The newly established NEA High-level Group on Stakeholder Engagement, Trust, Transparency and Social Sciences (HLG-SET) will work to support and advance NEA member countries’ efforts to strengthen the relationship between the nuclear sector and civil society. HLG-SET is comprised of senior experts with deep experience in government, nuclear regulation, foreign policy, industry and academia. The first in-person meeting took place on 18-19 January 2024 in Paris, France.
In his welcome remarks, NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV noted: “There has been a shift in public expectations over time, and the nuclear sector historically has struggled to adapt to this continuously evolving and complex environment to engage public stakeholders. The benefit of this group is the members’ wide range of experience will enable them to develop policy-level recommendations for helping countries advance public engagement and trust building.”
Chaired by Rumina Velshi, former President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the meeting included presentations about the ongoing NEA activities on stakeholder engagement and trust from the Chairs of the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) and the Expert Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (EGPC), and the Co-Chair of the Third Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Optimisation in Decision Making.
The group will develop a comprehensive programme of work in the coming months and will report on its activities at the next Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy meeting in April.
