Activities
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| Meeting Report of The RCARO Strategic Workshop | |||
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Date
2011.04.08 |
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1. Introduction The RCARO Strategic Workshop, aimed at giving advice on the RCARO’s future strategy, was held on 7-9 June at the Ramada Hotel in Jeju Island, Korea with the participation of invited experts from the RCA Member States, IAEA, the host government of the RCARO and the local nuclear related community. This RCARO Strategic Workshop was arranged because RCARO felt the need to revisit the past milestones and activities of RCARO and to seek out mission oriented & future strategies for fulfilling its mandate. As of April 2005, with the appointment of a new Director, RCARO entered into full operation, after a three-year interim period. Participants from abroad were Ms Alumanda Dela Rosa (Director, PNRI; RCA NR of the Philippines and Chairperson of IAEA SAGTAG), Mr Anil K Anand (Chair, RCARO Director Selection Committee; Scientific Consultant, Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Govt.), Mr Nahrul Khair Alang Md Rashid (Deputy Director General of MINT; current RCA Chair, RCA NR of Malaysia), Mr Carlito R Aleta (former RCA Coordinator, Special Advisor to the Director of RCARO), Mr John F Easey (former Chair of RCARO Advisory Committee, former RCA Coordinator) and Mr Mahendra Prinath Dias (former Chairman of AEA, Sri Lanka; present IAEA/RCA Coordinator). Participants from the host government were Mr Yong-Hwan Kim (Director General, Atomic Energy Bureau, Ministry of Science and Technology), Mr Jong-Bae Choi (RCA NR of Korea; Director, Atomic Energy Cooperation Division, Ministry of Science and Technology) and a few others. From the local nuclear related organizations, responsible persons for nuclear international cooperation, particularly conversant with RCA matters, from KAERI, KINS and KIRAMS attended. Experts from local nuclear-related academic circles also attended. A list of the participants is attached as Annex 1. 2. Opening The Director of RCARO, Mr Kun-Mo Choi, opened the Workshop and welcomed the participants. Mr Yong-Hwan Kim delivered the welcoming remarks on behalf of the host government of RCARO. Mr Yong-Hwan Kim said RCARO would need enlightened advice that would direct RCARO towards a rightful future equipped with the most appropriate strategies. In this regard, he humbly requested the participants, especially the invited experts from abroad, to give their advice on the future strategies of RCARO and the challenges to be undertaken. He added that the host government of RCARO would fully support the operation and management of RCARO as originally pledged before the RCA Member States. Mr Y H Kim’s welcoming remarks are attached as Annex 2. Mr M Prinath Dias, on behalf of IAEA, expressed thanks to RCARO for organizing the Workshop in a timely manner and he expected good ideas for a better governance of the RCARO through the Workshop. He then reiterated that IAEA has been encouraging an increase of RCA ownership by the Member States and that the operation of RCARO is considered as a significant progress towards such endeavors. 3. Introduction of the Workshop Mr Kun-Mo Choi, Director of RCARO, made a presentation on the context and prospectus of the Workshop. He explained that the objectives of the Workshop were, on one hand, to envisage the future of RCARO and on the other hand, to seek ideas for shaping the new RCA/RCARO pilot projects. With regards to the pilot projects that RCARO wishes to implement, the Director sought advice about the appropriate projects for implementation when the necessary funds became available. He wished for intensive discussions on some aspects of RCARO such as the future roles and functions, staffing, legal framework, etc. The presentation is attached as Annex 3. 4. Overview of the RCARO during the Interim Operation Mr John K Chung, RCARO, made a presentation on the overview of RCARO during the interim operation. He revisited the major past discussions and debates regarding the establishment of an RCA office in the region and the milestones of RCARO from its beginning to the present. He mentioned that though RCARO is now in full operation there is a need for RCARO to be equipped with a proper identity, in particular when interacting with other organizations. The presentation is attached as Annex 4. 5. Lead-off Presentations on the Lessons Learned from the Past RCA Activities and the Future Direction of RCA and RCARO At this session, Ms Alumanda Dela Rosa functioned as a moderator. Two lead-off presentations were made by Mr A K Anand and Mr Nahrul Khair, respectively on the lessons learned from the past RCA activities and the future direction of RCA and RCARO. Mr A K Anand highlighted many of the RCA achievements during the past 30 or more years for the socio-economic development of the Member States and the region. He added that RCA has a great potential to contribute to the future requirements of the region through an extensive analysis of the development projects and the application of radioisotopes in these projects. He presented a detailed SWOT analysis of RCA and of RCARO. The presentation is attached as Annex 5. Mr Nahrul Khair shared the same view with others about the importance of having a strategic planning procedure/ system of RCARO at this stage of its full operation. He reiterated the significance of having an RCA office in the region for the benefit of the Member States while reflecting the PESTEL (political, economic, social, technical, environment, legislation, safety and security) factors. Mr Nahrul’s presentation is attached as Annex 6. 6. Lead-off Presentations on the RCARO’s strategies to promote partnerships and create additional funds Two lead-off presentations were made by Mr C R Aleta and Mr J F Easey, respectively on RCARO’s strategies to promote partnerships and create additional funds. Mr C R Aleta touched upon the basic mandate given to RCARO; i.e. raising the profile of RCA and securing additional resources. Upon the given mandate of RCARO, he provided strategies from various aspects and approaches as well as his evaluation of RCARO’s readiness to fulfill its mandate. The presentation is attached as Annex 7. Mr J F Easey said that he was firmly convinced that the only realistic option for RCARO to be effective in fostering partnerships and fund-raising tasks would be through a well thought-out implementation of the strategic plan. He presented the major elements for the strategic plan noting that these approaches were drawn from ANSTO’s recent formulation of their strategic directions. He also stated that RCARO should contemplate what would be the synergic effect when seeking partnerships so that a more enhanced added value could be foreseen. The presentation is attached as Annex 8. 7. Lead-off Presentations on the RCARO’s future role for a Sustainable Development of RCA Three presentations were made by Mr M Prinath Dias, Ms A Dela Rosa and Mr J B Choi (RCA NR of Korea), respectively on the IAEA’s point of view, the Member States’ point of view as well as the host government’s point of view. Mr M P Dias presented a speech on the roles and functions of the major stakeholders of RCA, in particular on the roles of IAEA, and RCARO for TCDC. He also mentioned the mandate of RCARO and the future roles as the project manager of TCDC. The presentation is attached as Annex 9. Ms A Dela Rosa revisited the fundamental principles for RCARO to follow. She also pointed out RCARO’s roles as a public relations agent for RCA, facilitator for the TCDC, and so on. The presentation is attached as Annex 10. Mr J B Choi, RCA NR of Korea, explained Korea’s active involvement in RCA as a faithful Member State and its enhanced financial support for RCARO. He emphasized the need to have continued support from the Member States for a better operation of RCARO, hoping that RCARO would be recognized as an international level organization so that it can properly function before the regional and international development community. In this context, MOST will continue negotiations with the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further deliberations. One of the reasons to recognize RCARO as an international level organization functioning in Korea, is to legally facilitate the financial support for RCARO. The presentation is attached as Annex 11. 8. Discussion Mr Nahrul functioned as a moderator of this session. 8.1. Future Prospects of RCARO At the discussions, participants were of the view that there would be three major issues to be considered which would guide the future operation of RCARO. These are; revising the current mandate, modalities to carry out the mandate, and the legal framework of the RCARO. For better discussions, the moderator summarized the following questions for consideration. - What do we want to achieve through RCARO? 8.1.1. Visibility Most of the members appreciated the past activities of RCARO in increasing the ‘visibility’ of RCA in the region. The members expressed their wish that RCARO would further enhance the RCA information flow activities so that RCA’s contribution to the region could be appreciated more by the regional and international community. The members also complimented RCARO for starting the programme on ‘Nuclear Knowledge Preservation’.
Mr Anand suggested highlighting the success stories regarding the application of nuclear techniques in the region; it is not important whether the credit is given to RCA or IAEA in general. Mr Il Hiun Kuk of KAERI suggested that a roadmap would be essential to back up the mandate for a long term activity of RCARO. He further noted that when preparing a roadmap, it is important to have a feasible plan.
The members commented that RCARO should consider the implementation of some of the valuable suggestions made in the lead-off presentations regarding increasing the RCA visibility. 8.1.2. Viability The members reiterated the fact that one of the roles and responsibilities of RCARO is to pro-actively seek out opportunities for RCA to participate in projects being funded by major regional and international donors, including international agencies. The members also reaffirmed that negotiating and securing the necessary funds for RCA projects is one of the mandatory roles of RCARO. With regards to the creation of an additional RCA fund, Mr J F Easey commented that instead of seeking funds from development organizations, RCA and RCARO need to focus on a commercial approach. RCA could capitalize on its potential through providing necessary services and information. He said perhaps RCARO could undertake a role as a technology clearinghouse. Mr Anand commented that this type of commercial approach may be difficult to implement by RCARO as it is done individually by the MSs in their respective countries; in addition this can generate only a few thousand dollars whereas we are looking for millions.
8.1.3. Legal Frameworks RCARO expressed their wish to become an internationally recognizable body. RCARO explained that this is particularly required when promoting partnerships with other regional and international organizations on behalf of RCA. This will also help the host government in supporting the operational budget of RCARO. RCARO expressed views that one of the desirable ways to meet the requirement would be an amendment of the RCA Agreement which incorporates the establishment and operation of RCARO. Mr Nahrul, as the current RCA Chair, noted that most of the Member States were not fully supportive of the idea to amend the RCA Agreement because it would be a time-consuming process and also could possibly invite other unnecessary arguments regarding the RCARO’s function. The RCA Coordinator commented that what is important is that RCARO could demonstrate the benefits that the Member States could receive from the operation of RCARO. He also shared similar views with other participants that building up the credibility of RCARO is generally needed at this stage and advised RCARO to reinstitute the legal matters when the Member States commonly feel it necessary. The RCA Coordinator also mentioned that he does not see any difficulty when RCARO negotiates with other entities because promoting partnerships is a part of the mandate given to RCARO by the Member States. He added that if any of the MOUs or other legal documents need to be signed on behalf of RCA, for the time being, IAEA can do it since the Agency is the secretariat of RCA. He said he would further explore this modality within the Agency. During the discussion, Mr J F Easey commented that in the AUL’s view, an amendment or revision of the RCA Agreement would be the least priority and it would be very difficult to revisit the issue in his country. He advised that before raising the issue of changing the wording of the RCA Agreement, all other options should be looked at rather than having a long and painful process. As to the time frame, the RCA Coordinator commented that the ideal timing for an amendment would be 2007 when the present RCA Agreement is due for an extension. He said that to do so, Member States would require to look at the issue before the September 2005 RCA General Conference meeting. Mr Nahrul said that if the benefit of amending the RCA Agreement or having a separate supplement agreement is seen to outweigh the difficulties that the Member States could encounter, Member States would be advised to support it.
8. 2. Initiation of the new RCA/RCARO pilot projects 8.2.1 RCA/RCARO project for 2005 RCARO has secured a fund of USD 50,000 for 2005 from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea, with which RCARO originally intended to support one of the 2005 RCA events. However, since IAEA’s outsourcing policy is not immediately applicable, RCARO wishes to establish other projects where the fund could be used for the benefit of the Member States. The RCA Coordinator enquired if the fund could be a part of Korea’s extra-budgetary contribution to IAEA which in turn could be used for RCA footnote a projects. RCARO explained that since it is RCARO’s fund, at present, it is difficult to use it as an extra-budgetary fund to the Agency.
8.2.2. RCA UNDP Project 2006-2008 The Director of RCARO explained that RCARO has almost secured USD 200,000 ~ 300,000 funds for the year 2006-08 from the UNDP Korea Office and MOST of Korea. The given requirement is to use the fund for “the relief of the Tsunami affected area by an application of nuclear technology.” He sought ideas on how to proceed with this possible fund. Mr A K Anand pointed out that most of the relief work might be over by the time we take action. He also enquired about the nuclear techniques we have in mind for this work. The RCA Coordinator commented that if the project is endorsed to begin, there is a possibility to accommodate the project as part of the mid-2006 projects. The Director of RCARO responded that nuclear technologies could be applied for long term problem solving though there are many urgent matters to be taken care of such as building new houses in the area affected by the Tsunami. He explained that nuclear technology could serve to examine the drinking water, inspect buildings, in particular, historic relics and also to investigate an ocean contamination. Mr J F Easey commented that this would not be the way to proceed since this process did not follow the existing normal process described in the guidelines for the RCA projects. He mentioned that such a proposal should first be discussed among the RCA NRs and LCCs. The RCA Coordinator inquired if the money could be contributed to the Agency as an extra-budgetary grant of Korea. The Director of RCARO explained that the money will be given to RCARO and used following the guidelines of the UNDP Korea Office. It was hoped that interactions would be made during the LCCs meeting with the technical experts to develop this proposal.
8.3. Other Relevant Issues discussed 8.3.1. PEMSEA (Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia)/ the East Asian Seas Congress 2006 RCARO explained about the PEMSEA’s request to RCARO to be a member of the International Advisory Committee of the East Asian Seas Congress 2006 which will be held in December 2006 in China. RCARO further explained that the organizer of the Congress has kindly allocated a session for ‘Radioisotope Technology for Coastal and Ocean Management’ and is inviting the RCA’s presentations.
8.3.2. SAGTAG Ms A Dela Rosa was invited to make a few comments on the June SAGTAG meeting where she was elected as the new Chair for a three-year term. The members were interested to know about some of the major issues discussed at the SAGTAG meeting with a belief that those issues would impact on the future of the regional cooperation programme of the Agency. Ms A Dela Rosa briefly summarized the discussions at the SAGTAG meeting and introduced the three main areas of concern; medium term strategy (TC strategy 2006-2011), efficiency and effectiveness of the TC and so on. Regional programming matter, among the three general areas, was recognized to be one of the interested areas for RCA. 9. Closing The Director of RCARO expressed his appreciation to all the participants for their valuable advice and recommendations. The Director reaffirmed his willingness to undertake the mandate given to RCARO by the Member States. The Director noted that UNDP/Korea project for 2006-08 would be a pilot project. He expected the MSs’ to provide positive support for these new RCARO’s initiatives with a belief that the projects would be beneficial to the Member States. Mr Nahrul, as the moderator, said he had noticed an abundant enthusiasm within RCARO which was very much valued. He requested the SAC and the NRs to give full support to RCARO with appropriate guidance. * Please note that the comments that are subject to further consideration/ discussion or the actions to be undertaken are presented in the rectangles. Annex 1
RCARO Strategic Workshop ■ International Experts
■ National Experts
■ RCA Regional Office
Annex 2
Welcoming Remarks Mr. Yong-Hwan KIM, Director General Good Morning, Dear Participants, I am so pleased to be here with you from home and abroad for this workshop. On behalf of the Korean government, I would like to welcome each and every one of you to this workshop. And it gives me further pleasure to adMress you at this workshop because I was deeply involved in the establishment of RCARO during my representative mission to Vienna. I am so sure to believe that the invited participants from abroad in this RCARO Workshop have the extensive knowledge and experiences, along with a productive association with RCA business. And this makes me firmly believe that the great capacity of the invited experts would serve as good guidance for the future RCARO operation. After three years of interim operation, RCARO is now in full operation with the support from the RCA Member States and the Agency. Spurred by the Member States’ decision on RCARO, RCARO can meet the challenge to undertake a more enhanced role for contributing to the Member States and to the region. Recently, as you are aware, the environment surrounding the RCA is rapidly changing. The IAEA has been greatly emphasizing the increase of RCA ownership by the Member States and expecting more dynamic activities in the RCA that demonstrates the ownership. RCA Member States are being forced to notice the rapidly changing socio-economic environment. We need to consider what will be the RCA’s role and what will be the RCA’s contribution in the region. Mandate has been given to RCARO since the beginning stage. By increasing awareness of RCA, achievements and potential can be recognized by the national and regional development community. Another mission is to promote RCA partnership in addition to the RCA’s traditional partner: the IAEA. However, fulfilling the mandate is not an easy task, in particular, given fierce global competition. In order to fulfill the mandate, it is certain that the RCARO needs more elaborated disciplines and efforts based on ever-challenging spirit. Enhanced wisdom is thus required to guide the RCARO to a right direction. I firmly believe that this Strategic Workshop on this beautiful island will equip the RCARO with a new engine as well as a new steering wheel to guide the RCARO to a right direction. At this workshop, the past RCA strategy is to be reviewed at the same time the ambitious targets are to be set for the near future. I encourage all the participants to come up with how to fully capitalize the RCARO. RCARO alone cannot achieve those targets. We must build on the growing consensus among the Member States. In order for RCARO to succeed, we need to bring about a truly international effort. Lastly, I would like to express my deep appreciation to all participants in this workshop, and I wish for your enjoyable stay in Korea. Thank you very much.
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