Sustainable Education through Renewable Energy In the Northern Governorates - Fourth Quarterly Progress Report ABOUT THE PROJECT An education system that develops and nurtures creativity and innovation amongst its students is a cornerstone to the development of any society. Despite high enrolment rates and access to schools throughout the Kingdom, the quality of education remains uneven. Schools in remote areas suffer from insufficient access to electricity to operate daily services such as providing efficient heating and cooling systems within the classroom and connecting computers and online learning. Additionally, with an influx of Syrian refugees, institutions and services are overwhelmed with the increase of demands by an ever-growing population. This project aims to contribute to the overall efforts aiming at mitigating the impact of the Syrian crisis in line with the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) focusing on the Northern governorates (Mafraq, Ramtha, Irbid, and North of Balqa’a Governorates) that are most affected by the Syrian crisis. This will be achieved through the use of Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) systems to reduce the growing energy demands improve the learning environment in schools, increase enrollment and retention of Jordanian and Syrian students, improving the livelihood of surrounding communities and promote the social cohesion at the same time. ABOUT THIS REPORT This quarterly report provides an overview of activities that took place during the fourth quarter of project implementation (April – June 2018). The Report covers the work carried out by Princess Alia Foundation (PAF), Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities (FPEC), Horizons for Green Development (Horizons) and the National Energy Research Center (NERC). THE TEAM PAF was founded by H.R.H Princess Alia Al Hussein and is registered under the Ministry of Social Development. The Foundation aims to promote compassion and respect for all livings beings, using a holistic approach and bringing different stakeholders together to bring forth change. FPEC is specialized in community empowerment through poverty reduction, community building, capacity development, awareness raising and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the educational, environmental and social fields. FPEC’s target populations are those who are most vulnerable in society: women, youth, and other marginalized groups. Horizons works to develop a green environment and way of living within Jordan. Through civic engagement, socio-economic empowerment of vulnerable groups, awareness raising and capacity building within the environmental sector, Jordanian society can move towards become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Following the first three quarters of project implementation, substantial progress had been made. With the roadmaps established and additional preparations made, the project team has moved forward with activity implementation. PAF continues to manage the project’s overall implementation, procurement and the lobbying and advocacy of the work. Renewable energy and energy efficiency systems for the (100) schools To bring aboard companies to implement renewable energy systems, photovoltaic systems, also PV power systems or PV systems, which are designed to supply solar power by means of photovoltaics – or in simple terms, technologies which derive energy from the sun., These will be used to provide heating and cooling systems, lighting, and general maintenance in schools. Three tenders were released towards the end of February & June 2018. However, prior to the release of the tenders, it was necessary to coordinate with electricity companies to check the capacity of the electricity network to accommodate for the additional load and PV system to be installed in all schools. The results of the electricity network assessment study estimated a total cost of around JOD126,007, a number that would have set the project back but it is much lower than it was expected. However, through discussions held with the Ministry of Education, assistance from their end was offered and they paid the requested amount on the spot to the electricity company which facilitated the smooth release of the three tenders and facilitated the implementation of the project. Moreover, they paid all the suspended electricity bills for the (100) schools to further support our project. The first tender was released in February targeting 32 of the 100 schools that through the initial screening by electricity companied did not require electricity network upgrades. The tender specifically outlines the requirements of each company and the work that will be carried out. The deadline for bid submissions was on 22 April 2018. Received tenders were evaluated by qualified technical and financial committees consisting of qualified candidates from NERC, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Education and the Project Team. It was awarded on May 2018 and the contractor started the implementation aiming at finalizing and operating the 32 schools by December 2018. The second and third tenders for the remaining 68 schools have been released on April with a deadline on June 10, 2018. The received tenders have been evaluated technically and financially and it is expected to award the two contracts by Mid July 2018 so that they can finalize the implementation and operation of the remaining 68 schools by end of December 2018, early January 2019 at max which will keep the project schedule and work plan on track AWARENESS WORKSHOPS AT LOCAL COMMUNITY LEVEL : Workshops focusing on social cohesion and renewable energy best practices continue to take place with the target audience being Syrian and Jordanian women. A total of 38 workshops, 19 renewable energy and climate change Workshops, and 19 social cohesion workshops were conducted targeting 1329 women and girls and 36 men and boys. Participants were equipped with new knowledge that will be dispersed amongst their communities. Half of these workshops were conducted in Ramtha and the remaining was conducted in Irbid. As the direct feedback and impressions from both of the participants and the CBOs in Ramtha were very positive, the same approach was followed in Irbid workshops. The pre and post surveys for Ramtha have been analyzed showing very positive progress and improvement in the participants’ gained knowledge as it is detailed in Annex I. Here are the main questions the improvement was as follow: 1. Do they know the difference between climate change and weather? The participants’ knowledge in this questions has been improved from 82% to 97% 2. What are the reasons behind the climate change? The participants’ knowledge in this questions has been improved from 11% to 37% 3. How to Reduce the Effect of Climate Change? The participants’ knowledge in this questions has been improved from 49% to 76% 4. What are the methods that could achieve Rationalization of Energy Consumption at the household level? The participants’ knowledge in this questions has been improved from 64% to 75% During this quarter, the team managed to complete the workshops in Ramtha and moved to Irbid to expand the benefit for the people there. The distribution of the participants is as follows: 548 participants in Ramtha, 611 in Bani Obaid and 170 participants in Qasbet Irbid. Although the focus in awareness was so far on women and girls due to their strong impact on their families and communities, FPEC is planning to include men and boys in the upcoming workshops to ensure more gender equality. The team is currently in the process of analyzing the pre and post surveys for the different areas to measure the gained knowledge and impact and come up with the results that will benefit the project in general. Additionally, two workshops for gender mainstreaming were conducted for the management board and selected youth through a center run by Youth without Borders (YWB). The workshops targeted 29 males and 11 females. Another workshop is planned for the Sareeh CBO in Irbid to take place in July. At the same time and in order to measure the gender mainstreaming in the targeted schools, FPEC in cooperation with Queen Rania Center have distributed gender questionnaires to a sample of 20 schools to be completed by school directors. This will help us determine their needs and design the trainings accordingly. We are planning to conduct gender training for teachers in August. TEACHERS & STUDENTS ACTIVITIES: With the list of 100 schools finalized, focal points and teachers from each school were selected, with assistance from the Royal Marine Conservation Society (JREDS). Focal points and teachers will remain in constant communication with the project team and will be participating in a training to gain further knowledge on climate change, the energy crisis in Jordan, best practices and tools for rationing energy use and reducing costs and CO2 emissions, and how to organize and implement team building activities between students from different backgrounds to ensure social cohesion and interaction. JREDS management of the 100 schools became official with the signing of a contract on 1 February 2018. Accordingly, three components were brought to life. The first is the Shammousa Manual, which will be distributed throughout the schools outlining all relevant information related to renewable energy and the environment. The second is the development of an interactive CD game (10,000) copies to be distributed throughout the 100 schools. The final component of the Educational Toolkit is the development of a Virtual Reality program to teach students about the environment and energy in an engaging way. These measures will fully engage students and introduce them to best practices on energy saving and to promote green culture. Visits to all 100 schools outlining the project and the activities have been completed. With the completion of the Shammousa Manual, the teacher’s TOT has been completed by JREDS during April and May 2018. Climate change and creation of environmental codes were provided as well as the establishment of environmental committees to discuss the best means of approaching the eco-school program. Trained teachers will commence the students training next semester once they return back from the summer holiday. An action plan has been developed to distribute the (10,000) interactive CDs to the students for next semester. Moving forward with the virtual reality software, one visit was made to one of the schools where students have experienced the virtual reality educational game which took them to a different world where they learnt how the RE is generated starting from space and ending in the electricity cable. Due to some technical difficulties during the use of the system, the project team has amended its action plan so that 2 schools are visited per day once the new semester commences. Moreover and in coordination with the Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan (JERDS), a mapping was conducted for summer camps in the northern governorates to investigate where there is a need to support those activities or gaps that our project can fill. We discovered that Makani, a UNCIEF program, has a number of activities in the area and the project team has contacted the focal point there to start the collaboration. We are currently in the process of preparing a concept note for the drop out of school program for Syrian refugee/Jordanian students in two locations in the northern governorates of Jordan. The objective of this is to provide Syrian/Jordanian student ages 6- 17 with catch-up lessons in Arabic, English, and math using community-based organizations as venues during the summer holiday. We are aiming at reintegrating the targeted students into the public school system for the next semester beginning in fall. We have selected two CBOs for now, in Mafraq and Ramtha. We will coordinate with our focal points to select teachers in the coming week, starting the 1st of July. We will target around 150 students. A website is in progress through a specialized media company in order to map out the location of schools that are currently receiving funds and/or assistance related to the environment or renewable energy and from whom. The map will also include schools that are in need of assistance to ensure there is no overlap amongst schools and donors who are interested in similar projects. The 100 selected schools have also been marked on Google Maps for future reference. The project team has visited Queen Rania Center for IT to explore possible cooperation channels as they are hosting all the servers responsible for the very detailed data for schools in the kingdom, their students and staff. It was agreed that the project will develop its own website for the schools equipped with RE&EE systems but the server will be hosted at Queen Rania Center to ensure more sustainability. The web site will be launched next quarter. As collaborations with JREDS continue to be productive, it was recommended by the Netherlands Embassy for the project team to reach out to Mercy Corps for a possible partnership. Mercy Corps implements similar projects and are also recipients of the same fund. A meeting was held on 20 February 2018 and proved to be fruitful. The conversation led to a partnership to be developed throughout different levels (schools, governance, and water) as the mandate of the team and Mercy Corps are very similar. An MOU has been signed by the two parties and follow-up technical meetings have taken place to discuss the logistics of creating this synergy CBOs ACTIVITIES: During the second quarter, 4 CBOs were selected to participate in the program. Socio-economic baseline studies were conducted for the 4 CBOs to evaluate their capacity, how to best use their respective skillset, and what possible small initiatives could take place. However, meetings were held with an additional two CBOs and it was recommended by the project team to replace one of the current CBOs as their capacity may not be at the expected level to carry out appropriate tasks. Cooperation agreements have been signed with the final selected 4 CBOs in April to start implementing the agreed upon small initiatives. So far, the activities in the 4 CBOs are progressing very well. Staff and focal points from each CBO have been selected and recruited for at least six-ten months which provided job opportunities for almost (12) youth (male and female). Main activities with the CBOs are: 1. Revolving funds for the local community to purchase RE&EE systems for their houses to reduce the electricity bills and reduce CO2 emissions through using mainly PV systems and solar heaters. 2. Launching exhibitions/shops fully equipped for selling RE/EE systems for the local community supported by the revolving funds mechanisms. 3. Coordinate with JREEEF which supports partially the installation of the PV systems and solar heaters so that the remaining value will be covered by the CBOs through the revolving fund mechanism. Our plan is to collaborate to make the process clear and more transparent for local communities in the northern governorates so this becomes a realistic option for them. 4. Equipping training halls to be used for training and awareness for local communities. These halls will be like a gathering hub for the local people to announce the provided services by the CBO for them under the project and to be used for different awareness events. So far, four workshops are planned targeting 200 youth (male and female) 5. Train the recruited CBO staff on doing the energy audit to be rolled-out for the local houses and commercial buildings. 6. Asses the CBOs needs and capacities to provide them with needed training and programs to ensure sustainability. VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS ACTIVITIES: Concerning progress made with the vocational training centers (VTCs), two meetings were held to discuss the project and the role they will play, the equipment needed to prepare the labs and the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Princess Alia Foundation (PAF) and the VTCs. As discussed in the meetings, youths participating in the training course at the VTCs will register through an assigned CBO, will receive a monthly stipend, transportation and meals. Participants will receive all relevant training material and will receive a professional practicing license and toolkit upon completion. The training course will last for 600 hours (4-6 months) with the training material to be developed in collaboration between the VTCs and a project consultant. So, an MOU was signed with the VTCs and three main centers in Mafraq, Irbid and Shouneh will be equipped with off-grid and on-grid PV systems for educational purposes. CBOs will be the connection channel for nominating youth to be trained in the VTCs. Adding this new training and career to the VTCs is a great asset for the government and for youth in general and for the project in particular as it will ensure the sustainability of this program and will open the door for the green jobs in Jordan on equal basis. The project team is currently in the process of developing materials for the training including a training manual. An announcement for the training will be made in the 1st week of July through the vocational training centers and social media. SOCIAL COHESION: It’s worth mentioning that the entire project team including the partner CBOs has ensured the inclusion of Syrian and Jordanian participants (male and female) on equal basis in all the above clarified activities so far especially in the awareness workshops which induce the behavioral changes of both Jordanians and Syrians to rationalize energy use, and induce social cohesion LOBBYING AND ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: 1. Signing partnership MOUs with different parties mainly VTCs, Mercy Corps, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Social Development. 2. As previously discussed to set-up a central/general fund, where every school can allocate their energy savings/earnings in one location. This was agreed upon and supported by HRH through meetings and discussions held with the Ministry of Education. By equipping schools with RE&EE systems, they will be provided with free and clean energy for the next 25 years, allowing them to create a surplus of produced energy that can be sold to electricity companies and to transfer savings made to this trust fund. In addition, PAF will tackle carbon trade as the installed systems will reduce CO2 emissions by almost 5,000 tons annually. HRH has emphasized the importance of creating such a trust fund under the supervision of the Ministry of Education in order to utilize its savings to assist and improve the learning environment for other vulnerable schools. A proposal was sent accordingly to the Minister to be forwarded to the right channels 3. To study our project best options in regard to the CO2 credit in compliance with Jordan’s’ share and commitment, the project team has organized a meeting with the climate change department at Ministry of Environment. Also, a meeting was conducted with one of the accredited international organizations called UPM to draw the road map for this activity. So far, and as the price of one ton of carbon has been reduced to less than half a dollar internationally, the minster of environment is looking for other options to benefit from the installed PV systems especially that electricity company and large factories and investors are pushing Ministry of Environment to look and adopt a suitable solution. Our project is keeping a close follow up to benefit from the results. 4. Its worth mentioning that PAF has started this activity even before the actual start of the project. PAF managed to lobby for the inclusion of RE systems in building codes for any future school. Moreover, it is in the process of changing the current electricity tariff of the schools to a lower rate as they are currently paying a commercial tariff.