Looking Ahead: Important 2022 Events at the IAEA

The IAEA will launch the Rays of Hope initiative on World Cancer Day (4 February). Its focus is on increasing access to cancer care in countries and regions whose population lack access to radiotherapy services.

The IAEA Board’s meeting will take place in March.

The Conference of the Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (A/CPPNM), will take place from 28 March to 1 April, just over five years after entry into force of the Amendment, a major milestone in the development of the international legal framework for nuclear security. The purpose of the Conference is to review the implementation of the CPPNM as amended. It will also be an occasion to promote its further universalization.

The IAEA will hold its First International Conference on Nuclear Law from 25-29 April in Vienna. It will cover the four branches of international and national nuclear law – safety, security, safeguards and civil liability for nuclear damage – as well as the interaction of nuclear law with other fields of law. For the full list of topics and submission guidelines, see the Announcement and Call for Papers.

At its Vienna headquarters from 19-22 April, the IAEA will hold the International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles. This conference—now in its fourth edition, with the last one held in 2017 in Yekaterinburg, Russia—will provide a forum for sharing information on new developments and experiences in the field of fast reactors and related fuel cycles. For the full list of topics and submission guidelines, see here.

From 9-13 May, the International Symposium on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The Symposium will bring together experts from industry, the technical and scientific communities and regulatory bodies involved in the management of NORM, to discuss the harmonization and streamlining of international approaches and methods for radiation protection and residue management in industrial processes involving NORM.

The Conference on Nuclear Power Plant Life Management will take place on 16-18 May. It will cover a variety of topics related to nuclear power plant life management, including several approaches and their economics. Speakers will also discuss ageing management and the preparation for long-term operation, configuration and modification management for safety, enhancement and improved reliability, stakeholder engagement and other topics.

The First International Conference on Accelerators for Research and Development will be held on 23-27 May in Vienna. The conference will provide an international stage for discussing accelerator applications in research and industry, foster exchange of information on best practices in accelerator facility utilization and management and showcase how achievements and experience attained with accelerator technologies contribute to sustainable development.

The International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management and Human Resources Development will be held on 13-16 June in Moscow, Russia. The objective of the conference is to review developments in the global situation relating to human resource development (HRD), nuclear knowledge management (NKM) and human capacity building. It will provide participants with practical solutions to develop and maintain the human resources needed to support safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power programmes.

On 20-24 June, the International Conference on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources will be held at IAEA headquarters in Vienna. The purpose of the conference is to foster the exchange of experiences and anticipated future developments related to establishing and maintaining high level of safety and security of radioactive sources throughout their life cycle.

The Seventh Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management will be held from 27 June to 8 July in Vienna. The Review Meeting will provide a forum for Contracting Parties to present and discuss their National Reports, to review the measures taken to meet their obligations under the Joint Convention and identify areas of progress made since the last Review Meeting as well as good practices and challenges.

GLOBAL is the largest international forum dedicated to the nuclear fuel cycle, organized annually in cooperation with the IAEA. From 6-8 July, GLOBAL 2022 will provide a forum for high-level experts and stakeholders from all over the world to discuss new technology, developments of new markets and applications which help to improve the positioning of nuclear power as well as its public support.

The International Symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture will take place in Vienna, Austria on 25-29 July. The symposium aims to facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge among soil, water and environment professionals from developed and developing countries to advance the understanding, collaboration and capabilities to respond to the impact of climate change in a rapidly changing global environment.

On 22-26 August, the IAEA is organizing the International Conference on Applications of Radiation Science and Technology (ICARST-2022). The conference will provide a unique opportunity to review key developments in the applications of radiation science and technology and discuss initiatives for implementing proven industrial applications that lead to socio-economic benefits.

The IAEA will hold the International Conference on Occupational Radiation Protection on 5-9 September in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference aims to facilitate exchange of information and experience in the field of occupational radiation protection, as well as to review technical and regulatory advances, challenges and opportunities since the last conference on the topic organized in 2014. The conference will also focus on reviewing the global situation on radiation protection of workers and on identifying priority actions and future needs.

The International Conference on the Challenges faced by Technical and Scientific Support Organizations (TSO) in Enhancing Nuclear Safety and Security will be held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 10-13 October 2022. The purpose of the conference is to consider how to develop and strengthen technical and scientific capabilities to achieve enhanced nuclear and radiation safety and security of facilities and activities, including legacy and emerging challenges as well as the transfer of best practices to countries embarking on nuclear power.

The International Conference on Topical Issues in Nuclear Installation Safety: Strengthening Safety of Evolutionary and Innovative Reactor Designs will be held in Vienna, Austria, on 18-21 October 2022. The purpose of the conference is to foster the exchange of information on the progress and challenges in safety and licensing of evolutionary and innovative reactor designs (such as SMRs).

The IAEA will organize the fifth International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century in Washington, D.C., United States, on 26-28 October. The conference will focus on key issues related to the development and deployment of nuclear energy, including the reliability and flexibility of the nuclear industry during the COVID-19 global crisis and its contribution to economic recovery efforts amid the ongoing pandemic.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP27 will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, with strong participation from the IAEA. For further information see the UNFCCC Call for Action.

The IAEA Safeguards Symposium will take place from 31 October to 4 November 2022 at IAEA headquarters in Vienna. The Symposium will bring together key stakeholders from the IAEA, Member States, nuclear industry and members of the broader nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation community to examine and discuss contemporary issues in nuclear verification.

On 13-16 December, the IAEA will hold the International Conference on Integrated Medical Imaging in Cardiovascular Diseases (IMIC-2022). The conference will cover trends spanning the spectrum of activities related to the use of nuclear medicine and diagnostic imaging in CVDs.