Energy Matters for Crisis-Affected People

Join the SAFE Working Group in Advocating for Humanitarian Energy Access at the World Humanitarian Summit

On May 23-24, the United Nations will host the first ever World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in Istanbul, Turkey. The Summit will be attended by over 5,000 participants, including leaders from governments, private sector, civil society, academia, civil-military, and crisis-affected communities. Together, they will work to find better ways of meeting the needs of millions of people affected by conflicts and disasters. There has never been a greater opportunity to advocate for the importance of energy access for heating, lighting, cooking, and powering for people living in humanitarian settings.

Energy access is a critical, life-saving component of humanitarian response. Energy technologies and alternative fuels can help bridge the humanitarian-development divide by improving livelihoods, food security and nutrition, health, safety, and the environment in a way that is cost-effective and sustainable.  

The SAFE Humanitarian Working Group aims to raise awareness about energy access before and during the Summit through several channels, and encourages you to add your voice to the thousands of others advocating for important issues in humanitarian response – to help spread the word that Energy Matters for the nearly 60 million displaced women, men, boys and girls living in humanitarian settings around the world. 

How You Can Help

The SAFE Working Group is conducting #EnergyMatters, a social media campaign to raise awareness, educate the public, and increase the inclusion of energy access as a key topic of discussion before and during the World Humanitarian Summit.

• Download our Social Media Toolkit (in PDF or Powerpoint format), which you can use to easily share messages, photos, projects and other information to advocate for this critical issue.  
• Follow our Twitter account @SafeFuelEnergy to stay updated!
• Share your own content using the hashtags #EnergyMatters and #ShareHumanity.  
• Join our WHS Energy Webinar on May 12th!
• Join our mailing list to receive updates on the campaign and other Working Group activities.

Coordinate with Us

Is your organization sending representatives to WHS? Would they be willing to advocate for energy access? If so, please notify us at info@safefuelandenergy.org so we can coordinate our efforts.

Share Your Work

In order to make the case for energy access in humanitarian settings, we need to refer to the incredible work that has already been implemented by our partners in the field. The world needs to know how energy access helps to save and improve lives.

Share your successes, photos, statistics, and research on your websites and social media feeds, and send them to us at info@safefuelandenergy.org. You can also Add a Project to or Add a Resource to this website to help build our humanitarian energy access Project Map and promote knowledge sharing and best practices in this sector. 

Join Us at the Summit

If you or members of your organization will attend WHS, be sure to:

• Attend our Side Event: "Why Energy Matters: How energy access can transform the lives of those most at risk of being left behind and transcend the humanitarian-development divide" on May 24th from 13:00 - 14:30 EEST in Hisar (330 - Theater) at tge Lüfti Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center (LKCC).  
  
  
• Find us at the Exhibition Fair: Visit the SAFE Humanitarian Working Group's booth at the WHS Exhibition Fair in the Istanbul Congress Centre from May 22-24. 
  
  
• Visit our Members in the Innovation Marketplace: SAFE Working Group members COOPI, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, and Project Gaia will have booths to showcase innovative cooking technologies in the WHS Innovation Marketplace on May 23 and 24 in the Istanbul Congress Centre.

Even if you are not attending the Summit, you can view the proceedings live at http://webtv.un.org on May 23-24, and join our discussions on Twitter with using the hashtag #EnergyMatters!