Arrangements for Media coverage of WSIS Plenary Sessions

The first Plenary Session of WSIS will be held back-to-back with the Opening Ceremony on 16 November 2005 from 11h00 to 13h00 in the Plenary Hall.

In all, there will be eight Plenary Sessions in which government delegations will address participants. Each session will also have time allocated for speeches from Observers (see for the format and the general timetable).

Priority will be given to the international Press and to official Government photographers and cameramen who will have an opportunity, on a rotating basis, to cover the speech of their Head of State, Head of Government or Head of delegation. Owing to space limitations, they may be required to move out of the Plenary Hall to accommodate other members of the media pools.

Media Pools will form at the Media Centre at allocated times and will be escorted by WSIS Media Liaison Officers to the Plenary Hall.

It is imperative that Media abide by instructions of the Media Liaison Officers and of UN Security and Protocol officials.

Sign-up for Media Pools

Advance sign-up for media pools is strongly recommended to ensure a place. Depending on the demand, national media may be limited and priority will be given to the crew and photographer that will have been designated as “official crew” and “official photographer”.

A form to sign-up is available here. Please complete the form online, print it and fax it to +41 22 730 6927. Confirmation of receipt will be sent by email but the exact pool composition will be confirmed on site. Please contact the Media Pools Coordinator at the Media Centre for more details.

The Plenary Sessions will be filmed by Television and webcast. Photos will also be available from the website to all accredited media here.