Sharing the excitement of a unique project
When Neil Calder talks about communication, he "sees euro signs in front of his eyes." He doesn't mean, of course, that communication is a fast and easy way to become rich. He means that what communication should aim for, first and foremost, is engendering support from the people and institutions that matter most to the Organization: the stakeholders and the Members' decision makers who provide funding for the project.
But before "communicating," explained ITER Head of Communication at the 7th Inside ITER seminar, on Friday 12 February, one "has to have a clear idea of what [one is] here for." In ITER's case, it is as simple as it is grand: we are here "to realize an environmentally friendly energy source for humanity."
And this is a great chance for all of us, whether "communicators" or not: environment and energy—along with "Big Science"—are among the public's strongest centres of interest.
Reaching the stakeholders; reaching the general public, whether local or global; building an international fusion community; communicating the "core values" of the organization and sharing the excitement of a unique science project, this is what ITER Communication is about.
Implementing these goals require different tools and ITER Communication has developed several over the past year and a half. But more important, it requires a spirit. And the more this spirit is shared within the Organization, the more ITER Communication will be efficient, far-reaching and ... fun.