IAEA Director General, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, will be awarded the inaugural "Atoms for Peace" prize on 7 August in Tokyo, Japan, by the Institute for Sustainable Peace and the World Council of Nuclear Workers (WONUC). The ceremony is the day after the anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing of 6 August 1945.
Dr. ElBaradei was awarded the "Atoms for Peace" prize for his work and contribution to "the development of peaceful applications of nuclear energy". He will officially be accepting the award in a ceremony to be held on 19 September in Vienna, Austria, during the 51st IAEA General Conference .
WONUC President, Prof André Maïsseu, said that Dr. ElBaradei was the perfect choice to receive the inaugural "Atoms for Peace" honour. "Through this prize we want to explain that nuclear energy is the way to ensure sustainable peace for the world," Prof. Maïsseu said.
The IAEA chief is in Asia this month for meetings with country leaders and top officials in South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. The first stop on Dr. ElBaradei´s itinerary is the Republic of Korea where, on 12 July, he delivers the keynote address during a special event commemorating 50 years of nuclear cooperation between Korea and the IAEA. The event is being held in conjunction with the World Nuclear University Summer Institute and the country´s National Nuclear Symposium.