The IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation has held its fourth annual Seminar on Technical Cooperation for Permanent Missions on 16 October 2013. More than 50 delegates from Permanent Missions in Vienna gathered at the IAEA to learn more about the IAEA's technical cooperation (TC) programme and its benefits.
Offered every year, the Seminar brings high-level speakers from across the IAEA to provide a detailed overview of the IAEA's TC programme to new staff at the Vienna-based Permanent Missions. The Seminar runs for a full day, and addresses pertinent topics such as the TC programme objectives and its role within the larger development context, its delivery mechanism and its management.
This year, the Seminar was split into 10 sessions. Kwaku Aning, Deputy Director General (DDG) and Head of the TC Department, welcomed the participants and presented an overview of the TC programme's mission, vision and goals. He highlighted the important role of Member States and the Permanent Mission in programme planning and implementation.
The next nine sessions were structured in such a way that each session narrowed the focus of the Seminar, moving from broader issues, such as the policy framework, through to more specific areas, such as programme financing. Topics included the general purpose of the programme, its guiding principles, its contribution to sustainable development and its contribution to the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the importance of partnerships. The IAEA's One House approach in identifying and addressing Member States' needs was thoroughly discussed, including the way that Member States and the Secretariat use the Country Programme Framework to identify and address capacities and capacity gaps.
More detailed topics covered during the Seminar included the services offered by the TC programme, the roles and responsibilities of each programme stakeholder, the programme cycle and programme funding. An additional presentation this year on nuclear safety and security described IAEA efforts to support global nuclear safety, and described how each TC project must take safety aspects into consideration.
The Seminar concluded with a formal high-level panel discussion with Mr Aning, DDG Denis Flory, Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, DDG Alexander Bychkov, Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, and Ms Meera Venkatesh, Director of Physical and Chemical Sciences, on behalf of DDG Daud Mohamad, Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. The panel discussed the challenges and opportunities the technical cooperation programme faces today and in the future and offered insights into the varied ways that the IAEA can help Member States to use nuclear technology to enhance national socioeconomic development.
The presentations for each session are available below.
- Session I: Overview of the Technical Cooperation Programme
- Session II: The Policy Framework
- Session II: The International Development Context and the Technical Cooperation Programme
- Session IV: Working with Member States to Identify and Address their Needs and Priorities
- Session V: Nuclear Safety and Security
- Session VI: Programme Roles and Responsibilities
- Session VII: The Programme Cycle
- Session VIII: Financing the Programme