The Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) will be hosting a series of nuclear workshops in Eastern Cape.
The workshops aimed at creating public awareness around nuclear will take place at the Coega Development Zone on 23 May and in Jeffreys Bay on 24h May;
According to NIASA MD Knox Msebenzi, the workshop will be focused on dispelling a number of myths around nuclear and also highlighting the socio-economic impacts that a nuclear new build will have on the Eastern Cape. “As NIASA we have come to the realisation that the majority of negative opinions that are formed around nuclear are done so on an emotional level and are very seldom fact based.
“It is for this reason we plan to have a series of very open and interactive public awareness workshops with the aim of providing the general public with the information they need to make informed decisions on the topic of nuclear,” says Msebenzi.
The workshops boast a number of influential speakers from the local and international nuclear industry. One to be highlighted is Tom Blees, the president of the Science Council for Global Initiatives. Blees is also the author of Prescription for the Planet – The Painless Remedy for Our Energy & Environmental Crises and a member of the selection committee for the Global Energy Prize.
Blees will be hosting a Q&A session after the screening of the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary Pandora’s Promise, a project on which he was a technical advisor.
The workshop will be concluded with a panel discussion entitled, ‘Economic spinoffs for local communities around an NPP construction’. The panel will look into the economic effects such as job creation, infrastructure development and local business opportunities of similar projects across the globe and other mega-build projects in South Africa.
The nuclear workshops/conference is an all day event and includes lunch. It starts at 8 am at the Newton Hall, Goedehoop Street, Jeffreys Bay.
Attendance for the workshops is by registration. Please send an email to mpho@niasa.co.za or telephone: 011 061 5000 (office hours)
St Francis Chronicle 