This page contains final information on the program for the completed conference Chernobyl Here and Now.

Chernobyl Here and Now: Global Engagement, Local Encounters

Conference Schedule

Unless otherwise noted, all sessions will be held at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St.

Thursday, March 23

7:00-8:00 pm

Mark Schrad
Lecturer and PhD candidate, Dept. of Political Science, UW-Madison
“Chernobyl: From ‘There and Then’ to ‘Here and Now’.”

This introductory session will present background information on the events leading up to and immediately following the explosion at Reactor Number 4 of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station on April 26, 1986 . The presentation will also address energy policy and politics in the USSR.

8:00-9:00

Screening of film Chernobyl Heart (2003, dir. Maryann DeLeo), followed by panel discussion by Patricia Doyle (Chernobyl Children Project, USA), David Marples (Prof. of History, University of Alberta), Maria Belodubrovskaya (Communication Arts, UW-Madison)

Pyle Center (room TBA)

Friday, March 24

8:00-8:30 am

Registration

8:45-9:00

Opening remarks; overview of the day’s program
Robert J. Kaiser , Professor of Geography, UW-Madison

9:00-10:15

"Chernobyl: A Reassessment"
David Marples, Professor of History, University of Alberta

A discussion of the UN Report and its receipt, a survey of the events of 1986-87 using the newly released documents from the Ukraine KGB, and a synopsis of the long-term health, social, and economic effects in Belarus and Ukraine.

10:15-10:30

Break with refreshments

10:30-11:15

“Chernobyl : Looking Back” (An Eyewitness Account)
Yuri Risovanny, Former Senior Engineer, “Pripyat Industrial Association”

Risovanny was living in Kyiv on the day of the Chernobyl explosion. At the Pripyat Industrial Association—the organization responsible for cleanup operations—he was the liaison for international organizations for four years and witnessed the major events of that period.

11:15-12:15

Nataliya Akulenko, Yuri Risovanny, Vladimir Vinarsky, Vika Vinarsky
“Living with Chernobyl”

Panel discussion by other eyewitnesses to the disaster and those who grew up in its aftermath.

12:30-1:30

Lunch (Luncheon discussion at Pyle Center for those who pre-register)

1:45-3:00

Michael Patrick, Emeritus, Department of Medical Genetics, UW-Madison and Kelly Clifton, Emeritus Professor of Human Oncology, UW-Madison
"On Radiation, Chernobyl and the Nature of Science"

Discussion of the “fault lines” between science and other sectors of society; how does a non-scientist go about becoming informed, especially when uncertainty prevails (as in the case of radiation exposure following Chernobyl)? How do people setting public policy about Chernobyl understand the science of radiation?

3:00-3:20

Break with refreshments

3:20-4:20

Evelyn Bromet, Professor of Psychiatry, SUNY-Stony Brook
“Psychological and Perceived Health Effects of the Chornobyl Disaster”

Presentation based on research of psychological and psychosomatic effects of Chernobyl on mothers and children evacuated to Kyiv in 1986.

4:20-4:35

Wrap-up and announcements

5:00-6:30

“Chernobyl, Twenty Years-Twenty Lives” photography documentary exhibit and reception in the Red Gym, Student Gallery (2 nd floor), 716 Langdon St.

Saturday, March 25

8:00-8:10 am

Welcome and overview of the day’s program.
Jennifer Tishler, Associate Director, CREECA

8:10-9:25

Louisa Vinton, Senior Program Manager and Team Leader, UNDP
“The Changing Role of the UN’s Involvement in Chernobyl”

This presentation will summarize the history of the UN’s involvement in Chernobyl; review the most important findings of the UN Chernobyl Forum; explain what the UNDP sees as the implications of the Chernobyl Forum findings for recovery efforts on Chernobyl; and present an overview of the ‘best way forward.’

9:25-9:45

Break with refreshments

9:45-10:30

John Peck, Executive Director, Family Farm Defenders
“Chernobyl: Culture, Agriculture and Radiation"

10:30-11:00

Response and discussion: Oksana Garnets, United Nations Development Program, Ukraine

11:10-12:35

Panel Discussion: “The Response of National and International NGOs to Chernobyl”

Norma Berkowitz, Friends of Chernobyl Centers, US
Debbie Miller, Children of Chernobyl U.S. Alliance (CoCUSA)
Patricia Doyle, Chernobyl Children Project USA
Oksana Garnets, UNDP, Ukraine

12:40-1:40

Lunch (Luncheon discussions at Pyle Center for those who pre-register)

1:50-2:50

Stephen Webster, Principal, International Disaster and Emergency Response Associates.
“Disaster Management and Preparedness: What Can We Learn from Chernobyl?”

2:50-3:00

Break

3:00-4:10

Andrew G. Sowder, Office of Nuclear Energy Safety and Security, US Department of State
“International Efforts to Provide a New Safe Confinement for Chernobyl Unit 4”

Integrating our themes of science, public policy, and responses from the local, regional, and international community, this presentation uses the reconstruction of the new sarcophagus as a case study of how complex problems will demand cross-national responses.

4:10-4:40

A Response: Victor Shulepov, Counselor (Science and Technology), Embassy of Ukraine in the United States

4:40-5:00

Closing remarks: Jennifer Tishler, CREECA

5:00-6:00

Social Hour and Program Closing
Pyle Center Alumni Hall, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

The conference is open to the public. While there is no registration fee for the conference, registration is required to assist us with planning. If you are attending a Discussion Luncheon, preregistration by March 15 is required. If you are not, then it is still preferred, though we would also accept registrations on the day of the conference. There are two ways to register:

1. Download the registration form and submit it to CREECA

2. Contact Lara Kain (see Contact page for info), who will send you a registration form.

Back to top

Discussion Luncheons

During the course of the conference, attendees will have the opportunity to attend two lunchtime discussions—one on Friday, March 24 and one on Saturday, March 25—with the invited speakers. The cost of each luncheon is $10.00. So that we may get an accurate count for the caterer, it is necessary to register for the luncheons (one or both) by March 15, 2006. Regretfully, we will be unable to sell tickets to the luncheons on the days of the conference.

Thursday Evening Session

On the evening of Thursday, March 23, 2006, from 7:00-8:00 pm, there will be an introductory session providing background on the events leading up to and immediately following the explosion at Reactor Number 4 of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station on April 26, 1986. This will be followed at 8:00 pm by a screening of the short film Chernobyl Heart by Maryann DeLeo, followed by a panel discussion. This film, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2004, provides a raw look at the effects of radiation on the Children of Belarus, 16 years after the accident at Chernobyl. The formal conference program will convene on the morning of Saturday, March 25, 2006.

Friday Photography Exhibit and Reception

Following the presentations on Friday, March 24, 2006, there will be a photography exhibit and reception in the Red Gym on the University of Wisconsin campus. Featured at this event, which is free and open to the public, will be photographs from the series "Chernobyl: Twenty Years-Twenty Lives."

Saturday Social Hour

Following the end of the formal program on Saturday, March 25, there will be a social hour at the Pyle Center from 4:00-6:00 pm. Social hour is open to all registered conference attendees. Cash bar.

Back to top