An Extraordinary Success for the 20th European Conference on Refrigeration Technologies

The 20^th edition of the renowned European Conference by United Nations and Centro Studi Galileo, which took place this summer at the Politecnico di Milano, ended with the cheers of the audience. Hundreds of attendees were able to appreciate over forty presentations by leading experts in the HVACR sector (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pumps), during a one-of-a-kind event (see photos).

The Conference began with a video message; the heartfelt opening speech by the founder of Centro Studi Galileo and Honorary President of the Renewable Energy Institute. “A special thanks goes to all the participants,“ he said during his speech, which summarised the achievements of fifty years of educational activity. “It is thanks to you that we can continue to carry on our activity every day, which now embraces 140 countries, thanks to the collaboration with the United Nations and the International Institute of Refrigeration, and that has allowed us to carry out training courses even for the BBC, the major world banks and even a few steps away from the White House.”

Sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, the European Conference is organised and delivered thanks to the joint efforts by some of the main stakeholders in the sector. In addition to Centro Studi Galileo and United Nations – UNEP OzonAction, the event is provided by the IIF-IIR (International Institute of Refrigeration, Paris), AREA (union of twenty-four European RAC Associations of contractors), ATF (Italian Association of Refrigeration Technicians) and REI (Renewable Energy Institute, Edinburgh).

The 2023 Conference was a success also in terms of numbers: 42 speeches, 220 participants in attendance and 50 more who connected remotely, joining from 38 countries and 4 continents.

During the event there was space for two extremely significant moments, destined to mark the history of our sector.  The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the African Union of RAC Associations U-3ARC and the IIF-IIR, the International Institute of Refrigeration, which will open a new era of mutual collaboration between the two organisations. The memorandum was signed by the President and Director General of the two institutions, Madi Sakandé and Didier Coulomb.

Another significant event was the first-ever award ceremony for the winner of the “Women in Cooling Video Competition,“ a new prize that was established by AREA in cooperation with CSG. The winner was Léana Khaled Payan, a French technician of Axima Refrigeration, who was evaluated as the best among the 12 participants (3 from Spain, 2 from France and Turkey; the rest from Ireland, Poland, Italy, Norway and Slovakia).

The winner was chosen during the latest AREA General Assembly, held in Estonia at the end of May, by a jury that included both representatives of the association and the World Refrigeration Day. All videos are available on AREA’s YouTube channel and Facebook page and were recorded in the technician’s native language (subtitled), to enhance inclusiveness and encourage more women into the sector.

During the 20^th EUConfRAC, there was of course also time for celebrations. To celebrate 40 years of CSG European Conference history (the first ever conference was held in 1982 and it has now reached its 20^th edition), a celebratory cocktail was offered, along with a splendid commemorative cake.

The Conference concluded with the announcement of the next edition’s dates, scheduled on 12^th – 13^th June 2025. Save the date!

The Conference was organised in collaboration with the Renewable Energy Institute, providers of accredited training courses in renewable energy and green technology.

The Renewable Energy Institute has been running training courses since 1975 and has a wealth of experience in education for the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors.
For further details on the REI’s courses visit our training page.