REMARKS BY ANNE LAUVERGEON
Inaugural Ceremony of the World Nuclear University
4 September 2003

Ladies and gentlemen, as head of Areva Group and as a strong supporter of the World Nuclear University we are inaugurating today, I am delighted to join in this ceremony.

For me, today's event comes as a true milestone:

• All of us are joined in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Atoms for Peace, a vision you will honour today.
• We are celebrating the founding of a new institution to carry that vision forward through worldwide cooperation in education and research.
• On this date we at Areva Group are celebrating the 2nd anniversary of a company also dedicated to carrying this vision forward - in France and around the world.
• And about this date - I cannot know exactly, as I record this message - we in my family are preparing to celebrate the birth of a child, which you will understand explains my absence.

I congratulate South Korea, which took the first initiative, and the four founding organisations - IAEA, NEA, WANO and WNA - for their partnership, activism, and vision in undertaking this project.

Our world today must expand the use of nuclear energy on a global scale to meet human development while preserving the environment. And this need appears when the "pioneer generation" is retiring at a fast pace.

This will require a greatly increased, highly educated professional work force of scientists and engineers, operating in a global marketplace for energy and skilled labour.

To meet this need, the World Nuclear University can be a powerful instrument:

• To foster cooperation in educational instruction;
  
• To help insure that training and education in nuclear sciences and technology are in tune with evolving industry needs;
  
• To standardize credentials, thus creating an international "pool" of trained and competent students;
  
• To promote further technological development;
  
• To stimulate an upsurge of student interest; and
  
• Overall, to raise the spirit and strengthen the professionalism of those thousands of men and women who provide this valuable technology to the world.

For all of these reasons, Areva intends to be a close partner of the World Nuclear University. We look forward to helping it grow in size, in strength, and in service to the world.

My warmest and best wishes to you all - on this landmark day.