The Department of Technical Cooperation (TC) will host, or co-organize with other IAEA departments, six side events during the 66th General Conference at the Agency’s Vienna headquarters from 26 to 30 September. In addition to these side events, national representatives to the TC programme’s four regional cooperative agreements will attend the annual meetings of AFRA, ARCAL, ARASIA and RCA, scheduled both in advance of and during the week of the General Conference. A meeting of National Liaison Officers from the Europe region will be held on 29 September.
Preview of side events
On the first day of the General Conference, experts participating in an ongoing regional project in Europe will demonstrate how they are applying nuclear technology to verify the authenticity and provenance of cultural heritage artefacts, food products and medicines. Revealing Secrets Using Nuclear Techniques, the first TC side event of the Conference, will take place on 26 September.
Despite playing a crucial role in sustaining the safe, high-quality use of radiation in diagnostic radiology, medical physicists are not always integrated into the work of diagnostic radiology departments. On 26 September, the side event, Diagnostic Radiology Medical Physicists: Who Are We? will showcase the role of these professionals in establishing, implementing and enhancing quality management systems, while highlighting available IAEA guidelines and tools.
ARASIA is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and—alongside stakeholders, partners and invited guests—its Board of Representatives will celebrate the milestones and accomplishments made possible through the agreement in the last two decades. At the 20th Anniversary of ARASIA side event, a new website and a new publication highlighting the socio-developmental impact of ARASIA’s technical cooperation with the IAEA in the last two decades will be launched.
Through its NUTEC Plastics initiative, the IAEA is working with Member States to establish a network of marine plastic monitoring laboratories and plastic waste recycling pilot plants. On 28 September, the Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) side event will showcase the growing monitoring network and its database, which will provide a science base for policy decisions.
The technical cooperation Programme Cycle Management Framework (PCMF) has come of age and needs an upgrade. On 28 September, the Plans for PCMF Upgrade event will provide an opportunity to present the PCMF upgrade project to Member States and highlight the need for extrabudgetary resources.
IAEA experts and African food and agriculture specialists will participate in a panel discussion exploring applications of nuclear technology in the ongoing fight against food insecurity in the region. On 29 September, the side event, Enhancing Capacities of Member States in Africa to Achieve Food Security Through the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Techniques, will also consider strategies to scale-up the use of nuclear techniques to protect soil and water resources and to economize crop production as part of a climate-smart approach to agriculture.
Also on 29 September, Improving National Frameworks for Radiation Protection in Medical Exposure in Europe and Central Asia will present the status, challenges and common problems in the implementation of the requirements of the International Basic Safety Standards, GSR Part 3, based on analyses of national legislation for medical exposure and self-assessment of Member States in Europe and Central Asia.
Exhibition
Alongside other IAEA departments and specialized programmes, the Department of Technical Cooperation will host an exhibition throughout the weeklong conference. The exhibit will showcase how the technical cooperation programme functions and the impact it helps to achieve.
Conference attendees are invited to visit the booth in the M building of the Vienna International Centre to pick up copies of the latest materials and publications, to view new videos and to meet IAEA staff at ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions. Using the hashtag #IAEATC, visitors are encouraged to publish photos of their visit to the exhibition on Twitter.
Source: International Atomic Energy Agency