Training of municipal experts was conducted under the project BGENVIRONMENT-4.003-0013, “Partnership for adaptation to climate changes" within the "Environmental Protection and Climate Change" programme, funded by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) 2014 - 2021

On June 7th and 8th 2023, a training session was held in the town of Smolyan to enhance the competencies of municipal employees within the project " Partnership for adaptation to climate changes ". The project is financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) 2014 – 2021, as part of the " Environmental Protection and Climate Change" programme.

The project is implemented in a broad partnership, involving four municipalities in Bulgaria: Smolyan Municipality, Asenovgrad Municipality, Svilengrad Municipality, and Krushari Municipality; "Pleiades Bulgaria" Ltd., a company engaged in sustainable development, and a partner from Norway - the University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. The programme operator for the programme is the Ministry of Environment and Water.

The training is provided in response to the municipalities' needs to enhance the capacity of their employees in implementing measures for the production of electric and thermal energy from renewable sources, climate change adaptation, and environmental conservation. The training involved employees from the four Bulgarian municipalities, with a representative from "Pleiades Bulgaria" Ltd..

The lecturer for the training was Dr. Maria Trifonova, a senior assistant at the Faculty of Economics at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski." The topics presented included monitoring, analysis, and evaluation of the implementation of strategic plans, programs, and projects for climate change mitigation or adaptation, international and European policies related to environmental conservation and climate change, decarbonisation, data processing and information analysis, development of models for future climate and water resource changes, energy communities, and the challenges they face in their creation and management, among others.

Representatives from the University of Science and Technology in Trondheim also participated in the course of the project activities and the training of municipal employees. Prof. Anemi Wickman and Dr. Dirk Alers shared their experience, as well as the experience of Trondheim Municipality in implementing innovative projects related to energy efficiency and climate change adaptation.

With a view to acquainting themselves with additional innovative practices and exchanging experience, the Bulgarian participants in the training session joined one of the panels of an educational session related to the +CityxChange project, under the Horizon 2020 programme, implemented by Smolyan Municipality in partnership with 32 partners, with the University of Trondheim as a leading partner. During this panel, the partners presented their experience, with a representative from the company "Ecoton" from the Czech Republic providing a specific example of modernizing a school and its surrounding area, transforming it into an energy-positive complex, showcasing a real example of using innovative solutions and technologies for climate change adaptation.