Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA)
    Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC)


    International Workshop with Stakeholders

    Sharing Views on Nuclear Regulatory Organisations' (NROs) Communication

    French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) Headquarters
    Montrouge, France

    9 April 2014

    Organised in collaboration with ASN

    Announcement

    The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC) held an international workshop with stakeholders in collaboration with the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). The workshop was held on 9 April 2014, in Paris - Porte d'Orléans, France.

    Objective

    The workshop was an opportunity to bring together communication experts from nuclear regulatory organisations (NROs) and stakeholders. Its main purpose was to stimulate cooperation and improve NROs' communication by better understanding stakeholders' perceptions, needs and expectations (see details in the programme).

    Workshop topics and format

    The workshop lasted one day and was split into two half-day sessions. The morning session was dedicated to exchanges with journalists and experts in communication, while the afternoon session was devoted to discussions with elected officials, members of local information committees and NGOs. The sessions were moderated by a journalist.

    For a regional approach, the stakeholders came from European countries only.

    Participants

    Access to the workshop was reserved for communication experts from nuclear regulatory authorities, invited stakeholders, and ASN and NEA staff. The maximum number of attendees allowed was 75.

    Content

    The panellists shared their experience based on specific national framework with NRO communicators from around the world.

    Language of the workshop

    The working language of the workshop was English.

    Organising committee of the workshop

    The organisation of the workshop was led by Mr Emmanuel Bouchot (General Public Communication Manager, ASN, France) and was supported by Ms Yeonhee Hah (WGPC Chair, KINS, Korea), Mr Anton Treier (WGPC Vice Chair, ENSI, Switzerland), Mr András Molnár (HAEA, Hungary), Ms Reeta Rani Malhotra (AERB, India), Ms Dagmar Zemanova (UJD, Slovak Republic), Ms Malin Nääs (SSM, Sweden) and Ms Céline Faidherbe (FANC, Belgium).

    Proceedings of the workshop

    The proceedings of the workshop were published by the NEA in autumn 2014 and made available on the OECD/NEA website.

    The conclusions and recommendations of the workshop were submitted to the CNRA for endorsement and followed up by the WGPC.

    Contact information

    ASN contact NEA contact

    Mr Emmanuel Bouchot
    General Public Communication Manager
    French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN)
    15 rue Louis Lejeune - CS 70013
    92541 Montrouge cedex
    FRANCE
    Tel.: +33 1 46 16 41 44
    E-mail:

    Ms Aurélie Lorin
    WGPC Technical Secreteriat
    OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
    12, boulevard des Îles
    92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
    FRANCE
    Tel.: +33 1 45 24 10 57
    E-mail:

    Programme

    09:00

    Coffee on arrival

    09:30

    Opening speech (Mr Jean-Christophe Niel, CNRA Chair/ASN Director-General; Ms Yeonhee Hah, WGPC Chair)

    Morning session: Expectations of Traditional and Social Media from NROs' Communication

    09:50

    Panel session

     

    Moderator: Ms Ann MacLachlan, journalist, former European Bureau Chief, Nuclear Publications, Platts

    Panellists:

    • Mr Michel Rose, Thompson Reuters, France
    • Mr Jeroen van Horenbeek, De Morgen, Belgium
    • Ms González Herrero, Europa Press Noticias, Spain
    • Ms Fabienne Cadenat, TNS Sofres, France
    • Ms Isabelle Oudot-Klein, expert in social media, France
    • Mr Alain Delmestre, ASN Deputy Director General, Director of communications, France

    This session of the workshop specifically addressed the following issues:

    Reputation and Trustworthiness

    Monitoring how NROs are perceived
    (15 minute presentation, Ms Fabienne Cadenat, TNS Sofres)

    • What is the perception of the NROs by journalists?

    Needs, constraints and knowledge building

    • What do the media expect from NROs in terms of information? How can NROs provide them with that information?
    • What are the media’s constraints?
    • What are the constraints due to national cultural contexts?
    • What are the media's needs in terms of type, format, level of specification, rapidity and distribution methodology for information in routine and crisis situations? Do the media expect proactive or reactive communication?
    • How could NROs help the media to improve its knowledge of nuclear technical subjects? What education/information would be necessary for them to be better prepared to explain a future nuclear incident?

    Relations

    • What are the relations of journalists with other stakeholders such as licensees, local information committees, other public authorities, NGOs, etc.?
    • How to build a positive relationship of work between journalists and NROS (the communication team and press officers in NROs)?

    Transparency and emotion aspects

    • From information to transparency: What are the issues, limits and outlooks?
    • How can NROs deal with the emotional nature of the issues they communicate about?
    • What are the constraints due to national cultural contexts?

    Traditional and social media

    Social media: Issues, risks and good practices
    (15 minute presentation, Ms Isabelle Oudot-Klein, expert in social media, France)

    • Interaction with traditional and social media: Do traditional media use social media as a source of information? Do they consider them trustworthy?
    • Should NROs reinforce their communication through social media?
      Conclusions of the session ( Mr Emmanuel Bouchot, workshop organising committee Chair).
    13:00 Lunch at ASN's restaurant
    Afternoon session: Expectations of Elected Officials, Members of Local Information Committees and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) from NROs' Communication
    14:00 Opening speech (Ms Yeonhee Hah, WGPC Chair)
    14:15

    Panel session

    Moderator: Ms Ann MacLachlan, journalist, former European Bureau Chief, Nuclear Publications, Platts

    Panellists:

    • Ms Margareta Widén-Berggren, mayor of Östhammar, chair of the Local Information Committee of Forsmark NPP, Sweden
    • Mr Ladislav Ehn, mayor of Kalná nad Hronom, member of the Local Information Committee of Mochovce NPP, Slovak Republic
    • Mr Yves Lheureux, representative of the French National Association of Local Information Committees, France
    • Mr Yannick Rousselet, representative of Greenpeace, France
    • Mr Michel Bourguignon, ASN commissioner, France

    The panellists gave a 10 minute maximum intervention in the format of their choice illustrated by past experience. Priority was given to open discussion between the panel and the audience.

    The following session of the workshop addressed the following issues:

    Sources and relations

    • What are institutions' and organisations' main sources of information (traditional media, social media, NRO and technical and scientific support organisation [TSO] websites, other nuclear experts, licensees, political officials, NGOs, etc.)?
    • What are the relations between local information committees and NGOs with the other stakeholders, such as licensees, other public authorities, etc.?

    Needs, constraints and knowledge building

    • What do local information committees and NGOs expect from NROs in terma of information? How can NROs provide them with suitable information?
    • What do institutions and organisations expect from NROs in terms of information? How can NROs provide them with that information?
    • What are local information committees' and NGOs' needs in terms of type, format, level of specification, rapidity and distribution methodology for information in routine and crisis situations? Do local information committees and NGOs expect proactive or reactive communication?
    • How could NROs help local information committees and NGOs improve their knowledge of nuclear technical subjects, and what education/information would be necessary for them to be better prepared to explain a future nuclear incident?

    Contribution to public information

    • How do local information committees and NGOs deal with the information they receive from different sources (nuclear regulators, licensees and public authorities)? What are their policies and contributions to public information? What are their interactions with the public?

    Belgian government movie: Do you know what to do in case of nuclear accident?

    • Public acceptance of officials' instructions: What is the point of view of local information committees and NGOs regarding people following instructions for protective actions in case of an emergency?

    Public involvement and risk culture

    • How to enhance the participation of the public in nuclear topics (via public debates, consultations, working groups, etc.)?
      Conclusions of the session (Mr Emmanuel Bouchot, workshop organising committee Chair)
    17:00 Closure of the workshop by ASN's President

    Evaluation

    Please fill in and send the evaluation form back to . Thank you for attenting the workshop.

    Last reviewed: 16 April 2014