From Resistance to Cooperation: How to reach municipalities and communities with the energy cooperative idea

đź“ŤURBIS Smart Cities Meetup Conference, Brno, Czechia
đź“… 3 June 2026
🕒 16:30 

Organised by CoopTech Hub as part of the Life COMET project and supported by the Czech coalition of energy communities UKEN, the workshop “From Resistance to Cooperation: How to Reach Municipalities and Communities with the Energy Cooperative Idea” will present practical experiences from Poland’s rapidly growing energy cooperative movement.

Agenda

Introduction
Presentation of CoopTech Hub / PLZ Spółdzielnia and the Life COMET Project, with an overview of the rapid growth of energy cooperatives in Poland.

Three Pathways to Reach Communities
Introduction to three approaches for developing energy cooperatives:

  • Working with municipalities (top-down)
  • Working with residents (bottom-up)
  • Building cross-sector cooperative networks

Case Study: Leśna Podlaska
A rural municipality case study focused on cooperation with local authorities, trust-building and data-driven communication.

Case Study: Nadarzyn
A suburban municipality case study exploring community engagement, peer-to-peer learning and local ambassadors.

Cross-Sector Cooperative Networking
How connections within the wider cooperative movement can help identify local champions and accelerate cooperation.

Key Takeaways
Lessons learned on what works, and what does not when engaging municipalities and communities around energy cooperatives.

Q&A and Open Discussion
 

How to join

If you haven't yet registered to the UBRIS conference yet, you can fill in this form from our partners of UKEN. After filling this form out, you will receive a code that grants you free admission to the entire fair (including the workshop).