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Goals of the
Study Tour









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOURNEY TO CHERNOBYL: AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY TOUR, JUNE 2004

In June 2004 up to 30 individuals from a variety of disciplines will have the opportunity to study and try to unravel the complicated strands of science, technology, and human relationships that currently exist as the result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986. Plans have just been announced by Friends of Chernobyl Centers U.S. (FOCCUS) for a two week study trip to Ukraine.

Participants will be drawn from science and social science and environmental science teachers at the high school and undergraduate level, university students, human service professionals. Those who may have an interest in participating are encouraged to indicate their initial interest during this pre-registration stage by contacting Norma Berkowitz, president of FOCCUS, at njberkow@wisc.edu or telephone 608-231-3198. These individuals will receive up-dated information as plans develop.

The investigative study program will include seminars with leading researchers, visits to several community centers serving populations who were severely affected by the disaster, government officials, people living in re-settlement villages and those still living on contaminated land. There will be an optional visit to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The group will stay in Kiev and in Slavutych, the city specially built to house employees of the nuclear reactor site. There will be visits to research institutes and to a hospital in the suburb of Kiev where many evacuees from Pripyat now live. Preliminary estimated cost of the tour is $1500 plus air fare. Interested participants are encouraged to begin to seek funding from their schools, universities, civic clubs, churches, etc. However, FOCCUS is also seeking funds to support partial stipends for participants.

FOCCUS will be working with the UN Chernobyl Program Office in Kiev, interested UW-Madison faculty and a group of concerned citizens and scientists in Bethesda, Maryland, in planning the course of study. Instructional methods will include seminars and a special form of “dialogue groups” that foster cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary discussion and exploration. Staff of the community centers will conduct tours and discussion sessions as will researchers from recognized research institutions. Course credit may also be available for those requiring it. In announcing plans for the tour,

Norma Berkowitz, president of FOCCUS, said that it is vitally important for the American public to understand the scope and complexities of the psychological, economic, social and political issues that emerge after such a disaster. Participants in this study tour should return to their communities better prepared to teach others about the human and scientific issues that become intertwined as ordinary people and governments and social institutions struggle to escape from life after the event and return to a semblance of life as it was before the event.

FOCCUS is a non-governmental organization, a non-profit corporation whose goals are to support populations and communities severely affected by the Chernobyl disaster and to promote public awareness of the disaster and its consequences. FOCCUS has been working with Chernobyl community centers for the past seven years. This study tour is a public education project of FOCCUS. To learn more about FOCCUS go to the web site www.foccus.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOALS OF THE JOURNEY TO CHERNOBYL TOUR

(1) To promote an interdisciplinary understanding of the Chernobyl disaster and its after effects that can be used to develop a holistic understanding and way of teaching about technogenic events that may happen in the future;

(2) To encourage cross-disciplinary understanding beween nuclear energy and radiation professionals, science and social science and environmental teachers and non-governmental organizations and informed citizens;

(3) To develop a learning structure and group relationships that will encourage tour participants to take an active role in faciltating this understanding upon return home and to share their experiences with others;

(4) To promote the idea that when citizens in a democratic society are given the opportunity to participate in social policy decisions, they should do so on the basis of informed knowledge about the policies in questions and the underlying issues;

(5) To foster understanding through both formal and informal educational opportunities and to foster relationships and cultural understanding that broaden the world of group participants.

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