Report from Initial project conference 'Let’s Communicate about Ionising Radiation'

Nadja Železnik, Milena Marega, Blanka Koron, Daniela Diaconu, Marin Constantin, Metka Kralj, Claire Mays, Ciara Condi, Gaston Meskens

    Research outputpeer-review

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    Abstract

    The Conference 'Let’s Communicate about Ionising Radiation' was the first public event ofthe project EAGLE taking place on 26th of November 2013 in Paris. The conference brought together stakeholders from ten EU countries, including representatives from the nuclear industry, national radioactive waste management organisations, regulatory bodies, medical implementers, members of the media and civil society.At the start of the conference the presentation of the EAGLE project was given, presenting its aims, planned results and potential benefits for end‐users, the role of stakeholders and especially of the possibilities for joint work with stakeholders. The presentations and discussions that followed were dedicated to the key challenges related to communication on ionising radiation (IR) from the point of view of public, of information sources and of mass media. The participants reflected the challenges rose by the invited speakers and addressed some guiding questions in working groups. The discussions proved that the last thing about communication has not been said yet. It is evident that still many challenges lie in front of information sources in order to better address the needs of transmitters (media) and of receivers (civil society and general population). According to studies and practical experience in all areas of risk governance, knowledge based information is not the sole dimension of communication. Just as important when communicating about the effects of ionizing radiation will be issues of trust, confidence,consistency, transparency, decision‐making process, empathy, completeness of information and fairness. Therefore the information sources need to go beyond the simple preparation and transmission of objective information, and pay attention to relationship building. They must be pro‐active in properly addressing the communication with different public groups.Many participants to the conference welcomed this ‘broader approach’ to the issues of communication and participation. There was not enough time to reflect on how this could inspire the future practical work within the EAGLE project, but there is an interest with the EAGLE coordinators to include this in the near future.
    Original languageEnglish
    PublisherEC - European Commission
    Number of pages82
    StatePublished - 20 Dec 2013

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