FORUM ON
STAKEHOLDERCONFIDENCE

NE A

Intergenerational connections inradioactive waste management:
Involving children and youth
Intergenerational equity
Science-based solutions that are safe and acceptablefor future generations need to be developed for
all the radioactive waste being produced. Indeed,
the sustainable management of radioactive waste
must ensure the protection of the environment andsocial well-being, while respecting equity between
present and future generations. For the sake of thisintergenerational solidarity, it is therefore logical andnecessary to pay special attention to young people
in working out decision-making processes lasting
several decades. Today’s young people are tomorrow’s
policymakers and they will have to take responsibility
for the further management of radioactive waste.

some countries are seeking to involve young people inthis process. The list of initiatives presented here is not
exhaustive but seeks to provide inspiration to radioactive waste management organisations, nuclear authorities, federal organisations and schools. A distinction ismade between age groups by educational level: elementary school (6-12 years), secondary school (12‑18 years),
university (18 years and up), and young adults.

Elementary school-aged children(6-12 years)

Initiatives for young people aim to provide the next
generation with sufficient knowledge to be able to deal
flexibly with decisions made today. The challenge is not
only to raise their interest in radioactive waste management, but also to share the necessary information toensure the long-term safety of the disposal facilities andto involve young people in a process that will last fordecades.

A specific approach to young people
Many countries are developing specific initiatives toinvolve young people in radioactive waste management, from informing and communicating to dialogue.
Both the content of the message (which needs to be inline with young people’s knowledge and values) and thecommunication channel (how the message is conveyed)
need to be adapted to this stakeholder category. The
most frequently used methods involve the use of social
media but face-to-face interactions remain valuable, inparticular by co-operating with educational institutions(schools, colleges and universities). Creative forms ofcommunication are often used, such as games or roleplaying.
This flyer, developed by the NEA Forum on Stakeholder
Confidence (FSC) provides practical examples of how© OECD 2021

RWM, United Kingdom

For this age group, the objective is to raise the interestof the children by using fun communication materials,
and to provide basic scientific and technical knowledge
by using simple words.
Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) in the United
Kingdom developed four “characters” to help tell thestory of geological disposal: Rocky (representing aPage 1

rock, a key component of geological disposal), Shell(representing waste transport), Ray (in reference togamma rays), and R.O.B (for “robot”, which may beneeded to handle the waste). These four characters havebeen used in different communication formats, suchas an introductory leaflet (“Let’s talk about radioactivewaste”), a quiz, a set of peel-off stickers (shown here),a folded paper “fortune teller” (also known as a “cootiecatcher” or “chatterbox”) to help share the information
in a fun way.
RWM also produced an augmented reality app, whichallows the children to access short information videos
with a phone, when pointing the camera on thecharacters (https://vimeo.com/395415214/a8ba331061).
The National Agency for Management of Radioactive
Waste (Andra) in France provides schools witheducational and factual answers to simple questions:
What is radioactivity? What is radioactive waste andwho produces it? Is it dangerous? What is done with it?
The main target is local audiences near regional
facilities. Communication activities seek to promote
face-to-face interactions, such as class talks andon-site educational exhibitions, supported by specificcommunication materials. Here are two examples:• Two videos (30 minutes each) in partnership with
L’Esprit Sorcier (www.andra.fr/esprit-sorcier-stockage-profond-lavenir-des-dechets-les-plus-radioactifs), a French Internet platform that popularises
science, and posted on their YouTube channel tomaximise the audience. As of July 2021, the videos
had attracted 120 000 views and over 600 comments:
1) www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBw-sPgFSwc;2) www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvBBc5HHyaY• A special edition of Les Incollables in partnership withPlaybac, a publishing group for young readers. Four
thousand copies of this question-and-answer gamewere printed, and a digital version was also released.

Secondary school students(12-18 years)
In addition to initiatives such as class debates,
presentations by experts, on-site exhibitions and web
conferences, some NEA member countries developed(or are developing) creative ways of engaging with thisage group, notably with board games and computerbased games.
In Belgium, EIG EURIDICE - the Economic Interest
Grouping between the Belgian National Agency forRadioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Material(ONDRAF/NIRAS) and the Belgian Nuclear ResearchCentre (SCK CEN) - developed a role-playing game forstudents aged 16 and older: “The Disposal Mayors”.
During the game, students discuss the possible
construction of a geological repositor y in theirmunicipality and the challenges around this issue.
They take different roles successively, from the mayor
or municipal councillor to the local citizen. The themes
addressed during the game are very diverse. Is such a
waste repository safe enough? Is it technically possible
to build one? Are there no better ways of managing
or processing waste? Does the local population haveenough say in this project? Are there advantages for thelocal community? And who is going to cover the costs?
The aim is to allow young people to reflect on thissocially impor tant theme through an interactive
simulation, and to endorse different points of view
with convincing arguments. The students process theinformation related to such a project, look for additional
inputs in the exhibition area, consult in small groups(between 12 to 25 participants), and debate theirarguments. No technical knowledge is required to playthis game, since the focus is the social and politicaldimension of the repository project. Between April 2019and March 2020, 28 school groups played the game, inwhich 766 students took part.

In Japan, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization(NUMO) suppor ts school teachers in developing
teaching plans and materials for students aged
between 6 and 18. Between 2014 and 2020, more than
250 lessons have been organised by school teachers,
for approximatively 8 000 students. In order to shareexperience among teachers, NUMO organises regionaland nationwide workshops every year. It developed
standard teaching materials for elementary school
students (aged 6-12) and junior high school students(aged 13-15) and distributed them to schools and Boardsof Education nationwide. These teaching plans andmaterials are available on NUMO’s dedicated website:
https://numo-eess.jp/ (in Japanese).
Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom
created programme for nuclear knowledge sharing
including exchanges of experience, knowledge
generation, and translations into other languages.
It developed the “Rosatom School” project, which isimplemented in Russia for school children, as well as
a network of multilingual schools in other countries,
namely Finland, Hungary, Indonesia and South Africa(https://rosatom.ru/en/sustainability/project-rosatomschool/). Since 2016, about 1 000 children from25 countries have participated in this programme.

Page 2Cards used during the game
ONDRAF/NIRAS, Belgium© OECD 2021

Poster panels used as an introduction to the game
In Spain, a game called “Escape Box” was developedby the National Organisation for Radioactive Waste(Enresa) for high school students in the province ofCordoba, where the El Cabril facility for low- andintermediate-level waste (LILW) disposal is located.
This game begins with a presentation of Enresa’s
activities, El Cabril’s disposal centre and the concept ofradioactive waste. After the presentation, students have
45 minutes to condition the waste and accommodate
it in the corresponding disposal vault. In order to dothat, they need to open five boxes using codes or keys
and instructions provided as they answer questions
related to radioactive waste management. The gamehelps them understand in a fun way how LILW ismanaged in El Cabril. It was planned to be played during
the students’ visits to the facility. During the COVID-19
pandemic, the student visits at the facility have beensuspended and an online version of this game wasdeveloped. The game received very positive feedback
from both students and teachers.

ONDRAF/NIRAS, Belgium

project. In 2020, the magazine organized a competition
festival for young journalists.
Social media are also a powerful tool to communicate
with secondary school students. In France, Andra
set up partnerships with science and technology
YouTubers, namely AstronoGeek (https://www.andra.
fr/decouvrez-la-video-dastronogeek-descend-500msous-terre) and Dave Sheik (www.andra.fr/node/958),
in order to produce educational videos on subjects
related to radioactive waste management, such as
history, environment, ethics, medicine and industry. A
significant increase in the audience of Andra’s videos
has been noticed: with about 100 videos over five years,
Andra’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/andrafr/) went, in barely two years, from 100 000 views
and a few comments to several million views andthousands of comments, mainly from younger
audiences.

University students
In Japan, NUMO organised a video production
contest for university students. Students are given
the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of video andanimation production around one topic: enhancing
public understanding of geological disposal for highlevel radioactive waste. A total of 37 innovative videos
were produced between 2016 and 2019 based on ideas
from young contributors. These videos can be viewed
on NUMO’s YouTube site (www.youtube.com/channel/
UCWkXz0HwsaabNZIuCzgQwLg).

One of the boxes of this “escape-box” game
Enresa, Spain

Russia first implemented the “Rosatom School” projectin 2011. This project includes contests for children,participation in “excellent Rosatom” (a ten-day summer
camp for school children to talk about ecology andradiation safety issues), and other activities. In addition,
educational books and interactive digital games are
distributed to introduce activities in the field of nuclear
and radiation technologies, including the issues related
to waste management and waste disposal (pictureattached). From 2017 to 2020, the magazine “CoolRosatom” has published 30 issues and 12 special
issues dedicated to the activities of the Rosatom School© OECD 2021

In Russia, a “Nuclear Pool” of Russian universities(i.e. a consortium of Rosatom reference universities)
has been created in 2011, which train specialists in thenuclear industry and propose internships for young
professionals in nuclear industry sites and foreign
universities. Dedicated work with students was carriedout to attract interest in these Russian universities.
Each university in this Nuclear Pool has specialised
departments focused on different competencies, andtogether they offer Russian and foreign students a wide
range of skills and knowledge in the field of nuclear andradiation technologies. Today, the consortium gathers
18 specialised universities, and 9 of them are included in
the top-20 of the best universities in Russia according to
the ranking of Forbes magazine published in June 2021.

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The tendency towards personal commitment andpersonalisation currently widely identified with thisgeneration can be addressed by being active in places
that are conducive to opening up a constructivedebate. For instance, Andra in France invites students
to its sites within the framework of partnerships withuniversities that can, in return, organise debates within
their walls. Andra also participates in conferences
or debates organised by third parties. A particulareffort is placed on students (and alumni) of Frenchhigher education institutions (“grandes écoles”) withengineering schools, via the alumni networks of Andra’semployees. The partnerships also target universities
that are training tomorrow’s policymakers.

Young adults
In France, digital and social media (in particular Twitter,Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram) play a key role inreaching young adults. That is why Andra is using
innovative ways to raise the interest of this audiencein radioactive waste management: plays, photo/video/writing contests, podcasts, webinars and conferences.
In June 2019, a web conference was organised inpartnership with Youmatter on the theme “How dowe talk about subjects that frighten us?” (in French),gathering three speakers and over 200 live participants(ten times more on replay). Numerous questions wereasked on YouTube and Zoom during this two-hour live
session. The subject of radioactive waste management
was a highlight of the discussion (https://youmatter.
world/fr/debattre-sujets-peur-societe-democratie).
In Germany, youth involvement is a major goal in thecontext of the radioactive waste site selection process.
With the aim of better understanding the needsand expectations of young people, the three mainactors – the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear
Waste Management (BASE), the Federal Company
for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE mbH) and theNational Civil Society Board (NBG) – jointly conducteda workshop in October 2019. This three-day event
gathered sixty-three participants aged from 15 to 30.
The objective was to discuss their expectations andideas regarding youth involvement. In order to provide
room for their own approaches and recommendations,
the workshop was designed as an open space format

where participants themselves set the topics of theagenda. A total of 13 sessions took place focusing
on a wide range of topics, such as the role of social
media and storytelling, new approaches to youth
participation as well as nuclear waste disposal in
the context of environmental protection. This format
delivered valuable input for BASE, BGE mbH andNBG. All three actors took the results into account andtransparently reported on the ways and the extent towhich they would implement these recommendations.
Additionally, in order to share the results with a larger
audience, a group of participants presented the findingsof the workshop at the annual BASE conference on
final disposal of radioactive waste (“StatuskonferenzEndlagerung”).

Conclusions
Specific efforts are needed to involve young people
in nuclear waste management and engage them in a
dialogue. Radioactive waste management organisations
have to actively approach the next generation throughtargeted actions that are adapted to their age, theirenvironment, and their way of communicating. Throughcreative communication and teaching materials, games,role-playing, videos, podcasts, conferences, webinars,
and par tnerships with social media influencers
and youth associations, NEA member countries
have developed different ways to involve younger
stakeholders.
Although youth involvement is important at each stepof a nuclear energy programme, the long time framesof policies and disposal projects in radioactive waste
management require a particularly strong engagementwith younger generations. Successful communication
at an early stage can encourage young people to sharethe information and continue the dialogue, particularlyon the currently prominent medium of social media.
The objective of the initiatives listed in this flyer isboth to raise interest by successfully explaining thetechnical and social issues related to radioactive waste
management, and to engage in a trustful dialogue.
It is crucial to take young people’s input seriously
and report transparently on how and to what extent
recommendations will be implemented.

For more information, please contact the NEA Division of Radiological Protection and Human Aspects of Nuclear Safety:
Mr Greg Lamarre, Division Head: greg.lamarre@oecd-nea.org
Page 4© OECD 2021
Ms Lelia Rousselet, FSC Secretariat: lelia.rousselet@oecd-nea.org