Seung-Sook Lee and et al.
[Left hand page running head is author’s name in Times New Roman 8 point bold capitals, centred. For more than two authors, write AUTHOR et al.]
WiN Korea Outreach Programmes
for Public Acceptance
Seung-Sook Lee
Women in Nuclear Korea
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Email:
EunKyoung Lee, Na Yoon Song, Jong Sun Kim
Women in Nuclear Korea
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Youngmi Nam
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Sook-Kyung Lee
KHNP-Central Research Institute
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Eunok Han
Korea Academy of Nuclear Safety
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Teresa W. Na
Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Abstract
WiN(Women in Nuclear) Korea aims to promote understanding of nuclear for public, especially women and student. Member of WiN Korea consists of Korean women professionals working in nuclear and radiation field.WiN Korea has demonstrated the power of women-specific affinity and communication skills, to create and promote the understanding of nuclear energy. In order to achieve this objective, it is necessary to educate the next generation of nuclear power to enhance the understanding and improve the acceptance based on accumulated experiences and know-how for many years with the education programme developed by WiN Korea. Outreachprogrammesfor the students fromelementarysecondaryschool and university in Korea consist of a nuclear experts' visit programmeto school as a one day teacher, concert of science experiment, and nuclear competition. In addition,career exploration forums and mentoring programmesare for university students.There were about 17,000 students participated in these programmes.Especially, Members of WiN Korea having nuclear expertise with high emotional acceptance of the public play a big role in the outreach programmes for public including nuclear symposiums, communication workshops, andsocial meetings with local residents near nuclear power plants.WiN Koreacarries out thewomen leadership programmesfor inducing active social participation of women experts, train the trainers programmesto educate students and training on nuclear communication skills for WiN Korea members.WiN Korea activities have been contributed to the public acceptance through enhancement of understanding of nuclear for students and public in Korea.
1.INTRODUCTION
Promoting understanding of nuclear power & radiation is a process of reaching for the general public and the community to disseminate a basicknowledge correctly. There are various outreach programmes and operates in various forms of programmes at nuclearrelated organizations such as companies, research institute, association, and universities. Among them, WiN Korea has been promoting the understanding of nuclear power & radiation for the next generation and women with relatively low awareness of nuclear power & radiation.
WiN Korea was established to enhance nuclear acceptance of public in 2000 and has participated more than 500 women members working in the field of nuclear power & radiation. WiN Korea is creating an environment in which can be achieved emotional communication with the different affinity and communication skills of women. Primarily, through the development of a variety of nuclear learning contents and programmes that stimulate students' intellectual curiosity, they have helped to promote the understanding of nuclear science and technology applied to a wide range of fields and to explore career paths of the next generation. Also, it has contributed to social activities and the promotion of public acceptance by supporting specialty improvement and potential development of women in the field of nuclear power & radiation.
In the paper, outreach programmes ofWiN Korea are introducedto enhance understanding of nuclear for next generation and public and to secure competent human resources in the field of nuclear power & radiation.
2.Outreach Programmes of WiN Korea
2.1.Outreach programme for the next generation
WiN Korea has been promoting outreach programmes for understanding of nuclear for the next generation since 2007.There were about 17,000 students participated in the outreach programmes by 2017, from elementary, middle, high schools, and universities.
TABLE 1.Number of students participated in the outreach programmes for students
Number of students / 2007~8 / 2009 / 2011 / 2012 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / SumElementary school / 5,281 / 1,140 / 774 / - / 37 / - / - / - / 7,232
Middle school / 4,875 / 175 / 923 / - / 33 / 41 / 280 / 72 / 6,399
High school / 2,481 / 190 / - / - / 73 / - / 433 / - / 3,177
University / - / - / - / 170 / - / - / 154 / - / 324
Sum / 12,637 / 1,505 / 1,697 / 170 / 143 / 41 / 867 / 72 / 17,132
WiN Korea hosted a career exploration forum to provide information on career paths in the nuclear power field to attract talented workers. Besides, to carry out systematic and effective next-generation education, we developed educational contents such as science experiment performance, pop-up book, education kit, and radiation education module package and operated the nuclear knowledge class visited by nuclear experts. Through the nuclear expert training programme for women workers in the field of nuclear energy, WiN Korea has strengthened the mentoring technique and communication capacity for the level and effectiveness of the next generation understanding of nuclear power and laid the foundation for nurturing human resources.
2.2.Outreach programme for the public
WiN Korea promoted knowledge of nuclear power through various communication activities to enhance the public acceptance. Since 2004, WiN Korea has been providing opportunities for improving understanding of nuclear energy for women through 'Symposium with Women' every year. Also, it has held exchange meetings for the residents of nuclear power plants and seminars for opinion leaders (journalists, teachers, medical personnel) to provide various information for promoting understanding of nuclear power. As part of the support for nuclear power promotion activities for the general public, WiN Korea provided women with the opportunity to nurture female workers in the nuclear & radiation fields by developing programmes. Leadership education, communication workshop, training for strengthening communication capacity of nuclear experts, improving communication capacity, nuclear communication skills training, international cooperation through participation in WiN Global, etc. To enhance their professional expertise and potential to induce communication capacity and voluntary activities of female nuclear experts.
3.Results & Conclusion
When we look at the activities of promoting understanding of nuclear energy in WiN Korea, promotion of human resources through expansion of understanding of nuclear power & radiation can play an important role in securing competent human resources in the field of nuclear power. Therefore, to secure the female workforce in the nuclear power sector, it is necessary to establish a pool of personnel through nuclear cooperation among the nuclear power related organizations centering on WiN Korea and to operate a systematic human resource training programme through continuous national support.
WiN Korea's various activities to promote understanding of nuclear energy not only resolve vague fears and negative perceptions of nuclear and radiation but also recognize the many advantages of nuclear power and give a positive awareness that radiation can be safely controlled. These various channels of activity should be secured and regularized to nurture human resources through nuclear understanding promotion activities. Also utilizing the characteristics of a wide range of nuclear fields, opportunities for career opportunities in nuclear science should be given not only to science and engineering but also to humanities. In particular, if you train a professional communicator who can lead communication activities for enhancing public acceptance, the major in humanities will also find jobs at nuclear-related institutions continuously.
Moreover, since the new government's policy trend is being pursued not to use nuclear power anymore, it will be more important to secure trust and consensus of the people through the promotion of nuclear power understanding. To ensure the safety of the nuclear power plants and the use of radiation and to raise the awareness of the nuclear power to the nuclear power, it is urgent imperative to develop a functional organization and professional communicator for the promotion of public acceptance and communication.
Securing excellent human resources in the nuclear fields is the best way to prevent the fatal human error among the causes of nuclear accidents and can contribute effectively to improve the safety of nuclear power & radiation and to improve the public acceptance through it. Therefore, even to secure the safety of nuclear power & radiation, proper human resources must be continuously cultivated.
References
[1]WiN Korea, Communication project for enhancing nuclear awareness and understanding foundation, WiN Korea, Korea (2016).
[2]WiN Korea, Customized outreach program to expand the base of nuclear understanding for youth,Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Korea (2016).
[3]WiN Korea, Nuclear outreach infra development for secondary school students, Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea (2017).
[4]WiN Korea, A study on the nuclear outreach program for next generation based on Korean education system, Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea (2017).
[5]
1