Resolute to change the perception of people experiencing energy poverty as helpless victims, the Catalan association "Engineers Without Borders" started organising collective assemblies to give a platform to those with little access to energy or water, and those struggling to pay the bills. The association's Mònica Guiteras told us how the assemblies provided a safe and nearby space to these people and made them realise they were not the victims, but rather the protagonists and agents of change in the energy transition.

EESC info: What prompted you to launch your project or initiative?

Mònica Guiteras Blaya: The impact of energy poverty has so far been approached from a welfare perspective, which often labelled those affected as victims, or even as being guilty of "bad" consumption. For us, it was necessary to bring a more cross-cutting approach to the table, and to empower families experiencing energy poverty as protagonists and agents of change in the current energy transition.

How was your project received? Did you have any feedback from the people you helped? (Can you give an example if you have?)

The participants see this initiative as much needed, because they often feel that they are helpless against large supply companies, or they perceive the administration as having a highly bureaucratic approach. Collective assemblies on energy poverty offer the people concerned a safe, nearby space, where nobody is judged and nobody knows more than anyone else does. Instead, they are spaces for building an understanding of the experiences of all people in order to help us to live better, with more information at our disposal, while participating actively in society.

How do you intend to use this specific funding to provide more help to the community? Are you already planning new projects?

The prize received is of great help in increasing the project's outreach. We still fail to reach many people living on the margins - those who are not even aware that these assemblies exist. It will also help us to reach out to affected people in innovative and meaningful ways. This is something that we have had to reinvent during this pandemic, bringing partly in-person, partly remote assemblies into play. Work on innovation, dissemination and communication, with a view to bringing together more and more diverse people, is one of the main goals we have set ourselves with this recognition and funding.

What advice would you give to other organisations to get results in activities and programmes of this type?

Close contact with grassroots organisations, outside the usual sectors in which our organisations work, has proven to be key for us. While we are an environmental NGO, we have set up major local partnerships on this project, with movements for decent housing and neighbourhood associations.

How optimistic are you about the prospects for the EU to achieve the Green Deal targets?

Social justice must be key to achieving these targets, as it is the only thing that will make the transition ahead just, as well as green. As a society, we need to make great efforts to have an impact on governments and administrations at different levels in order to achieve the targets by guaranteeing social safeguards, as well as citizen participation and empowerment.