Youth Survey Showed High Level of Trust in SSTC NRS
At the beginning of autumn, the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety jointly with the U-Report UNICEF digital platform conducted a survey among young people on nuclear and radiation safety issues to assess the level of awareness.
The survey was aimed at determining the needs of young people for educational activities, influencing the deconstruction of harmful myths associated with the subject and providing participants with reliable knowledge from experts.
A total of ten questions were proposed with answer options.
“The survey covered the issues that mostly interested us, because taking public opinion into account in future work is an important aspect for any organization that cares about its reputation,” SSTC NRS press secretary Tetiana Verbytska noted. “It is especially important for us as a professional organization to convey relevant and reliable information on the hazards of wartime with regard to nuclear and radiation safety to the public in particular to young people, because they are the most active.”
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and seizure of Ukrainian nuclear facilities by the russian army, SSTC NRS has strengthened its efforts to inform the public.
The survey results for young people from 14 to 34 years old showed that more than 70% of respondents know how to act in the event of a radiation accident.
More than 60% trust SSTC NRS as a professional organization, however, almost a quarter is not familiarized with its activities.
“So we a have lot of work to do. Of course, the survey results will be the driver of our future activities,” Tetiana Verbytska commented.
The survey showed that young people obtain information mostly from social networks, including the most convenient Telegram format, while official sources of information are on the last place in this ranking and accounted only for 5.7%. This result may indicate a number of reasons, for example, the efficiency of social networks, as well as convenience and speed of access to the source of information and, at the same time, the need for greater adaptation of official sources to current demands.
However, when information is obtained from social networks, it should be verified, because fake information is most often spread with lightning speed through social networks. Therefore, any information obtained not from an official source should be carefully verified, primary sources should be found, and certain facts should be criticized. Unfortunately, emotions often prevail.
In turn, SSTC NRS is always open and ready for communication and clarification if the public needs it. For clarifications or comments, you can contact experts, in particular through social networks, or officially the press service by sending a request to media@sstc.ua
Links that will be useful:
Website of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety: https://sstc.ua/
Website on nuclear safety, radiation protection and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons: https://uatom.org/
Website of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine: https://snriu.gov.ua/
Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center. Map of current radiological situation