Marking 100 Years with Action: FES at the Energy Community Summer School 2025

Organized by the Energy Community Secretariat, the Summer School is a multidisciplinary training program launched in 2015 to build knowledge, skills, and networks around energy-related topics. 

In 2025, the program included over 38 lectures spanning academic teaching, practitioner input (from leading energy companies), and sessions covering the legal, technical, economic, environmental, and social dimensions of energy policy and transition. Alongside lectures, there were social and cultural events that facilitated dialogue, networking, and collaboration. 

FES’ Long-Standing Support—and What Made 2025 Special

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has participated in the Energy Community Summer School project for several years, supporting its mission of strengthening regional capacities and promoting sustainable energy policy. This year, the Summer School held special significance for us: as we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we wanted our presence to reflect both legacy and aspiration.

For our participants and fellows who joined from across Bosnia & Herzegovina and beyond, this year we emphasized:

• Looking forward as well as backward: Reflecting on how energy policy and environmental advocacy have evolved and what challenges remain.
• Interdisciplinary learning: Ensuring participants received exposure not just to technical or policy issues, but to legal regulation, social justice in energy access, climate governance, and environmental impact.
• Network building: Fostering connections among students, scholars, and practitioners who will be the next generation of energy and climate leaders in Southeastern Europe.

Key Highlights from the 2025 Programme

The weekly schedule was organized thematically:

• Systems Monday: Fundamental energy system design, grids, and infrastructure metrics. 
• Trading Tuesday: Energy markets, price formation, risk management tools.
• Geopolitics Wednesday: How regional instability, energy import dependencies, and external shocks are reshaping energy policy.
• Law Thursday: Regulatory frameworks, litigation, compliance with Energy Community acquis.
• Transition Friday: Clean energy technologies, renewables integration, just transition, social equity, and the environmental dimension.
• The week concluded with debates and a Farewell Saturday, where participants presented reflections and policy ideas. 

Among the guest lecturers was Artur Lorkowski, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, who, in his welcome address, emphasized that "a successful and just transition depends on bringing together diverse people and perspectives", precisely what the Summer School seeks to do. 

Also participating were leading experts, practitioners, and academic figures (from both industry and policy circles) who provided case studies, research insights, and engaged with students in workshops and discussions. The precise line-up included speakers from the Energy Community Secretariat, regional utilities (EPCG, CEDIS), and academic institutions across the contracting parties.

Why It Matters: FES’s Perspective

As Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung enters its second century, we see events like the Energy Community Summer School as core to our mission. The energy transition is not just technical—it is political, social, cultural, and ethical. We believe:

• Access to clean, reliable energy must be tied to equity and justice.
• Young people must be equipped not only with knowledge but with critical thinking, so they can shape policy, challenge practices, and ensure that environmental goals are met inclusively.
• Regional cooperation matters: policies in one country affect neighbours; sharing experiences, successes, and failures accelerates progress.

Looking Forward

We are grateful to the Energy Community Secretariat, the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Kotor, program partners, lecturers, practitioners, and all participants who made Summer School 2025 a fruitful learning experience. Our anniversary year reminds us that time moves fast—and the window for decisive action on climate and energy is narrowing.

We reaffirm our commitment to supporting education, capacity building, youth empowerment, and cross-border collaboration. Because 100 years is not just a legacy—it is a responsibility for what we build next.