From Nov.27 to Dec.2, the international conference, IYNC2022 was held in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

“IYNC” stands for “International Youth Nuclear Congress” and it has been organizing biennial conference since 2000. The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum for young professionals in the nuclear field to discuss and collaborate on knowledge transfer, nuclear science & technology research and implementation, professional development, and communication. In particular, the conference brings together young professionals that are looking to further their careers and senior leaders that are willing to share their knowledge and expertise with younger generation. The overall theme of the conference in 2022 is ‘You Are The Core’. The conference brought together over 300 young Nuclear Professionals from all over the world.

ISTC’s mobility budget funded by Japan supported two Kenyan researchers’ participation in the IYNC 2022.

One participant among these two talked her impression, “The conference explored the human-driven narratives behind all that concerns peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, including improving quality of life through Nuclear Medicine application. Many technical sessions, workshops, and plenary sessions with renowned international professionals from academia, industry and research were planned and attended both onsite and online. Attending this conference was very beneficial because I gained a lot of valuable exposure to current innovations in peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. The technical tour at Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) on 2nd December was amazing! I was privileged and inspired to see advanced research at the Nuclear Science and Research Institute (NSRI). We visited the Research reactor (NSRR), Nuclear material and Radioisotope handling facility (BECKY), Accelerator and Calibration facility (J-PARC) and the Radioactive waste management facility. Am grateful to ISTC for awarding me the Travel Grant to attend the aforementioned congress”.

The other participant, he said, “It was an incredible opportunity participating in IYNC2022 courtesy of ISTC support. Besides representing my country as a National Representative to IYNC Board of Directors, I was privileged to present the continental report for Africa region as the President of the African YGN. Worth to note, is a well-crafted conference program that offered an opportunity to listen, learn and share with experts in the nuclear field through interactive sessions such as workshops, plenary and panel discussions. The conference culminated with technical tours to important nuclear facilities and installations in Japan. I got the opportunity to have fast-hand experience with the ongoing decontaminations and decommissioning efforts, led by JAEA and TEPCO in the Fukushima nuclear accident site. I visited the TEPCO Interim Storage Facility for contaminated soils and wastes. It was evident that a lot of efforts and resources have been put in place to guarantee radiation safety in the Fukushima Prefecture. The officials emphasized that the ongoing decontamination is aimed at restoration of the affected regions and bring back life normalcy in the near future. I also visited JAEA’s Naraha Center for Remote Control Technology Development at the Fukushima Research Institute. We were privileged to have virtual tour to the affected nuclear plants in Daiichi and Daini.  All these experiences wouldn’t be possible without ISTC’s Travel Grant support; I am so grateful!”.