An international communication and media event titled "Atoms for a Better Home" was launched at the Media Convergence Center of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in Beijing on the afternoon of August 26.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Sophie Boutaud de la Combe, director of the Office of Public Information and Communication of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Li Yang, vice-director of the Information Office of the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), and Pan Jianping, CNNC's board secretary and spokesperson.

Combe said that she was delighted to witness noticeable achievements made by China in the peaceful utilization of the nuclear energy upon the 40th anniversary of its accession to the IAEA. She added that both the IAEA and China are committed to precisely disseminating nuclear energy information to people worldwide in a timely manner through all channels available, further enhancing their sci-tech communication capacity, breaking down the barriers as well as mysteries around the nuclear science, and strengthening public communication.

Combe asked the two sides to step up their cooperation on such sectors as journalism and public information, win more international understanding and support, help the public grasp a deep understanding of the nuclear energy, and promote the development as well as sharing of global nuclear energy technologies.

Pan welcomed the visit of Combe. He said that during the past four decades, the CNNC and the IAEA have engaged in in-depth and extensive collaborations, jointly advanced the robust development of China's nuclear energy industry, and made tremendous contributions to the building of a global community with a shared future for nuclear energy utilization.Pan said that the CNNC will further strengthen its cooperation and exchanges with the IAEA, strive for higher contributions to the development of global nuclear energy, help people worldwide learn more, support and benefit from nuclear energy utilization, get people of all countries involved in the nuclear energy governance, and make the nuclear energy development stories of China as well as the world widely known.

After the opening ceremony, attending officials and media workers visited the CNNC facilities to learn more about China's Hualong One, a domestically designed third-generation nuclear reactor.

In the subsequent days, they will visit the IAEA Collaborating Center and the CAEA's Nuclear Technology (Radiation Breeding Technique) Research & Development Center to gain first-hand information and experience about the utilization of mutation breeding technology; tour around the Qinshan Nuclear Power Station (the first nuclear power plant in the Chinese mainland) and nearby villages to explore the largest nuclear power science museum in the country and investigate traditional Chinese culture; and come to Shenzhen-based Zhonghe Headway Bio-Sci & Tech Co., Ltd. to follow the progress of nuclear energy application.

Additionally, they are scheduled to visit the newly-built Daya Bay Nuclear Power Museum in the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant and the CAEA's Nuclear Technology (Sterile Insect Technique) Research & Development Center at Sun Yat-Sen University.

At the launch ceremony, the CNNC gave an introduction to its international communication and media convergence center and broadcast the corporation's publicity as well as science popularization videos. Representatives from its subsidiaries, which include China National Nuclear Power Co., Ltd, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd, and China Isotope & Radiation Corporation, talked about comprehensive utilization of the nuclear energy, the building of the ITER projects and the industrial application of the nuclear energy technologies.