June 7, Nur-Sultan. The International conference of Nuclear Veterans dedicated to improving the public acceptance of nuclear energy by the population was held in Kazakhstan, with the support of the Association «Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan» and the Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Combine.
The event was organized by The International Union of Public Associations «The International Union of Veterans of Nuclear Energy and Industry» (The IUVNEI) and the Association «Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan». The event was also attended by representatives of veteran organizations from Belarus, Armenia, Russia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, WANO and the IAEA.
Deputy Chairman - Executive Secretary of the IUVNEI V.T. Lebedenko, Chairman of the Board of the Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan I.L. Tazhibayeva, and General Director of the Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Combine B.A. Chirchikbayev addressed the participants of the conference with a welcoming speech.
V.T. Lebedenko noted:
«The veteran movement has experience, knowledge and authority in the scientific community, which allows it to actively act to increase the public acceptance of nuclear energy in countries implementing or planning to implement projects in the field of peaceful atom».
Chairman of the Board of the Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan I.L. Tazhibayeva, addressing the conference participants, emphasized that Kazakhstan has a unique experience in the construction and operation of nuclear power facilities, and is also the undisputed leader in uranium mining using the most advanced technologies.
«The construction of nuclear power plants opens up new prospects in the development of not only nuclear energy, but also related fields of science and technology», said I.L. Tazhibayeva.
The conference was attended by:
- V.A. Savelyev – D.Sc. in Engineering, Professor of the Ivanovo State Energy University, Deputy Director General for Science of «Systems and Technologies» Company;
- B.O. Duisebaev – D.Sc. in Engineering, First Deputy Chairman of the IUVNEI, Kazakhstan;
- D.M. Maksimovich – PhD in Technical Sciences, First Deputy Chairman of the IUVNEI, Belarus;
- T.M. Zhantikin – PhD in Physical and Mathematical Sciences, General Director of Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants JSC.
Representatives of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and such leading nuclear industry enterprises as NAC Kazatomprom JSC, RSE NNC RK, and others took part online.
As a result of the conference, a resolution was adopted in which the participants recorded the need to continue the dialogue aimed at forming and maintaining public acceptance of nuclear energy by the population. The resolution separately noted the relevance of nuclear power development in Kazakhstan.
Photos of the conference can be seen in our photo gallery.
The International Union of Public Associations «The International Union of Veterans of Nuclear Energy and Industry» (IUPA IUVNEI) was founded in 2010 on the basis of veteran public associations of Eastern European countries developing nuclear energy. Currently, the Union includes thirteen public organizations of veterans-nuclear specialists from eleven countries. The IUVNEI is the only veteran organization accredited at the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In April 2022, The IUVNEI and the Union of Veterans of Armenia held a conference dedicated to the issues of public acceptability of nuclear energy at the site of the Armenian NPP.