INSPIREd Community Trusts

In February 2025, INSPIRE brought together 160 participants for two days in Johannesburg for a powerful two-day Learning Event dedicated to strengthening the role of Community Trusts in South Africa’s renewable energy sector. This gathering was designed to spark courageous conversations, nurture safe spaces, and strengthen the ecosystem for community ownership in South Africa’s renewable energy sector.

The event brought together diverse voices to reflect honestly on both successes and challenges. Through dialogue, storytelling, and multimedia experiences, we explored the evolving role of community trusts and their impact—locally and globally.

At its heart, the gathering was about relationships: building trust, deepening collaboration, and equipping stakeholders with the knowledge and tools to deliver meaningful, lasting impact.

Event Objectives

With community trusts as the focal point, the event sought to:

• Strengthen networks and deepen the quality of relationships that allow community trusts to thrive.
• Create inclusive, safe spaces for robust conversations about the opportunities and challenges in renewable energy contexts.
• Share practical knowledge and tools, drawing on lessons from trust implementation across the sector.
• Celebrate achievements in community ownership and benefit-sharing, while identifying pathways for continued progress.

Over more than 20 sessions, the programme wove together multiple facilitation approaches—from plenaries, fireside chats and panel discussions to hands-on workshops, storytelling, artmaking, and intimate breakaway conversations. Participants explored the realities of social equity in renewable energy through a multisensory experience that included the screening of Trust Matters: Story of Origin, which contextualised the history and societal challenges that shape community ownership today. With facilitation grounded in respect, curiosity, and collaboration, the agenda created space for deep reflection alongside practical learning and tool-building.

A central feature of the event was the extensive capacity-building offering. Workshops on Day 1 focused on governance, refinancing, long-term strategy, and effective collaboration in complex environments. On Day 2, attendees interrogated operating models, strengthened monitoring and evaluation practices, explored strategic education investments, and piloted the Trust Maturity Self-Assessment Tool. Across both days, the shared objective was clear: to ensure that Community Trusts remain resilient, responsive, compliant, and ultimately transformative for the communities they serve.

Who Attended

The event brought together trustees, independent power producer (IPP) representatives, social performance and economic development practitioners, and many others from across the REIPPPP landscape—each contributing to and learning from the collective journey of community trusts.

Impact

This was more than a Learning Event, it was a platform to:

• Strengthen approaches to community ownership
• Build capacity to learn from each other
• Start new conversations and relationships
• Co-create solutions for a future defined by equity, resilience, and shared prosperity

The gathering reinforced that advancing social excellence in renewable energy relies on strong relationships, shared learning, and collective problem-solving. Participants left encouraged, inspired, and more connected—echoing sentiments such as “With what I’ve seen in the room over two days, there’s a brighter future.”

Together, we created a space where learning met collaboration, and where community ownership was given the space to truly thrive.