From 22-26 September, the Vienna International Centre played host to approximately 2300 diplomats, scientific experts and journalists, who gathered to attend the IAEA's 58th annual General Conference (GC). In total, 148 IAEA Member States officially attended the conference, in addition to observers from five specialized UN agencies and over 38 non-governmental organizations, all of whom were in attendance to discuss and coordinate efforts around the Agency's programme and activities.
Throughout the week of the General Conference, the Department of Technical Cooperation (TC) organized or co-hosted a number of side events which drew attention to the diverse work conducted under the umbrella of the TC programme. Meanwhile, on the margins of the week's proceedings, IAEA Member States and NGOs held exhibitions to present their most recent accomplishments, research and applications, ongoing development and future plans.
In addition to a sizeable exhibition located in M Building, the TC Department's presence during the 58th session of the IAEA General Conference included anniversary celebrations for two regional cooperative agreements, namely the African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development & Training related to Nuclear Science & Technology (AFRA) and the Regional Cooperation Agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL). Celebrating their 25- and 30-year anniversaries respectively, the regional groups organized side events to highlight the breadth of work conducted under the agreements.
Another important milestone was marked with the official web launch, jointly with the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications (NA), of the Distance-Assisted Training Online (DATOL) platform, which is now available to the wider public through the Human Health Campus. Two further jointly-organized briefings, with NA on nutrition, and the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security (NS) on improved radiation safety infrastructure, informed conference-goers of recent work to reduce childhood stunting and morbidity caused by malnutrition, and of a new strategic approach to strengthening radiation protection in IAEA Member States. Lastly, a town hall discussion, led by the Agency's Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT), explored the benefits of forging new partnerships to address the growing cancer epidemic in low- and middle-income nations.
In each of its four geographical regions, the IAEA supports inter-governmental agreements which aim to enlarge the contribution of nuclear technologies to regional development goals. In addition to the side events organized at the General Conference, several meetings were held to coordinate the work of these regional cooperative agreements.
On the Friday prior to the General Conference, a meeting was held in support of the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Asia and the Pacific (RCA). After welcoming Fiji as the agreement's most recent State Party, the 60 representatives presented reports which documented the progress of both ongoing projects and follow-up activities. ARCAL and the Cooperative Agreement for Arab States in Asia (ARASIA) both held meetings on Tuesday, 23 September, to discuss recent developments in TC projects arranged under the regional agreements, and to explore methods to promote even closer collaboration. Finally, meetings were held on Thursday, 25 September, to reflect and deliberate on the work undertaken by the AFRA States Parties, and in the European region of the TC programme.