There were 12 participants in the course this time‚ from the eight African countries of Algeria‚ Tunisia‚ Chad‚ Cabo Verde‚ Senegal‚ Gabon‚ Democratic Republic of the Congo and Djibouti. Most of them were managerial staff at national electricity and energy corporations‚ and clearly took pride in being responsible for the energy strategies that are a cornerstone of national security.

Africa encompasses many countries‚ each with their own particular circumstances. For example‚ some countries are rich in energy resources but are trying to preserve them while adopting renewable energy; some possess energy resources which they are unable to leverage successfully themselves; some have abundant hydropower resources but lack the money to build hydroelectric dam power plants; some have abundant natural resources but‚ exhausted by civil war‚ are unable to expand hydroelectric power plants and have an extremely low ratio of electrification in the private sector; some are island nations with no resources and poor electric power infrastructure; and some have the potential to generate geothermal power but have been neglected for many years. In other words‚ there is a diverse range of situations. Some countries are actively adopting renewable energy already‚ while others have an extremely low rate of electrification outside of urban areas and are dealing with existing power supply issues that predate renewable energy.

In addition‚ the ages and degree of technical understanding of the participants varied greatly this time. The course is primarily intended for “young leaders” in their mid-thirties or younger who are at the stage where they will go on to acquire knowledge and polish their technical skills‚ and the curriculum aims to provide a broad overview of renewable energy. This time‚ however‚ five of the twelve participants were in their forties and included some veterans who are exclusively in charge of management and others who have acquired a depth of technical expertise. The level of their interest‚ questions and concentration in lectures and on field trips depended on each participant’s career background‚ and there was a wide variation with regard to how they diverged from questions to opinions during lectures‚ and in the amount of attention they paid to the persons providing explanations during field trips. Such behavior is hard to imagine from a Japanese perspective.

Initially a great many questions were asked at lectures‚ but that gradually changed to acrimonious exchanges of opinions and tended to diverge into casual conversation. However‚ a friendly atmosphere developed as the participants came to understand each other better. I had been worried about the final action plan presentations‚ and it was a relief that the plans submitted matched the actual conditions in each country. For example‚ inspired by a field trip to Beppu‚ a country with geothermal resources proposed a plan to combine a small binary power generation system using hot springs with a hot spring resort‚ separate from the large-scale development promoted by JICA. The presentation by a country with abundant water resources was a feasible one tailored to actual conditions; it proposed setting up small hydroelectric power generation systems in rural villages that had no electricity‚ and installing electric lights and facilities for processing local products. When I heard their presentations‚ I felt tremendous relief at how far the participants had progressed. I sincerely hope that each participant will go on to play a significant role in their home country by developing action plans appropriate to the actual situation there.