In July, Clingendael welcomed government officials and other energy professionals from the MENA region for the Shiraka training programme “Energy Transition: Mobility”. This was the first week of a two-week RVO-commissioned programme, with the second week following in Tunisia in October.

The programme featured talks by various experts, including from the Clingendael International Energy Programme. Working visits were also made to the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), EVBox, and the Port of Rotterdam. Participants worked on a collaborative project throughout the programme to apply learnings, collaborate, and become change agents at home and in the region. They will continue working on this project in the following months.  

Process engineer Somaya Thabit al-Maghdari of the Petroleum Development Company in Oman commented:  

This programme added greatly to my development. Sharing knowledge with participants from other countries in the region taught me a lot. This programme also allowed me to learn about and compare the Dutch energy market with that of my country. Visiting Dutch industries and seeing how innovative projects are realised was very inspiring.  

I believe that the collaborative project is very valuable to my development. Even though my team’s project focuses on Mauritania, I will learn from it’s challenges and opportunities and apply this knowledge to my own country.  

Energy is the future. I’ve always been interested in the Energy market and because of this programme I’m now sure that I want to get my Master’s degree and become an Energy specialist.  

I would also like to thank the Clingendael Institute, the Shiraka programme and the RVO for this opportunity, the great learning environment, the good lecturers, and the support.