Press Release

WiN Europe Launch event
Round table debate and press confernce
Sunday, February 13th 2011, Brussels

On Sunday February 13th 2011 the association Women In Nuclear (WiN) Europe, was officially launched in Brussels at the opening of the annual PIME Congress organized by the European Nuclear Society (ENS).

More than 170 people attended this event under the presidency of Dominique MOUILLOT, President of WiN Europe.

A round table moderated by Edit Herzog, MEP (S&D, Hungary) and member of the ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) Committee, brought together the following speakers:

• Ute Blohm-Hieber, Head of Unit D2 (Nuclear Energy, Transport, Decommissioning and Waste Management) of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy (DG ENER)

• Claudine Hermann, Vice President of the European Platform of Women Scientists (EPWS)

• Elena Dimitru, an expert in European environmental policies and assistant to Rovana Plumb,  MEP (S&D Romania)

• Andrea Bachrata,  PhD, fellow at the IRSN (Institute for Radio Protection and  Nuclear Safety) in Cadarache, France,

They launched a productive debate on the following themes:

“What role can WiN Europe play in communicating with the public and especially with the younger generation, in education and training, in competence renewal and knowledge transfer and in the fostering of diversity and gender equality in scientific and technical fields? What actions are being taken by WiN Europe to attract teenagers to scientific and nuclear professions? How can the collective expertise of WiN Europe be used by the European Community?”

The panellists expressed the interest taken by their respective institutions in WiN Europe’s initiatives and fields of expertise, particularly given the context of the nuclear revival and the need to develop the human resources necessary for the future.

Through actions aimed at promoting diversity in scientific and technical professions, WiN Europe will play a key role in the development of solutions to meet the current and future energy challenges of Europe.

Representing the young generation, Andrea Bachrata expressed her enthusiasm at being an active member of WiN Europe and the hopes that WiN Europe has generated for her future career.

WiN Europe was founded by 9 European countries and/or organisations: Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the WiN section within the IAEA. Since then, Bulgaria and Spain have also joined WiN Europe. Other countries are expected to follow suit.

WiN Europe brings together women professionals working in all fields relating to the various applications of nuclear technology and science (energy, medicine, biology, art, agriculture and space exploration). Boosted by the cohesion and dynamism of its members, WiN Europe is ready to meet the challenge and has embarked on a programme of actions that will contribute to the safe and sustainable development of the nuclear sector.

WiN Europe is also part of the WiN Global network, which counts some 3,100 members in 80 countries.

The WiN Europe association, which was first founded in Budapest on 2 October 2010 and registered as a legal entity under French law, has among its objectives the following:

• To communicate with the public, and particularly with young people and women: to provide  them with  objective and accessible information about nuclear technologies and applications, as well as about professions active in these fields

• To create a network for exchanging and sharing experiences and best practices

• To provide collective competence and expertise for actors in the sector, in particular those working in the fields of education and knowledge transfer

• To establish partnerships and promote cooperation and agreements with major European institutions, nuclear bodies, training and educational institutions and with other European networks engaged in the promotion of diversity in the field of science and technology 

• To participate in the programmes of the European Commission dedicated to the development of the nuclear sector

• To contribute to the renewal and development of human resources for the future and to the promotion of diversity and gender balance within the European nuclear community.

Contact WiN Europe at: contact@win-europe.org
General Secretary: Stephanie Foulquier; Tel: +33 4 91 29 18 03