Network News

• » The Clean Cooling Network
• » News & Events

CCN and ACES announce the Festival of Cooling for September 2025

13th March 2025

ACES Campus, Rwanda - 22nd to 26th September 2025

The Clean Cooling Network and the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-chain (ACES) are hosting a week-long, public engagement “Festival of Cooling” (Sept 22nd – 26th) at the ACES Campus in Kigali, Rwanda, and via an outreach programme.

Through a week of events, panel discussions, demonstrations and workshops on campus and online, and outreach into schools, communities, government and businesses, the aim is to engage with the public and explore the growing importance of cooling and cold-chains in a fast-warming world – and why we need solutions which are sustainable, equitable, and resilient.  

Programme Creator, Gideon Mulungi, London South Bank University said:

“We urgently need to engage with the public and raise awareness about the importance of clean cooling for improving health and livelihoods, enhancing food security, and protecting our environment. Through the Festival of Cooling, we want to link local schools, communities and the public with a diverse group of experts in cooling and cold-chains to explore together valuable insights and solutions to community challenges but also allow the industry to better understand the realities, constraints, and needs of the communities they aim to serve. 

This two-way exchange will help shape more practical, community-driven solutions for cold-chain sustainability. It will also introduce cooling and cold-chain to students, fostering interest in careers within sustainable food systems, refrigeration technology, and climate resilience.” 

Alongside the events on campus, as part of the Festival programme, there will be  outreach programmes including targeting schools, hospitals and community health centres and farmer co-operatives.

The team will also engage with promising early-stage and growth-stage innovators in cooling and cold-chain solutions, with selected innovators invited to participate in both a Dragon’s Den pitch competition and a hackathon to develop cooling solutions during the Festival. Local creatives will be invited to visually depict themes of sustainable cooling for exhibitions during the Festival.

Toby Peters, Professor in Cold Economy, University of Birmingham and CCN lead commented: 

“ACES is now recognised as the leading cold-chain and cooling hub in Africa.  The Festival of Cooling is not just a one-off event; we hope it will become an annual, pan-Africa part of the movement we are leading towards a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient cooling and cold-chain ecosystem.

By integrating education, communities, artists, industry partnerships, technical training, and policy discussions, we can transform accessibility, affordability and efficiency of cooling and cold-chains in the Global South, and pave the way for continuous innovation and capacity-building in clean cooling and cold-chain solutions.”

Each of the five days will have a key focus:

• Day 1 – Schools and public awareness
• Day 2 – Health outreach
• Day 3 – Farmers outreach
• Day 4 – Innovation, entrepreneurship and creative hub
• Day 5 – Policy roadmap, closing gala

A full programme for the week will be published shortly.  For more information or to find out how to engage, please contact [email protected].