development of national strategies.