30 years old, but no grey hair for Club RAVEL

Presentation, discussion, training and networking is what the Club RAVEL has been offering for 30 years. A platform for exchanges in the French-speaking part of Switzerland on electrical applications and energy techniques, which today exists under the patronage of the AES (Association of Swiss Electrical Companies). Originally, the group was dependent on the OFQC (Federal Office for Economic Affairs) and had the task of organizing for the French-speaking part of Switzerland courses that existed in the German-speaking part of Switzerland within the framework of the RAVEL program (RAtionelle Verwendung von ELektrizität). Like its two brothers - PI-BAT for buildings and PACER for renewable energies - RAVEL (for Rationnelle Verwendung von Elektrizität) for electricity was born under the aegis of Energie 2000 which later became Suissenergie.

At the end of these three programs, numerous training courses were set up. For RAVEL, the target audience in French-speaking Switzerland was not numerous enough, so Charles Weinmann, who was the French-speaking representative for the RAVEL program, looked for a solution adapted to local customers. This is how the RAVEL club was born in 1992. The rational use of electricity in all areas, households, industry, arts and crafts has thus become a recognized institution. For RAVEL communication, Charles Weinmann turned to Olivier Bovay, an engineer and entrepreneur in the energy field in Ecublens, who was also employed by the Office d'Electricité de la Suisse Romande (now Electricité Romande), which was responsible for information and communication.

Between them, they developed this concept allowing to present regularly and quickly (at the end of the day) several subjects to detect those which would deserve to be translated and presented over 2-3 days; this "theoretical" part was to be followed by a second more convivial one.

Since 1992, the meetings of the RAVEL club were first held in Yverdon before moving to Lausanne. Eight times a year, 20 to 50 people meet to discuss topics ranging from geothermal energy to heat pumps, from smart-grids to practical realization testimonies, including the political, philosophical or psychological situation for the end-of-year session. Always keeping an essential relationship with electricity and energy. The presentations are open to regular members (annual fee) or occasional members (payment for the session). Energeiaplus spoke with one of the founders of the RAVEL club, Olivier Bovay:

Energeiaplus: What is the goal of the RAVEL Club during its sessions?

Olivier Bovay: We want to offer our participants continuous training in the field of energy, but in the broadest sense of the word. We don't want to train specialists in one subject, but to provide a broad base of knowledge and to know where to find help if necessary. We want to remain accessible for people who have an interest in energy. The RAVEL Club is also a place for discussions between professionals and sometimes this allows to raise a problem and find a solution together. After the practical theory, the second part takes place "around a glass of white wine": an important moment for the networking of the participants. An efficient tradition in French-speaking Switzerland that should not be lost!

What fields do the participants come from?

We do not have a typical profile of participants. There are as many energy specialists as there are generalists such as department heads or multi-skilled employees. But it also depends on the theme of the session, for example during a presentation on hydrogen in mobility, we had a service station manager who was wondering about the future in his branch. An interesting thing to note is that we have almost mainly active people or students. In spite of our 30 years, our members are always renewed. So what we propose is still useful in the field in 2022.

The name of your club is an abbreviation in German, why?

Our name comes from RAtionelleVerwendung von ELektrizitätwhich means rational use of electricity. This acronym did not exist in French in the federal program. But since it sounds good, we kept it. Sometimes when I talk about Club RAVEL, people ask me if it is a club for music because of the classical music composer, but our focus is electricity. For the record, I found a music box in St. Croix that plays Ravel's Bolero, and we run it as a theme, once at the beginning and once at the end of the session, without electricity.

After 30 years, your sessions are always well attended, is there a secret recipe?

What is very interesting to observe about Club RAVEL is that since the beginning, we have not been actively advertising for members. It works mainly by word of mouth. It's amazing that we can't even explain this continuity. But we have a formula that works, almost 400 people on our participant list and a multi-energy steering committee that manages to target training needs. This is perhaps also what makes us, the founders, still present 30 years later with the desire to exchange with the new generation, but also ready to be relieved by it!

RAVEL Club web page

Fabien Lüthi, communication Federal Office of Energy