Nearly 50 Years of Achievements by the GRÓ Geothermal Training Programme

It’s remarkable to think that Iceland was still classified as a developing country up until 1976. Around that same time, Icelanders began considering how they could best contribute to development and prosperity around the world, as a donor country in international development cooperation.

The conclusion at that time was to share Iceland’s expertise in fields that had been fundamental to the nation’s own progress with specialists in developing countries who were in key positions to bring about real change back home.

Icelandic experts had already been working on international projects, including with the United Nations in the field of geothermal energy, and in 1978 the Geothermal Training Programme was founded. The training programme was hosted at the National Energy Regulatory until the end of 2019 as part of the United Nations University. It is today hosted at ÍSOR (Iceland GeoSurvey) and is one of four training programmes operated under GRÓ — Centre for Capacity Development, Sustainability and Societal Change, which operates under the auspices of UNESCO and is a ministerial agency under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The other GRÓ training programmes focus on fisheries, land restoration, and gender equality; all of which are key sectors in Iceland’s own development journey and areas where Iceland holds valuable expertise.

Now, nearly five decades later, more than 1.800 specialists have graduated from the four GRÓ training programmes, including over 800 from the Geothermal Training Programme. In addition, 117 have completed master’s degrees at Icelandic universities, and 24 have earned doctorates supported by the training programmes.

Today marks the launch of a new series of events that highlights the development impact of the four GRÓ Training Programmes, organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and GRÓ, in collaboration with the Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland. The first event focuses on the GRÓ Geothermal Training Programme (GRÓ GTP), featuring the fellows themselves who will share how the training they received in Iceland has helped them advance geothermal energy development in their home countries.

Kenya Sixth Largest Geothermal Country in the World
Kenya is the GRÓ GTP’s largest partner country. Since 1982, over 160 Kenyan geothermal specialists have been trained at the programme, many of whom have played key roles in driving geothermal development in their home country. Today, Kenya ranks sixth globally in terms of installed geothermal capacity, in fact surpassing Iceland, which ranks ninth. The impact of the training has multiplied, as Kenya and Iceland now jointly hold annual short courses for other East African countries with significant geothermal potential. The same is true for El Salvador, another major partner country of the programme, where local experts now conduct regional training for neighbouring countries in Central and South America, in cooperation with the GRÓ GTP, building on their experience of the Geothermal Training Programme.

China is the training programme’s second-largest partner, with 92 fellows graduated. The country is now the world’s largest user of geothermal energy for space heating, and GTP fellows have played a leading role in that transformation, with entire neighbourhoods in China now heated with geothermal energy.

Examples of such stories of impact are countless, and at today’s event, participants will hear directly from alumni on how they have applied their training for the benefit of their communities and countries.

It is important to tell these stories and shed light on the results of development cooperation, especially at a time when the discourse on international cooperation has become increasingly polarized and major donor countries are cutting development funding. In the last century, Iceland received foreign aid that was crucial in building national infrastructure. Today, it is both our duty and privilege to support the development and strengthening of critical infrastructure in other countries, provide humanitarian assistance, and champion human rights, as we do in our work in the international arena, including through international development cooperation.

The four GRÓ training programmes are an essential part of Iceland’s international development cooperation. I encourage everyone interested in global affairs, development cooperation, and energy to attend the event and hear directly from the fellows how Iceland’s support for developing countries endowed with geothermal potential has contributed to greater use of geothermal energy worldwide. Through the GRÓ GTP, Iceland has contributed towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fostered economic growth and improved well-being.

Article written by Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, the Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs