ENS PIME 2007
Nuclear community intensifies communications
efforts to reach broader public and meet the information needs
of the global nuclear renaissance.
From 11-15 February 2007, over 170
professional communicators from 27 countries congregated in the
Palazzo delle Stelline Congress Centre in Milan, Italy, to take
part in ENS PIME 2007. Now in its fifth year,
the annual PIME (Public Information
Materials Exchange) conference
is organised by the European Nuclear Society (ENS) in co-operation
with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Nuclear
Energy Agency of the OECD (NEA/OECD) and FORATOM. PIME is an international
conference that provides communicators in the global nuclear science
community with a unique opportunity to discuss the key issues
of the day, to focus on new communications solutions and tools
and to network with their fellow professionals. Among those who
took part were representatives of the major European power utilities,
research centres, nuclear science associations and national nuclear
associations.
At a time when concerns about security
of supply, combating climate change and competitive energy prices
have thrust nuclear energy to the top of the global energy agenda
and stimulated the nuclear revival, the premium on effective communications
is all the greater. So too are the challenges and rewards for
nuclear communicators, who must communicate the social, economic
and environmental advantages of nuclear energy to an increasingly
information-sensitive public. This was one of the key messages
to emerge from the conference.
The conference agenda consisted of
a series of plenary sessions, panel discussions and parallel workshops
focusing on specific communications issues.
Among the main subjects discussed during
the plenary and panel sessions were the international ITER fusion
project, the drivers and implications of nuclear new build in
the UK, countries planning to go nuclear for the first time and
the situation in the host country, Italy. The results-oriented
workshops gave PIME 2007 delegates the opportunity to concentrate,
in a more hands-on way, on issues like applying best practices,
enhancing stakeholder consultation and communicating via the Young
Generation Nuclear network. The objective was for delegates to
learn about new communications skills and approaches.
Among the guest speakers at PIME
2007 were senior representatives of the European Commission,
industry specialists, journalists, communications consultants
and experts in a range of fields, including public acceptance
and crisis communications.
Each year during PIME the nuclear community
recognises the contribution that high impact communications can
make to reinforcing key messages about nuclear energy to the public
by presenting the PIME Award for Communications Excellence. This
year the prize went to British Energy, for its innovative and
audacious Demarco Skateraw campaign that humanised the image of
nuclear energy by establishing a novel link between art and science.
On the final day of the conference,
delegates visited the research facilities of the European Commission’s
Joint Research Centre, ISPRA, which are just outside Milan.
ENS President, Frank Deconinck, who
chaired the conference, emphasised how information is a prerequisite
for a democratic society and how it is the role of scientists
and communicators to empower the public by sharing knowledge with
them: “People are the ultimate power, but power is only
of common good if it is the hands of informed people. We are confronted
every day with misconceptions and factual errors about nuclear
energy. How can we expect the public to make an informed, objective
judgement if scientists cannot effectively communicate the facts?
PIME aims to enable nuclear communicators to improve their skills
and develop new tools so that the public can make informed choices
based on scientific fact, not fiction.”
For more information about PIME 2007,
consult the following web site: www.PIME2007.org
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