INFORMATION FOR THE MEDIA

The Portuguese Secretariat for Conferences 1998 is responsible for organizing the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in co-operation with the United Nations.

SITE OF THE CONFERENCE

The World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth will be held at the Lisbon International Congress Centre (LICC). The address is as follows :

World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth
Lisbon International Congress Centre
Praça das Indústrias (FIL)
1301 Lisbon
PORTUGAL

The time distance between the Congress Centre and the centre of Lisbon is approximately 15 minutes in non-peak hours; between the Congress Centre and Lisbon Airport it is around 45 minutes.

PRE-CONFERENCE MEDIA BRIEFING A briefing for media attending the Conference will be held on 7 August at 5:00 p.m. (17:H00). The briefing will be given by the Spokesperson for the Conference, and there will be an opportunity for journalists to ask questions. The pre-conference media briefing will be held at the Press Conferences Room, on the first floor of the LICC.

OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE The official ceremony of hoisting of flags is scheduled to 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, 8 August, outside the main entrance of the LICC. The Portuguese Secretary of State for Youth and Secretary-General of the Conference, Dr. Miguel Fontes, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Patrizio Civili, will attend the ceremony.

The President of Portugal, Dr. Jorge Sampaio, and Secretary-General Koffi Annan will open the Conference at 3:00 p.m. (15H00), in the Plenary Hall of the LICC. Delegates have been requested to take their seats before 2:30 p.m. (14H30).

Visual media (television and photo) will be given access to the floor of the Plenary Hall, on a rotating basis, to film and take photos of the opening session.

Live coverage of the Plenary sessions will be broadcast on closed circuit television monitors installed in the media facilities located in the Media Centre, on the Ground Floor of the LICC.

REGISTRATION OF MEDIA AND IDENTIFICATION CARDS A Centre for registration of participants and media and issuance of access and identification passes will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (18H00) from Tuesday 4 August until the end of the Conference, at the LICC, adjacent to the left of the main entrance of the Congress Centre. On Friday, 7 August, the Centre for Registration will remain open until 10:00 p.m. (22H00). Upon registration, each media representative will be issued an identification card with his or her photograph and with a dark green colour bar.

Admission to the Congress Centre will require, at all times, presentation of identification cards. Media representatives are also required to have their identification cards visibly displayed while inside the LICC.

The loss of an identification and/or access card must be reported immediately to the Conference?s security personnel.

No briefcases or personal belongings must be left unattended.

DAILY PRESS BRIEFINGS AND PRESS CONFERENCES Daily press briefings by the Spokesperson for the Conference will be held daily at 1:00 p.m. (13H00) and 6:30 p.m. (18H30) in the Press Conference room located on the first floor of the LICC, that can also be used for press conferences by delegations and United Nations organisations.

The dates and times of the press conferences will be visibly displayed at the Media Centre.

PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS The programme of meetings will be printed in the Conference Journal, which will be issued on a daily basis and will specify the conference rooms and times of meetings.

Morning meetings at the LICC are scheduled to take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (13H00) and afternoon meetings from 3:00 p.m. (15H00) to 6:00 p.m. (18H00). When evening sessions are required, they will take place at 7:00 p.m. (19H00).

Some events and/or meetings by UN agencies may take place at the Auxiliary Conference Site, located close to the LICC. The address of the Auxiliary Conference Site is:

Universidade Lusiada
R. da Junqueira, 194
1301 Lisbon
PORTUGAL

Admission to the Auxiliary Conference Site will require, at all times, presentation of identification cards. Media representatives are also required to have their identification cards visibly displayed while inside Auxiliary Conference Site.

MEDIA FACILITIES On-site facilities for media coverage and a working area for journalists will be available at the LICC Media Centre.

Facilities will also be available for radio producers to take direct audio feeds (i.e. through plug-in to a distribution box) of both the language of the speaker (floor) and of the simultaneous interpretation in English of the Plenary debate.

WEBSITE Up-to-date information about the Conference, including daily highlights, audio of the Spokesperson daily briefings, documents and background information will be available throughout the conference on the United Nations Home Page on the Internet. The address is http://www.un.org/events/youth98/

DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES Accredited media representatives will be able to obtain official Conference documents and Press Releases at the Document Distribution Area located in the Media Centre.

Official documents of the Conference will be made available in the languages of the Conference. Press Releases will be available in English, French and Portuguese. The official Conference documents and the Press Releases will also be available on the Conference website.

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION 1. Visa Requirements - Entry visas to Portugal must be obtained prior to departure. Portuguese Embassies and Consulates have received special instructions on issuing visas for participants in the Conference. Where a Portuguese Embassy or Consulate does not exist, journalists can obtain their entry visas to Portugal from any Embassy or Consulate of a State Party to the Schengen Treaty. Those countries are: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Spain. There is no provision made for media representatives to obtain entry visas to Portugal on arrival at Portuguese airports.

2. Electricity
The standard electricity in Portugal is 220 volts. It is advisable to bring conversion plugs or adapters, if needed.

3. Weather
Fair weather conditions are the rule at this time of the year (Summer) in Portugal. The average temperature in Lisbon in August is between 28 and 35 degrees Celsius.

SERVICES AVAILABLE AT THE LICC The following services will be available on the Ground Floor of the LICC :

1. First Aid/Medical services
There will be a medical team always on duty throughout the Conference.
Hospital services and medical specialist services, where necessary, will be provided throughout the Conference, by the Portuguese authorities.
All media representatives are advised to carry sufficient health insurance to be able to meet any eventual expenses.

2. Catering
Restaurants and cafeterias at the LICC will be open during conference hours.

3. Postal services
The official Portuguese Postal services ? CTT ? will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (18H00) from 8 to 12 August.

4. Public Telephones/Fax
Public telephone and Fax facilities will be available using cards sold by and at the PORTUGAL TELECOM stand located on the Ground Floor of the LICC. The PORTUGAL TELECOM stand will be open from 9:00 a.m. (09H00) to 6:00 p.m. (18H00) from 8 to 12 August.

5. Bank
The Portuguese currency is the Escudo (PTE). Foreign currencies and foreign currency travellers checks may be exchanged at the Caixa Geral de Depsitos bank agency located at the LICC, or at any other bank in Lisbon - open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (15H00) - and in most hotels.

The Caixa Geral de Depsitos bank at the LICC will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (18H00) from 8 to 12 August. Two ATMs (cash dispensers) will also be available during conference hours. Most international credit cards, such as Visa, Master Card, American Express and Diners Club may be used and are widely accepted in Portugal.

6. Travel Agency
The Travel Agency will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (18H00) from 8 August to 12 August. Confirmation of flight times, private holiday and other tourist arrangements after the Conference may be dealt with at the Travel Agency.

7. Parking for media service vehicles
There will be no parking facilities for private or rental vehicles.
However, media service vehicles may be parked at the paid parking area facing the LICC, provided that special parking passes or other form of vehicle identification have been requested and issued. The passes/identification of the media service vehicles authorised to use the paid parking lot must be visibly displayed. Requests must be made in writing at the site (fax number to come). The number plates and the driver identification will be required for issuance of parking passes. Drivers are not allowed into the LICC or Auxiliary Congress Site premises. Media service vehicles authorised to use the parking lot may only be used by accredited media representatives.

8. Lost and Found office
Objects found should be handed over to the Security Desk on the Ground Floor.

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