REEEP

Dr. Osterkorn bids farewell

Vienna, 30.11.2011 - REEEP International Secretariat

After more than seven years at the helm of REEEP, Dr. Marianne Osterkorn is stepping down from her position as Director General.

At a farewell dinner on 23rd November, Ambassador Werner Druml of the Austrian Foreign Ministry paid tribute to Dr. Osterkorn's leadership.

Under Dr. Osterkorn’s leadership, REEEP has grown into a thriving international partnership comprised of 400 organisations including 45 governments, nearly 5300 individual Friends of REEEP, and some 18 staff members around the world.  The partnership has become a leading catalyst in clean energy development with a particular focus on the emerging markets and developing countries, and has offered over  €14 million in funding to some 150 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in eight programme cycles.  The partnership has also activated stakeholders around the world with initiatives such as the Energy Efficiency Coalition which spawns national alliances to advance energy efficiency at the local level, and has funded the development of reegle, the leading clean energy information portal which now attracts over 200,000 users per month.

“It has been a privilege and an honour to have the opportunity to shape such an effective and targeted organisation from the ground up, and I owe a great debt of gratitude to many people, particularly to the donor governments who have made our efforts possible. Their unstinting support has been a critical factor in REEEP’s success, so I am thankful to the United Kingdom and Norway as our lead donors, and to many other generous supporters including Australia, Austria, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States.  Finally I’d like to express my deep thanks to the Governing Board, the Programme Board, our Project Implementers and our entire team here in Vienna and in the Regional Secretariats who have worked so hard in making the partnership what it is today,” says Dr. Osterkorn. “But seven years is a full cycle of time, and I look forward to supporting the new Director General, Martin Hiller in taking REEEP to the next level.”