Chernobyl 40 years later: "What do you mean, Safety Culture?" with Sara Lind

What?

26 April 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and, in the aftermath, the coining of the term safety culture.

To commemorate the memory of Chernobyl, SÄKU is happy to give an exclusive webinar based on the findings of Sara Lind’s newly published master thesis “What do you mean, Safety Culture? Contemporary understandings with historical roots” (click on the link to access it) at the Human Factors & System Safety program at Lund University!

This webinar will be split up into two parts. In the first part, Sara will in short talk about the accident and what happened. She will also discuss if there are other possible explanations to why the accident happened other than ‘lack of safety culture’. In the second part, she will present the results from her thesis.

Even though the Chernobyl accident took place in the domain of nuclear power, and Sara’s thesis is focused on the Swedish nuclear industry, many of the findings and lessons are also important for other industrial sectors, regardless of geography.

The webinar will be held in English and be recorded and later published at the SÄKU Member Page. As always, you as participants will have the chance to ask your questions live.

Warm welcome and hope to see you there!

SÄKU Conference 2026: 22-23 September, Såstaholm/Stockholm

The webinar will also provide a little nugget of what to expect at the fourth SÄKU Conference on 22-23 September, which will be facilitated by Fredrik and Martin! With that being said, the webinar can solely be enjoyed on its own.

For more information about the SÄKU Conference, read more and register HERE at the SÄKU homepage.

Abstract of the master thesis

It has been close to 40 years since the Chernobyl accident and the introduction of ‘safety culture’, but still there is no consensus on its meaning. This thesis aims at exploring what meanings the Swedish nuclear industry has created out of ‘safety culture’ by situating the construct both contemporarily and historically, using a methodology inspired by phenomenology. The results show that the Swedish safety professionals believe in an approach based on understanding how structures and prerequisites shape culture(s) and that culture manifests through various patterns over time. The interviewees differentiate between safety and culture while also recognising the relationship between them, where culture can favour or disfavour safety. There is, however, a gap in mental models and language between the safety professionals and engineers working in the industry making it difficult to convey these created meanings. There are also signs of external power, trapping the safety professionals between staying true to their own beliefs and forced simplifications.

About Sara Lind

Sara Lind has a background in cognitive science within the areas of human factors and behaviour in complex systems and she recently finished the master’s program Human Factors and System Safety at Lund University. Sara works as a senior consultant at Risk Pilot, supporting customers in areas such as event investigations and various kinds of assessments and evaluations from a human and organisational perspective, as well as safety culture related activities.  

Registration and fee

Register by using the buttom "Register!" above or below.

For SÄKU Members: Choose the free “SÄKU member ticket” option when registering and checking out. 

The event is free of charge for members of Säkerhetskulturnätverket (SÄKU).

Not sure if your organization is a member of SÄKU? Have a look here (the membership applies to every employee): https://en.xn--sku-qla.se/vara-medlemmar

For Non SÄKU Members: Choose the “Non SÄKU member ticket” option when registering and checking out. 

The webinar is open to non-SÄKU members. For non-SÄKU members the ticket fee is 1 500 SEK plus VAT per attendee.

Refunding is possible up until the last day before the event. If you don't attend but haven't let us know one day prior to the event, no refund is possible.

Getting the link to the webinar

After the registration a Teams-invitation will be sent to you (the same day or a few days later). In a few days prior to the event, the link will also be sent to you in an email. If you can’t attend the event after you've registered, please get in touch.

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