On 4 April, the JINR Information Centre at the headquarters of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA) in Tunis hosted a meeting of the Tunisian society of women working in nuclear science, Women in Nuclear Tunisia. This was IC’s first joint scientific event with JINR. In compliance with the agreement with the AAEA leadership, the agenda included a brief presentation of the JINR personnel training programme and a scientific lecture in life sciences. The participants spoke of women in science at JINR, their scientific careers, and plans to participate in special programmes, particularly in the IAEA Lise Meitner Programme.

Director of the JINR University Centre headed the UC delegation. Deputy Head of International Cooperation Department Elena Badawy and a researcher at the Centre of Applied Physics at the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions Ulyana Pinaeva gave short speeches.

On the AAEA side, the leader of the Women in Nuclear Tunisia non-profit organization, associate professor of the Tunisian National Centre of Nuclear Science and Technologies Amira Zaouak and AAEA Scientific Director Mosbah Daw actively participated in the dialogue with JINR. General Director of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency Salem Hamdi gave a closing speech. Head of the JINR Information Centre in Tunis Ibrahim Khalifa moderated the meeting.

Advisor to the Directorate of the Laboratory of Neutron Physics at JINR Marina Frontasyeva made a presentation “Modern physical methods in environmental research for the benefit of humankind” providing a brief overview of the main research directions of the Sector of Neutron Activation Analysis and Applied Research (SNAAAR) of the FLNP JINR Nuclear Physics Division. Earlier, the speaker presented the extended version of the report at the World Conference as part of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. Based on the experience of SNAAAR in Africa (Egypt and South Africa), Marina Frontasyeva supplemented her report with proposals on possible areas of cooperation with Tunisia.

The participants from the Tunisian side showed great interest in the environmental research of SNAAAR, particularly in the possibility of studying air pollution in Tunis through active biomonitoring. In addition, the meeting’s organizers expressed desire to learn more about the IAEA’s programme focused on the study of microplastics in the aquatic environment with the participation of SNAAAR FLNP.

The event concluded with a proposal to hold an expanded seminar in the near future with reports on the use of nuclear physics analysis methods in the life sciences at FLNP at JINR. The JINR Information Centre in AAEA will co-organize the event. A number of other lectures on life sciences for a wider audience from the AAEA member states will take place at the IC this year as well.