At the event called International Conference on Stakeholder Engagement for Nuclear Programmes, initiated by Director General Rafael Grossi, participants from more than fifty countries around the world exchanged experiences. Péter Rákóczi, Communications Director of Paks II. Ltd., welcomed the exchange of experiences in Vienna organized for member states already using nuclear energy and “new comer” states, emphasizing that since the most advanced nuclear investment in the European Union is taking place in our country, Hungarian experiences can be particularly valuable for neighbouring countries.

The Communications Director was one of the speakers in the Media, Emergency & Risk Communication section on Thursday. He explained that there was a sense of openness towards nuclear energy all over the world. Many European countries are rethinking their previous positions: several planned to abandon nuclear energy over time, but now Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy are also reviewing their previous positions and are considering extending the operating lifetime and planning to launch new nuclear investments.

– The theme of this event, among other things, is how local communities and leaders relate to this. We see that societies around the world are beginning to realize that renewable energy sources alone cannot cover the ever-growing energy demand and that nuclear energy is needed besides the renewables, which are difficult to store or are available intermittently, said the communications director.

In addition to the 450 participants of the five-day conference, hundreds more joined online to share their best practices and thus help involve local communities and stakeholders in nuclear programs, said Andrea Borio di Tigliole, IAEA Program Coordinator and Scientific Secretary of the conference. He added that a novelty at the IAEA event was that at the initiative of Director General Rafael Grossi, mayors and local leaders of settlements in the vicinity of nuclear facilities – including Hungarian municipality leaders – were also invited to the event, as it is of paramount importance to establish a partnership with these communities. The more than 80 local leaders who attended, including 21 mayors, represented about 9 million people at the conference.