Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 1 December (BelTA) - Interest of Belarusians in nuclear energy is growing, Tatyana Shlyk, the head of nuclear energy information center (Minsk), said during an online press conference at BelTA.

"In my opinion, we have a lot of work to do because the interest of Belarusians in nuclear energy is growing. We have many repeated visitors, which suggests that people are not indifferent to this topic and still have questions they want answered,” said Tatyana Shlyk.

According to Yuri Solovyov, the chairman of the board of the Belarusian public association "Ecological Initiative", when visiting the information centers people get clear, concise, intelligible information on the most sensitive issues they are concerned with. "As a result, most of the visitors get rid of the unfounded phobias and stereotypes in relation to nuclear energy", Yuri Solovyov said.

The head of information and public relations at the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant Eduard Svirid also pointed to the importance of raising the awareness of people. "After visiting the centers, people's attitudes towards nuclear power is changing in the strongest possible terms," he said.

Eduard Svirid thinks that the willingness of people to get necessary information is also important. "One who seeks information, who reads up and analyses will always be well informed. Those who do not seek new knowledge will always complain about the lack of information,” Eduard Svirid said.

The nuclear energy information center in Minsk was launched in April 2015. It provides all kind of information relating to the nuclear industry: from the number of nuclear power plants in the world to the principle of operation of a nuclear plant. The information center makes an emphasis on new and original ways of presenting the information.

The information center in Ostrovets was opened in 2009. The center runs a permanent exhibition dedicated to the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. A new exhibition has been recently opened at the new youth center. Both information centers are open to all, and make use of all available forms of telecommunication: from phone and email to Skype and social networks.