In the second Phase, ENERGIA published six issues of ENERGIA News, three of which focused on specific events, with the aim of stimulating a change in thinking to include gender equality in decision making and high-level negotiations when setting international goals. The newsletter played a key role in building awareness, deepening understanding and facilitating knowledge exchange.

ENERGIA News covered a wide spectrum of issues and provided the opportunity to delve into key research and insights. Indeed, the majority of ENERGIA News articles covered areas where women’s roles were not valued. Information was shared in the form of case studies, examples and experiences on a variety of topics, including renewable energy, rural electrification, energy efficiency, household energy, climate change, stove technology, transportation, energy policy, international programs, networks, projects and markets, training programs and advocacy activities. It also represented a valid tool for advocacy activities beforer, during and after international events.

A few examples are as follows:

• An issue that summarized a two-day ENERGIA workshop ‘Improving Women’s Access to Energy: Policy, Projects or the Market’ (our ninth newsletter) helped institutions and experts question the conventional approach of energy planning and management.
• Issues on the World Renewable Energy Congress (WREC)—Energy and Gender workshop conducted in Brighton, UK on 5 July 2000, in which active participation of ENERGIA’s experts helped to convey our messages and raise awareness on the limited attention to the interlinkages between gender and energy.
• ENERGIA News’ thirteenth issue was specifically developed for the Ninth Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development held in April 2001. The content focused mainly on consultations related to the CSD-9 process (additional issue here)

The advantages of developing ENERGIA News were twofold: It helped to build a better understanding of gender and energy access issues both at national and international levels, and it made the case for the centrality of gender-sensitive approaches in energy policy and programs.

The number of subscribers to ENERGIA News increased from 900 at the end of Phase 1, to approximately 1900 (about a third of whom are men) from 247 countries, including 60% from countries where large portions of the public are without access to reliable energy the Global South, by the end of Phase 2. This provided a larger visibility not only to the Network but also to partner institutions working in these same regions, where many people live without access to reliable energy the Global South, who were able to share their experiences and voice their viewpoints.