The new generation of energy transition: Amira Ghied, an energy engineer and community leader from Jijel, Algeria

By Andrea Eras Almeida

Amira Ghied (Jijel, Algeria), an Algerian woman, an energy engineer. Adaptable, challenge-seeking professional with diverse skills and experiences, real-world engineer. Amira holds abilities in management and international climate policies understanding. She described herself as an enthusiast, caring, and inspiring woman.

Amira belongs to a country of a million and a half martyrs. Algeria is recognized for its diversity in climate and culture, where you can see the sea, the mountains and the vast Sahara. There is a mix of cultures between Arab, Berber, Saharians, and Tuareg. Amira called herself lucky for being Algerian, and at the same time, she feels responsible for making her country a better place for the coming generations.

At school, Amira was good at mathematics and science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, major: Electronics and also a master’s degree in Instrumentation, major: Biomedical Instrumentation, both from the Abou Bakr Belkaid University (Tlemcen, Algeria). During her studies, she was ranked the first student what gives her the chance of going for a second master’s degree in Energy Engineering at the Pan African University Institute for Water and Energy Sciences (PAUWES) (Tlemcen, Algeria), for which, she got a scholarship. This decision was driven by her participation in events related to environmental protection and renewable energy technologies. She reflected on Algeria’s wealth in renewable resources and its lack of actions in reducing the high dependency on oil, affecting the environment. Having finished this second master, she feels more passionate about contributing to the energy transition and energy sector in her country, and also to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) globally.

Amira started this conversation with Energy from Women stating that she is blessed to be a woman. For her, a woman is a mix of soft and strong character. She defines herself as a loving and caring person, a supporting and loving friend, also passionate and determined when it comes to professional contribution and professional life. She is an energy engineer and social activist. She advocates the OpenCon movement, meaning open data, open science, and open education. In this line, she is also the representative and the host of the Algerian country by conducting an online platform and organizing conferences. Examples include the “OpenCon Algeria 2018 conference” supported by the PAUWES Institute and in partnership with GIZ.

 

She is a committed person to advocacy, especially in her community. Together with her sister as part of volunteering in their community, Amira organizes workshops and training programs to provide teaching lessons for women for free. This is about supporting women in developing marketing skills to start or expand their own projects and businesses. From this experience, she affirms that “women in my community are not supported, they are not given the lead, and also their voices are not heard, so, we started this initiative to empower more women and to give them the chance to be more financially independent, to make a change to their families and society”. Through working with national international associations, she has become a good leader in advocating for SDGs. She also works as a national coordinator of the CE-MENA network focused on circular economy and sustainability, working closely with representatives from Turkey, Lebanon,  Palestine, and Tunisia, with the support of their key partner the Konrad Adenaur Shtiftung  (KAS).

When Energy from Women asked Amira about women participation in the energy sector in Algeria, she stood out that: “unfortunately, the participation of Algerian women in the energy sector is still weak and the field is more likely to be dominated by men”. She shared a personal experience: “I remember when I approached one of the most famous companies in Jijel, in my town. Here, I was told by a colleague: why a girl from Jijel wants to enter a field of men and work in this industry? You finished your studies, so now, go to get married, have kids and stay at home”. For Amira, these were most of the shocking sentences she has ever heard in her life, and she realized that she was not even supposed to ask for this opportunity and to work and develop her skills. Even though this, Amira keeps pushing herself. She decided to challenge herself to get into that company even in a better position than her colleague. Amira also added, “It’s kind of hard, but women have been succeeded to prove themselves, working in the same title they have studied”. Nowadays, women have a higher representation in the big cities compared to her community, where it is really hard to get an opportunity in the energy sector. She is convinced by the fact that getting an opportunity in the energy sector implies moving to big cities such as Algiers. 

Amira also asserts that: “It’s crucial for women to take part in energy transition. We have to contribute to energy transition, we have to be there and share responsibilities together with men. Women can contribute as engineers, researchers or from different areas of expertise”. Amira has developed research to support energy transition in her country through the design and feasibility analyses of hybrid mini-grids.

Nowadays, Amira is planning to work as a consultant and government advisor, mainly in the energy sector. She is also intending to study a master’s degree in energy management and economics to learn more and keep improving her technical and professional skills. She craves for studying in Europe to apply the experience of this region to her country. Regarding her more personal goals, she is motivated to continue training and supporting more women in marketing, to introduce them to social media marketing to boost entrepreneurship. She said: “I want them to be responsible and write their own borders. No one is there to tell you what to do and what not to do or if you are capable or not”. Both aspects, her professional and personals goals have the same level of priority in her life. 

Amira also told Energy from Women about her role model: “My role model is Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who is a great leader and who succeeded to achieve a lot during her election time and she is still contributing”. But these are not the only reasons, Amira indicates that “Jacinta is also her role model because she is a woman, she gave birth during her election time. Jacinta took her daughter to the UN General Assembly in New York, showing to the world that a woman can be a good wife, a great mother and also a good leader. Women can be the three of those things and can do all of them perfectly”. According to Amira, in her community, women are commonly told that once they finished their studies, they should go and get married and have kids, and stay at home. However, for Amira it is clear that women can do a lot, can contribute to the world knowledge, lead the world and, at the same time, they can lead their families, give birth to kids, give them education and love and everything. Then, Amira exclaimed: “We are more than capable and we are so powerful!”.

In the same line, “Amira is a role model for her community”, she ensured. Thanks to her decision to study out from Jijel, many girls from her community have followed her steps. For instance, her cousin inspired by Amira is now a professor of mathematics in high school. Although Amira belongs to a conservative society, it has not been a limitation. She received the full support of her family and also recognized the special backing of her mother, saying: “I wouldn’t be able to achieve anything if it was not because of my mom. My father was also supportive but my mom was the main support for me during my career”. There are times where you are so down, believing that it is not being for you and expecting to give up. In all those times, Amira remembers the advice of her mother: “There is no way to stay back, you just keep pushing, you are special, you are amazing, you are smart and you can always get what you want if you believe in it”. “…I am really thankful to mention it because she is the reason why I am here today… I am really lucky to having a mom like her”.

In STEM, women represent only 27% of the world career and the qualified industry. Amira considers that if a woman is passionate about those fields, she is capable to do it. As regards energy sector, her advice says “… If you believe that you are not going to join energy field because it is a male-dominated field, you are not going to open the door for more women in the next generations. If someone has to do it, be the one who is doing it”. For Amira, gender has never been a barrier to achieve dreams, asserting that only a lack of qualifications can be a barrier.

Our conversation with Amira finished with her following advice: “Don’t let other people draw your borders, …There are no borders, this is in your mind. If you remove the borders of your mind, you can achieve what you really want. There is nothing easy and you have to push as harder as possible”.  

Thanks, Amira for this wonderful and enriching conversation!

You inspire Energy from Women and you would do the same for many other women around the world!

About the author: Andrea Eras Almeida, PhD in Photovoltaic Solar Energy, Founder of Energy from Women