An opening ceremony for the nuclear power information center took place in Astana, Kazakhstan. The ceremony was attended by Kazakhstan Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik, Rusatom International Network President Alexander Merten, Baurzhan Ibraev, Kazatomprom Chief Production and Nuclear Fuel Cycle Officer, Alexei Frolov, Deputy Director of Rossotrudnichestvo (a Russian agency for CIS affairs and international humanitarian cooperation), nuclear industry experts from Russia and Kazakhstan, and students from Astana.

The center focuses on providing information on nuclear power and promoting technical education. Its target audience will be students and teachers of vocational and higher educational institutions, public authorities and mass media representatives.

Financed by Rosatom, the information center is a not-for-profit organization – all educational events will be free for the visitors.

The center in Astana is equipped with the state-of-the-art multimedia equipment and features unique video programs in Russian and Kazakh, a radiation counter model, an interactive nuclear station simulator, a touch screen kiosk with dedicated software, and printed materials.

“The center will give young people an idea of the power industry and make them think about a technical career,” said Vladimir Shkolnik, Kazakhstan Minister of Energy. “This will contribute to the development of science, technology and, consequently, to the improvement of public well-being in Kazakhstan.”

Alexander Merten, President of Rusatom International Network, stressed, “According to social surveys, the number of young people choosing technical majors grows in those cities where there are information centers because their primary goal is to make nuclear technologies easy to understand. Especially important is that the center will combine conventional and innovative educational events interesting and understandable for different audiences, both young and old.”

“The information center provides extremely useful information helping to choose a profession that will give a chance of a better job and career. This center offers therefore an opportunity for young people to develop in technology and fulfill themselves in their work,” noted Alexei Frolov, Deputy Director of Rossotrudnichestvo.

FOR REFERENCE:Nuclear power information centers are established in the regions where there are nuclear facilities. The first information center was opened in Tomsk (Russia) in November 2008. For six years that passed since then, information centers were opened in 17 Russian cities. The international network of nuclear power information centers covers those countries that employ Russian technologies for the construction of nuclear facilities. Overseas information centers have been opened in Hanoi (Vietnam), Mersin (Turkey), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Istanbul (Turkey) and Minsk (Belarus). Each center is visited by 2,000–2,300 people monthly. According to a survey conducted in 2015, 62% of visitors are confident in the reliability of safety systems at present-day nuclear stations. 87% of them will recommend a visit to the center to their friends and colleagues.