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The following Wikipedia contributor has declared a personal or professional connection to the subject of this article. Relevant policies and guidelines may include
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Remove material that is not supported by reliable, independent sources. A list of possible sources can be found on this talk page. Replace with material in good sources. Avoid generalizations that are not made in the source. See
WP:SYNTH. Remove "add more citations" tag when done.
Remove links to sources which are not reliable and independent. One link in the External Links section at the end labelled "Official Site" can stay. See
WP:LINKSPAM.
Done
Remove or rewrite promotional text. Remove advert tag when done.
Done
Update the list of directors.
Updated to match 2021 annual report. Were there changes after that?
No, there have been no changes since.
Georgialawson (
talk) 15:08, 24 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Edit Request
The
Wikimedia Foundation's
Terms of Use require that editors disclose their "employer, client, and affiliation" with respect to any paid contribution; see
WP:PAID. For advice about reviewing paid contributions, see
WP:COIRESPONSE.
This
edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered.
Hello. I’m the Communications Manager at the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). I noticed some things on this page that are incorrect or outdated. Would someone be willing to make updates? We respect Wikipedia’s neutrality and do not wish to overstep by editing ourselves. Here are a few initial things I noticed:
Since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were retired in 2015 and replaced with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it would be good to swap out the reference to the MDGs with the SDGs in the Methodology section.
The history section links to a Neville Williams who is different than the Neville Williams who founded SELF. The founder of SELF does not have his own Wikipedia page, so this name can simply be unlinked to avoid confusion.
The “our” in the first paragraph should be replaced with “its,” and “forexample” should be replaced with “for example.”
Thank you very much for your consideration of these changes.
Georgialawson (
talk) 19:49, 13 February 2023 (UTC)reply
I made all your changes as requested.
BruceThomson (
talk) 05:58, 18 March 2023 (UTC)reply
Thank you so much for making those edits,
BruceThomson! Regarding the flag at the top, what would you recommend to improve the neutrality of this article? I’m hesitant to do anything myself because I have a conflict of interest as a SELF employee, but I can see how some terms in here like “innovative” and “groundbreaking” could be seen as biased. These terms could be removed while keeping the facts intact. In any event, I’ll leave it to you to determine what should be done. Please let me know if I can be helpful in the process.
Georgialawson (
talk) 17:58, 28 March 2023 (UTC)reply
The first thing that needs to be done is check whether there are additional independent sources for the article. Looking at the sources you have now it's not clear that SELF meets the notability requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia. In recent years the rules are beginning to be enforced and articles on non-notable topics are being deleted. To avoid trouble, it's best to have sources establishing notability early in the article. See
Wikipedia:Notability. Also, it is not good to have the entire article based on self-published sources (the founder's book, SELF's web page, etc.) See
WP:BESTSOURCES. To solve the problem mentioned in the tag considerable work is probably needed. It's possible to request help with this at
WP:CLEANUP, but this needs to wait until the notability issue is worked out, because the cleanup team might well decide that the article should be deleted. If you find some good sources let me know and I'll look at this again.
BruceThomson (
talk) 01:14, 31 March 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi
BruceThomson. Thank you for this feedback! We’re putting together a comprehensive list of third-party references, including The New York Times, National Geographic, MSNBC, Harvard Business Journal, Foreign Affairs, The Futurist, The Daily Mail, and Voice of America. We need a little more time, as I am out of the office next week, but we’ll follow up shortly after I return on April 17th with more information and some links posted here on the Talk page.
Georgialawson (
talk) 18:29, 7 April 2023 (UTC)reply
It sounds like you are finding lots of great sources and I look forward to seeing them.
BruceThomson (
talk) 05:31, 8 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Thanks for your patience,
BruceThomson. Below you’ll find the sources I mentioned in my previous note plus a few other notable items, followed by a more comprehensive list of links in reverse chronological order. I’m hoping this will fulfill the notability requirement and be helpful to the cleanup efforts. Also included here are SELF mentions in several books by well-known authors (Freeman Dyson, Thomas Friedman), a Stanford University study, links to talks by SELF’s Executive Director (TEDx and PopTech), and a documentary highlighting SELF’s work (Switch On).
We know there’s a lot here, and we hope it’s not too much. But not knowing if that’s the case, we thought we’d err on the side of caution and provide a more substantial list. I’ve written a brief description under each item to give a general idea of the link’s contents so that you can decide what’s worth diving into. If you need more supporting materials, please let me know. Thank you so much for your consideration and your help!
• This announcement from the United Nations Foundation provides information on SELF’s work installing solar electric systems in 62 health facilities across Ghana and Uganda with the goal of improving healthcare, especially for women and children.
• This article offers a deep dive into the Solar Market Garden (SMG) program in Benin, for which SELF won the UNFCCC’s Momentum for Change Lighthouse Award at COP21 in Paris.
• SELF Executive Director narrated this video for National Geographic about how he became inspired to work on energy poverty issues and the ripple effects of SELF’s SMG work in Benin.
• SELF’s Executive Director joined Chris Hayes and other guests in a conversation about renewable energy. Freling spoke about SELF’s mission, financing for solar systems, SELF’s work electrifying clinics with Partners In Health, and the SMG program in Benin. This is also on the
MSNBC site, but the video appears to have issues loading, so I’ve included the Dropbox link above.
• This article investigates Nigeria’s failed solar projects and juxtaposes those projects against a successful SELF project in northern Nigeria, which can be attributed to differences in planning and maintenance.
• SELF’s Executive Director spoke on at the 55th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women about the intersection of solar energy and women’s empowerment.
• This article covers the study done by Stanford University on SELF’s SMG work, noting the program’s improvements to year-round crop production. The full study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is linked
here and within the article.
• SELF’s Executive Director penned this article as part of a series on scalable housing solutions for people living in poverty. This piece focuses on different approaches to the energy component.
• Model Elettra Wiedemann launched an initiative to benefit SELF, in which people would donate one day’s worth of salary to electrify a rural health facility in Burundi. This initiative was also mentioned in Vogue.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America (2008):
Energy Poverty chapter
• SELF was included in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman’s book. In chapter 7, Friedman notes that he first heard the term “energy poverty” from SELF’s Executive Director. Freling is quoted talking about the impacts of energy poverty. Friedman includes information on SELF’s work in South Africa. See highlighted paragraphs.
• This article covers SELF’s work bringing solar energy and computers to Myeka High School in South Africa, with graduation rates going from 30% before to 70% after installation.
• This article includes information on SELF’s home solar systems and revolving loan funds (page 47), a project providing solar-powered communications for the Masai people (page 49), and details on early models and partnerships (page 50). SELF was also mentioned in another edition of The Futurist (
linked here; begins on the right side of page 30).
• This announcement is from the local Benin counterpart of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government agency that co-funded a recent clean water initiative with SELF. The webpage offers some basic information on the 24 solar water pumping systems.
• This link provides general information on SELF and specific information on its work electrifying health facilities in Rwanda in partnership with Partners In Health.
• This article addresses various barriers people living in poverty face in pursuit of good health. SELF’s Executive Director was quoted on how rural health clinics are limited in the care they can provide due to lack of electricity access.
• This is a general interview with SELF's Executive Director, which touches on the issue of energy poverty, SELF’s mission, and several projects across Ghana, Uganda, Benin, and Haiti.
• This article includes a quick mention of SELF’s work fighting global energy poverty for various end uses and highlights its focus on long term outcomes and self-sustaining projects.
• SELF was profiled in this magazine, with information on its history, extensive information on its work in Colombia, and bullet points on various other SELF projects.
• This paper reports on results from laboratory testing of the Energy Harvester Control technology that SELF helped develop to utilize excess power generation from solar direct-drive vaccine refrigerators and freezers. You’ll need a login to read it, but the abstract provides an overview and if you hover over/click Steve McCarney’s name, you can see his affiliation with SELF.
• In an interview, SELF’s Executive Director, Bob Freling, talks about SELF’s work in Benin, Colombia, and Haiti, plus its approach to community empowerment and partnerships.
• This article from SELF’s Executive Director provides general information on SELF, as well as information on its SMG work in Benin, electrification work in Haiti, and the establishment of the National Solar Training Center in Haiti.
• This article discusses energy poverty and the several “rungs” of solutions – from solar lanterns to community scale microgrids, including two set up by SELF in Haiti and Colombia.
• This article provides information on electrification work in Haiti, powering 20 schools, a fish farm, and a drip irrigation system.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2012): Grand Challenges Explorations Grant
press release &
website
• These links offer verification of SELF winning the Grand Challenges Explorations grant to develop and test solar-powered, battery-free icepack freezers to improve access to vaccines among rural populations.
• SELF’s Executive Director wrote six articles as a contributor for the Huffington Post. He recalls there being an approval and verification process, but we understand these may still qualify as self-published. I’m including this in case it’s helpful; please disregard if not.
• SELF’s Executive Director discusses the many impacts of energy poverty. Freling breaks down the SMG model specifically, and how it helps improve food security, gender equality, and economic opportunity. He makes the argument that energy, while not included in the Millennium Development Goals, is essential to achieving each of them.
• SELF solar electrified seven health clinics for Partners In Health in Haiti, with grant money to accelerate the timeline in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.
• This article highlights SELF’s work in Haiti, before and after the 2010 earthquake and provides some general information on SELF’s Executive Director, a Yale graduate.
• This is a guest article from SELF’s Executive Director calling on the world to help Haiti in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, and explaining the role solar energy can have in the rebuilding process.
• SELF electrified nine health clinics with the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. This article is written by the Assistant Clinical Professor of Public Health there.
• SELF’s Executive Director was honored as the winner of the King Hussein Leadership Prize for his work expanding access to clean energy around the world. SELF can also be found on the foundation’s website
here (scroll to 2008, on the left side), and was featured in the Dallas Morning Newshere.
• This article explores the issue of energy poverty and SELF’s work to combat it, including its work in Benin and brief mentions of its work in South Africa, Rwanda, and Lesotho.
• SELF’s Executive Director spoke at PopTech about the various applications of solar energy for community development, including plans for SELF’s electrification efforts in Benin.
• SELF’s Executive Director discusses the issue of energy poverty, and how solar power can improve lives through expanded health, education, and economic opportunities. This video touches on SELF’s projects in Nigeria, Bhutan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Brazil, South Africa, Benin, and the Solomon Islands.
• The book Massive Change includes an interview with SELF’s Executive Director, which explores the basics of solar power, how it can improve resources and connection within rural communities, and mentions of several SELF projects, including those in South Africa and the Amazon Rainforest.
• This article touches on SELF’s work with Indigenous communities in the Amazon Rainforest. SELF provided solar panels and wireless communications to allow for expanded medical treatment among other things.
• SELF was nominated for the 2002 Tech Museum of Innovation Award by physicist and Templeton Prize-winner Freeman Dyson. This piece highlights SELF’s work electrifying schools in South Africa and providing internet access, lights, a water pump, and a vaccine refrigerator, to an Indigenous community in the Amazon Rainforest. SELF was also featured in a video from the Tech Museum, accessible
here (begins at 6:20).
• SELF worked with OnSat to bring satellite communication to over 80 Native American communities.
The International Journal of Humanities and Peace (2001):
Solar Vision
• SELF’s Executive Director explores the benefits of solar energy for rural communities as it relates to health, education, economic development, and more. He also provides background on SELF, its projects, and its objectives.
• SELF’s Executive Director was interviewed on the Canadian talk show about the power of solar energy for developing communities (interview begins at 7:50).
• This article provides details on SELF’s work in partnership with Dell Computers bringing electricity, computers, and connectivity to Myeka High School in South Africa.
• This article provides background on SELF, including early projects in China, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and South Africa, as well as information on the formation of SELCO.
• In a guest article for Mother Earth News, SELF’s Executive Director walks through SELF’s project in the Solomon Islands, including how it came to be and the benefits it will provide residents.
• This is an announcement about SELF being honored by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s organization for its work expanding clean energy access.
• SELF’s Executive Director was presented the Global Green Environment Award from Mikhail Gorbachev. See Freling at time stamps 14:50 (Gorbachev sits second from the right on the panel) and 1:01:45. This award win is also mentioned in
SourceWatch.
• This article provides information on SELF’s project in the Solomon Islands, including electrifying the village of Sukiki and plans to electrify the village of Makaruka (completed after publication).
• This article explores the need for solar financing, and includes mentions of SELF’s work on page 32, including projects in Vietnam and China, and the creation of SELCO.
• This is a speaking announcement for Solar Energy International, with a brief mention of partnership with SELF to expand electrification in the Solomon Islands.
• This article talks about the expansion of clean energy in developing communities and the need to make credit available to finance it. SELF’s work is mentioned on the second page in the middle column.
• This article from the International Energy Association’s CADDET magazine cover’s SELF rural electrification work with the Vietnam Women’s Union aimed at improving business and education opportunities.
• Freling, SELF’s then-Director of International Programs, wrote an article for Solar Today that offers a look at SELF’s early days, including its solar home system work, its financing programs, and project updates across China, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, the Solomon Islands, and Brazil.
• This article from Bhutan’s national newspaper covers SELF’s work bringing solar lighting to 151 rural families.
Georgialawson (
talk) 23:41, 19 April 2023 (UTC)reply
This is a great list of sources. I will try to write a lead paragraph for the article that establishes notability for SELF using some of your sources. Editors will sometimes evaluate the notability of the article, and I want to make their task easy, so they don't have to go through thirty sources to find something that establishes notability. I want to choose the best sources, in the sense that they must be reliable and independent. For example the United Nations sources are not independent as they are a project partner. Also of course the lead paragraph needs to be a good introduction to the article.
BruceThomson (
talk) 00:34, 20 April 2023 (UTC)reply
I rewrote the lead paragraph with sources that establish notability. I have created a cleanup to-do list at the top of this page, and I will make a request on the
WP:CLEANUP page for people to work on it. I will work on it myself as time permits.
BruceThomson (
talk) 08:51, 22 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Thank you for working on this! Let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help.
Georgialawson (
talk) 15:07, 24 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi
BruceThomson. We looked through the Partnerships section and found that many of the ones listed don’t need to be on here, either because they’re simply an equipment supplier or they have a more minor relationship with SELF. I’m pasting that list below in case it’s helpful to clean up efforts. We can provide verification links for the other partners (and a few new ones). If that would be useful, please let me know what’s preferred for verification. We can provide third-party coverage and/or links to SELF mentions on partners’ websites.
In the meantime, here is the list of partners that can be deleted:
350 Media
AEE Solar
Amazon Association
Applied Materials
Bosch
Centre for Renewable Energy, Kathmandu
Cermet Materials
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Clinton Health Access Initiative
Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health
I have removed the above organizations from the list. Sources for the remaining items should come from reliable third-party sites if possible, or from the partner site if not.
BruceThomson (
talk) 04:45, 30 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi
BruceThomson. Thanks for making those updates and confirming the best sources for partnerships. I’m pasting below a list of partners with sources linked. We’ve prioritized third-party sources when available and provided links to partner sources in other cases. Please let us know if you have questions or if there’s anything else we can get you for now.
Hi
BruceThomson, I hope you’ve been well! I noticed there’s still a flag on this page indicating additional citations are needed. We’d love to get that resolved, and I’m more than happy to provide specific citations for anything in this article. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to be helpful here. Thanks!
Georgialawson (
talk) 20:41, 20 July 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi @
BruceThomson. I wanted to follow up on my previous note. Are you still available to help add the necessary citations to this article? Again, I am happy to provide any citations that will aid in the process.
2601:1C2:780:6B10:ACD7:25E5:D4A1:4BE (
talk) 15:43, 3 May 2024 (UTC)reply
Hi. You already have lots of citations, so my feeling is that the main problem is that the citations you found already need to be added throughout the article at the appropriate places. If you can organize this a bit I would be glad to do the editing.
BruceThomson (
talk) 02:55, 20 May 2024 (UTC)reply
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Energy, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
Energy on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.EnergyWikipedia:WikiProject EnergyTemplate:WikiProject Energyenergy articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject International development, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
international development, including such areas as
appropriate technology,
microfinance and
social issues, on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.International developmentWikipedia:WikiProject International developmentTemplate:WikiProject International developmentInternational development articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Internet, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the
Internet on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.InternetWikipedia:WikiProject InternetTemplate:WikiProject InternetInternet articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Organizations, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
Organizations on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.OrganizationsWikipedia:WikiProject OrganizationsTemplate:WikiProject Organizationsorganization articles
The following Wikipedia contributor has declared a personal or professional connection to the subject of this article. Relevant policies and guidelines may include
conflict of interest,
autobiography, and
neutral point of view.
Remove material that is not supported by reliable, independent sources. A list of possible sources can be found on this talk page. Replace with material in good sources. Avoid generalizations that are not made in the source. See
WP:SYNTH. Remove "add more citations" tag when done.
Remove links to sources which are not reliable and independent. One link in the External Links section at the end labelled "Official Site" can stay. See
WP:LINKSPAM.
Done
Remove or rewrite promotional text. Remove advert tag when done.
Done
Update the list of directors.
Updated to match 2021 annual report. Were there changes after that?
No, there have been no changes since.
Georgialawson (
talk) 15:08, 24 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Edit Request
The
Wikimedia Foundation's
Terms of Use require that editors disclose their "employer, client, and affiliation" with respect to any paid contribution; see
WP:PAID. For advice about reviewing paid contributions, see
WP:COIRESPONSE.
This
edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered.
Hello. I’m the Communications Manager at the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). I noticed some things on this page that are incorrect or outdated. Would someone be willing to make updates? We respect Wikipedia’s neutrality and do not wish to overstep by editing ourselves. Here are a few initial things I noticed:
Since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were retired in 2015 and replaced with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it would be good to swap out the reference to the MDGs with the SDGs in the Methodology section.
The history section links to a Neville Williams who is different than the Neville Williams who founded SELF. The founder of SELF does not have his own Wikipedia page, so this name can simply be unlinked to avoid confusion.
The “our” in the first paragraph should be replaced with “its,” and “forexample” should be replaced with “for example.”
Thank you very much for your consideration of these changes.
Georgialawson (
talk) 19:49, 13 February 2023 (UTC)reply
I made all your changes as requested.
BruceThomson (
talk) 05:58, 18 March 2023 (UTC)reply
Thank you so much for making those edits,
BruceThomson! Regarding the flag at the top, what would you recommend to improve the neutrality of this article? I’m hesitant to do anything myself because I have a conflict of interest as a SELF employee, but I can see how some terms in here like “innovative” and “groundbreaking” could be seen as biased. These terms could be removed while keeping the facts intact. In any event, I’ll leave it to you to determine what should be done. Please let me know if I can be helpful in the process.
Georgialawson (
talk) 17:58, 28 March 2023 (UTC)reply
The first thing that needs to be done is check whether there are additional independent sources for the article. Looking at the sources you have now it's not clear that SELF meets the notability requirements for inclusion in Wikipedia. In recent years the rules are beginning to be enforced and articles on non-notable topics are being deleted. To avoid trouble, it's best to have sources establishing notability early in the article. See
Wikipedia:Notability. Also, it is not good to have the entire article based on self-published sources (the founder's book, SELF's web page, etc.) See
WP:BESTSOURCES. To solve the problem mentioned in the tag considerable work is probably needed. It's possible to request help with this at
WP:CLEANUP, but this needs to wait until the notability issue is worked out, because the cleanup team might well decide that the article should be deleted. If you find some good sources let me know and I'll look at this again.
BruceThomson (
talk) 01:14, 31 March 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi
BruceThomson. Thank you for this feedback! We’re putting together a comprehensive list of third-party references, including The New York Times, National Geographic, MSNBC, Harvard Business Journal, Foreign Affairs, The Futurist, The Daily Mail, and Voice of America. We need a little more time, as I am out of the office next week, but we’ll follow up shortly after I return on April 17th with more information and some links posted here on the Talk page.
Georgialawson (
talk) 18:29, 7 April 2023 (UTC)reply
It sounds like you are finding lots of great sources and I look forward to seeing them.
BruceThomson (
talk) 05:31, 8 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Thanks for your patience,
BruceThomson. Below you’ll find the sources I mentioned in my previous note plus a few other notable items, followed by a more comprehensive list of links in reverse chronological order. I’m hoping this will fulfill the notability requirement and be helpful to the cleanup efforts. Also included here are SELF mentions in several books by well-known authors (Freeman Dyson, Thomas Friedman), a Stanford University study, links to talks by SELF’s Executive Director (TEDx and PopTech), and a documentary highlighting SELF’s work (Switch On).
We know there’s a lot here, and we hope it’s not too much. But not knowing if that’s the case, we thought we’d err on the side of caution and provide a more substantial list. I’ve written a brief description under each item to give a general idea of the link’s contents so that you can decide what’s worth diving into. If you need more supporting materials, please let me know. Thank you so much for your consideration and your help!
• This announcement from the United Nations Foundation provides information on SELF’s work installing solar electric systems in 62 health facilities across Ghana and Uganda with the goal of improving healthcare, especially for women and children.
• This article offers a deep dive into the Solar Market Garden (SMG) program in Benin, for which SELF won the UNFCCC’s Momentum for Change Lighthouse Award at COP21 in Paris.
• SELF Executive Director narrated this video for National Geographic about how he became inspired to work on energy poverty issues and the ripple effects of SELF’s SMG work in Benin.
• SELF’s Executive Director joined Chris Hayes and other guests in a conversation about renewable energy. Freling spoke about SELF’s mission, financing for solar systems, SELF’s work electrifying clinics with Partners In Health, and the SMG program in Benin. This is also on the
MSNBC site, but the video appears to have issues loading, so I’ve included the Dropbox link above.
• This article investigates Nigeria’s failed solar projects and juxtaposes those projects against a successful SELF project in northern Nigeria, which can be attributed to differences in planning and maintenance.
• SELF’s Executive Director spoke on at the 55th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women about the intersection of solar energy and women’s empowerment.
• This article covers the study done by Stanford University on SELF’s SMG work, noting the program’s improvements to year-round crop production. The full study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is linked
here and within the article.
• SELF’s Executive Director penned this article as part of a series on scalable housing solutions for people living in poverty. This piece focuses on different approaches to the energy component.
• Model Elettra Wiedemann launched an initiative to benefit SELF, in which people would donate one day’s worth of salary to electrify a rural health facility in Burundi. This initiative was also mentioned in Vogue.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America (2008):
Energy Poverty chapter
• SELF was included in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman’s book. In chapter 7, Friedman notes that he first heard the term “energy poverty” from SELF’s Executive Director. Freling is quoted talking about the impacts of energy poverty. Friedman includes information on SELF’s work in South Africa. See highlighted paragraphs.
• This article covers SELF’s work bringing solar energy and computers to Myeka High School in South Africa, with graduation rates going from 30% before to 70% after installation.
• This article includes information on SELF’s home solar systems and revolving loan funds (page 47), a project providing solar-powered communications for the Masai people (page 49), and details on early models and partnerships (page 50). SELF was also mentioned in another edition of The Futurist (
linked here; begins on the right side of page 30).
• This announcement is from the local Benin counterpart of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government agency that co-funded a recent clean water initiative with SELF. The webpage offers some basic information on the 24 solar water pumping systems.
• This link provides general information on SELF and specific information on its work electrifying health facilities in Rwanda in partnership with Partners In Health.
• This article addresses various barriers people living in poverty face in pursuit of good health. SELF’s Executive Director was quoted on how rural health clinics are limited in the care they can provide due to lack of electricity access.
• This is a general interview with SELF's Executive Director, which touches on the issue of energy poverty, SELF’s mission, and several projects across Ghana, Uganda, Benin, and Haiti.
• This article includes a quick mention of SELF’s work fighting global energy poverty for various end uses and highlights its focus on long term outcomes and self-sustaining projects.
• SELF was profiled in this magazine, with information on its history, extensive information on its work in Colombia, and bullet points on various other SELF projects.
• This paper reports on results from laboratory testing of the Energy Harvester Control technology that SELF helped develop to utilize excess power generation from solar direct-drive vaccine refrigerators and freezers. You’ll need a login to read it, but the abstract provides an overview and if you hover over/click Steve McCarney’s name, you can see his affiliation with SELF.
• In an interview, SELF’s Executive Director, Bob Freling, talks about SELF’s work in Benin, Colombia, and Haiti, plus its approach to community empowerment and partnerships.
• This article from SELF’s Executive Director provides general information on SELF, as well as information on its SMG work in Benin, electrification work in Haiti, and the establishment of the National Solar Training Center in Haiti.
• This article discusses energy poverty and the several “rungs” of solutions – from solar lanterns to community scale microgrids, including two set up by SELF in Haiti and Colombia.
• This article provides information on electrification work in Haiti, powering 20 schools, a fish farm, and a drip irrigation system.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2012): Grand Challenges Explorations Grant
press release &
website
• These links offer verification of SELF winning the Grand Challenges Explorations grant to develop and test solar-powered, battery-free icepack freezers to improve access to vaccines among rural populations.
• SELF’s Executive Director wrote six articles as a contributor for the Huffington Post. He recalls there being an approval and verification process, but we understand these may still qualify as self-published. I’m including this in case it’s helpful; please disregard if not.
• SELF’s Executive Director discusses the many impacts of energy poverty. Freling breaks down the SMG model specifically, and how it helps improve food security, gender equality, and economic opportunity. He makes the argument that energy, while not included in the Millennium Development Goals, is essential to achieving each of them.
• SELF solar electrified seven health clinics for Partners In Health in Haiti, with grant money to accelerate the timeline in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.
• This article highlights SELF’s work in Haiti, before and after the 2010 earthquake and provides some general information on SELF’s Executive Director, a Yale graduate.
• This is a guest article from SELF’s Executive Director calling on the world to help Haiti in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, and explaining the role solar energy can have in the rebuilding process.
• SELF electrified nine health clinics with the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. This article is written by the Assistant Clinical Professor of Public Health there.
• SELF’s Executive Director was honored as the winner of the King Hussein Leadership Prize for his work expanding access to clean energy around the world. SELF can also be found on the foundation’s website
here (scroll to 2008, on the left side), and was featured in the Dallas Morning Newshere.
• This article explores the issue of energy poverty and SELF’s work to combat it, including its work in Benin and brief mentions of its work in South Africa, Rwanda, and Lesotho.
• SELF’s Executive Director spoke at PopTech about the various applications of solar energy for community development, including plans for SELF’s electrification efforts in Benin.
• SELF’s Executive Director discusses the issue of energy poverty, and how solar power can improve lives through expanded health, education, and economic opportunities. This video touches on SELF’s projects in Nigeria, Bhutan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Brazil, South Africa, Benin, and the Solomon Islands.
• The book Massive Change includes an interview with SELF’s Executive Director, which explores the basics of solar power, how it can improve resources and connection within rural communities, and mentions of several SELF projects, including those in South Africa and the Amazon Rainforest.
• This article touches on SELF’s work with Indigenous communities in the Amazon Rainforest. SELF provided solar panels and wireless communications to allow for expanded medical treatment among other things.
• SELF was nominated for the 2002 Tech Museum of Innovation Award by physicist and Templeton Prize-winner Freeman Dyson. This piece highlights SELF’s work electrifying schools in South Africa and providing internet access, lights, a water pump, and a vaccine refrigerator, to an Indigenous community in the Amazon Rainforest. SELF was also featured in a video from the Tech Museum, accessible
here (begins at 6:20).
• SELF worked with OnSat to bring satellite communication to over 80 Native American communities.
The International Journal of Humanities and Peace (2001):
Solar Vision
• SELF’s Executive Director explores the benefits of solar energy for rural communities as it relates to health, education, economic development, and more. He also provides background on SELF, its projects, and its objectives.
• SELF’s Executive Director was interviewed on the Canadian talk show about the power of solar energy for developing communities (interview begins at 7:50).
• This article provides details on SELF’s work in partnership with Dell Computers bringing electricity, computers, and connectivity to Myeka High School in South Africa.
• This article provides background on SELF, including early projects in China, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and South Africa, as well as information on the formation of SELCO.
• In a guest article for Mother Earth News, SELF’s Executive Director walks through SELF’s project in the Solomon Islands, including how it came to be and the benefits it will provide residents.
• This is an announcement about SELF being honored by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s organization for its work expanding clean energy access.
• SELF’s Executive Director was presented the Global Green Environment Award from Mikhail Gorbachev. See Freling at time stamps 14:50 (Gorbachev sits second from the right on the panel) and 1:01:45. This award win is also mentioned in
SourceWatch.
• This article provides information on SELF’s project in the Solomon Islands, including electrifying the village of Sukiki and plans to electrify the village of Makaruka (completed after publication).
• This article explores the need for solar financing, and includes mentions of SELF’s work on page 32, including projects in Vietnam and China, and the creation of SELCO.
• This is a speaking announcement for Solar Energy International, with a brief mention of partnership with SELF to expand electrification in the Solomon Islands.
• This article talks about the expansion of clean energy in developing communities and the need to make credit available to finance it. SELF’s work is mentioned on the second page in the middle column.
• This article from the International Energy Association’s CADDET magazine cover’s SELF rural electrification work with the Vietnam Women’s Union aimed at improving business and education opportunities.
• Freling, SELF’s then-Director of International Programs, wrote an article for Solar Today that offers a look at SELF’s early days, including its solar home system work, its financing programs, and project updates across China, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, the Solomon Islands, and Brazil.
• This article from Bhutan’s national newspaper covers SELF’s work bringing solar lighting to 151 rural families.
Georgialawson (
talk) 23:41, 19 April 2023 (UTC)reply
This is a great list of sources. I will try to write a lead paragraph for the article that establishes notability for SELF using some of your sources. Editors will sometimes evaluate the notability of the article, and I want to make their task easy, so they don't have to go through thirty sources to find something that establishes notability. I want to choose the best sources, in the sense that they must be reliable and independent. For example the United Nations sources are not independent as they are a project partner. Also of course the lead paragraph needs to be a good introduction to the article.
BruceThomson (
talk) 00:34, 20 April 2023 (UTC)reply
I rewrote the lead paragraph with sources that establish notability. I have created a cleanup to-do list at the top of this page, and I will make a request on the
WP:CLEANUP page for people to work on it. I will work on it myself as time permits.
BruceThomson (
talk) 08:51, 22 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Thank you for working on this! Let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help.
Georgialawson (
talk) 15:07, 24 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi
BruceThomson. We looked through the Partnerships section and found that many of the ones listed don’t need to be on here, either because they’re simply an equipment supplier or they have a more minor relationship with SELF. I’m pasting that list below in case it’s helpful to clean up efforts. We can provide verification links for the other partners (and a few new ones). If that would be useful, please let me know what’s preferred for verification. We can provide third-party coverage and/or links to SELF mentions on partners’ websites.
In the meantime, here is the list of partners that can be deleted:
350 Media
AEE Solar
Amazon Association
Applied Materials
Bosch
Centre for Renewable Energy, Kathmandu
Cermet Materials
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Clinton Health Access Initiative
Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health
I have removed the above organizations from the list. Sources for the remaining items should come from reliable third-party sites if possible, or from the partner site if not.
BruceThomson (
talk) 04:45, 30 April 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi
BruceThomson. Thanks for making those updates and confirming the best sources for partnerships. I’m pasting below a list of partners with sources linked. We’ve prioritized third-party sources when available and provided links to partner sources in other cases. Please let us know if you have questions or if there’s anything else we can get you for now.
Hi
BruceThomson, I hope you’ve been well! I noticed there’s still a flag on this page indicating additional citations are needed. We’d love to get that resolved, and I’m more than happy to provide specific citations for anything in this article. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to be helpful here. Thanks!
Georgialawson (
talk) 20:41, 20 July 2023 (UTC)reply
Hi @
BruceThomson. I wanted to follow up on my previous note. Are you still available to help add the necessary citations to this article? Again, I am happy to provide any citations that will aid in the process.
2601:1C2:780:6B10:ACD7:25E5:D4A1:4BE (
talk) 15:43, 3 May 2024 (UTC)reply
Hi. You already have lots of citations, so my feeling is that the main problem is that the citations you found already need to be added throughout the article at the appropriate places. If you can organize this a bit I would be glad to do the editing.
BruceThomson (
talk) 02:55, 20 May 2024 (UTC)reply