The event brought together nuclear sector specialists from more than 22 countries, such as Russia, USA, Austria, South Africa, France, Turkey, India, Great Britain, Canada, Bulgaria, Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia, the Netherlands, etc.
The side event was one of the few events on the agenda of the 65th session of the IAEA General Conference, at which key issues and tasks for promoting the agenda of gender equality and inclusivity were considered and identified, best practices and opportunities for enhancing the role of women in the context of sustainable development of nuclear energy were identified.
The moderator was Vladimir Artisyuk, Advisor to the General Director of Rosatom State Corporation.
At the opening of the side event, welcoming words were addressed to the participants: Deputy Director General - Head of the Nuclear Energy Department of the IAEA Mikhail Chudakov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Eurasian Women's Forum Galina Karelova and Deputy Director General, Rosatom State Corporation Tatiana Terentyeva.
" The International Atomic Energy Agency attaches great importance to the creation of a more balanced staff in the IAEA and in the global nuclear sector as a whole. To date, the proportion of female specialists working at the IAEA is 35% of the total number of agency employees. For the second year, the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Scholarship Program, aimed at inspiring and encouraging women to develop careers in the nuclear industry, has been open for applications. Starting this year, the number of young women who have received a scholarship will increase from 100 to 110 people," Mikhail Chudakov, Head of the IAEA Nuclear Energy Department, stressed in his speech.
Mikhail Chudakov also urged all participants of the side event to pay close attention to today's discussion, since the contribution of each expert is important for the future of "clean" energy.
Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Eurasian Women's Forum Galina Karelova expressed gratitude to the IAEA, Rosatom State Corporation and all participants of the side event for organizing and holding the event, emphasizing the need to train highly qualified specialists in the context of the development of the nuclear industry, energy and radiation technologies, as well as the importance of using opportunities to expand women's participation in industries and popularization of professions in high-tech industries for girls. The speaker also noted that the exchange of experience in the implementation of personnel strategies will allow us to make a common step in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Tatiana Terentyeva, Deputy Director General for Personnel, spoke about the personnel balance in the nuclear industry and how the topic of human resources development is reflected in the Vision 2030 concept. She also shared the results of Rosatom in the field of human resources development, noting that today the share of women working in the Russian nuclear industry is more than 30%, and the share of employees younger than 35 years is 30%. «This is a good result, and we are striving to improve it. Therefore, one of the most important goals of our corporation is to provide equal opportunities to every talented person and guarantee long–term and successful career development in the nuclear industry, regardless of gender and age. We strive to unlock the potential of each employee, inspire and inspire him/her," Tatiana Terentyeva said.
The speakers of the event were:
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Bilbao y Leon herself, President of the World Nuclear Association (WNA).
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Natalie Bonilla, Deputy Head of the Section Radiological Protection and Human Aspects of Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD NEA).
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Florence Maher, Sociologist of the Section Radiological Protection and Human Aspects of Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD NEA).
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Dominique Mouillot, President of WiN Global.
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Alesya Yunikova, Director of the Center for International Cooperation of the ANO DPO "Rosatom Technical Academy", Chairman of the International Cooperation Committee of the Foundation "Association of Women of the Nuclear Industry".
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Veronika Peshkova, Goodwill Ambassador, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
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Christian Vega, representative of the global youth nuclear community IYNC.
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Princess Mtombeni, Nuclear Stakeholder Engagement Advisor, Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa.
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Alice Cunha da Silva, Chair of Communication and Education of the Latin American Section of the American Nuclear Society, Executive Committee of Women in the Nuclear Field of Brazil.
Alesya Yunikova, as part of her speech, spoke about the activities of the Association of Women in the Nuclear Industry, ongoing projects and upcoming events. She stressed the importance of international cooperation and partnership for the development of nuclear technologies, replication of best practices for the formation of balanced management teams, as well as the need to discuss projects aimed at popularizing women specialists in the nuclear sector.
It should be noted that in order to expand the geography and increase the volume of nuclear generation, including in countries implementing nuclear energy programs, it is necessary to introduce innovative solutions and unleash human resources, including through the involvement of women. Such an approach, involving the involvement of more women in the nuclear industry, has a synergistic effect for at least two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – "Low-cost and clean energy" and "Gender equality".
The 65th session of the IAEA General Conference was held from September 20 to 24 in Vienna, Austria (Vienna International Center), where high-ranking officials and representatives of the IAEA member States considered a number of strategic issues in a hybrid format.