Media Advisory: World Food Summit: Five Years Later, 10-13 June 2002, Rome
Accreditation

It is now less than two weeks before the opening of the World Food Summit: five years later at FAO's Rome headquarters, when we are expecting significant attendance by Heads of State and Government from around the world.

We have received several hundred applications for media accreditation, but many of you who have indicated your intention to attend have not yet sent in your applications. I would urge you to do so by the end of this week, to avoid delays and queuing that, in these security-conscious days, are bound to affect those who leave it until the last minute.

The special passes giving access to FAO during the days of the Summit will be distributed to those who have applied in advance from 3-9 June at the Summit Registration Centre, located at:
Fiera di Roma S.P.A/
Padiglione 32
Largo S.Ruffino
(via Cristoforo Colombo, 287)
00147 Roma

Those who do not apply in advance, may do so at the Registration Centre, but must expect significant delays.

Inquiries about registration should be addressed to:
Luisa Guarneri
+39 06570 55476 (internal 55476)
Luisa.Guarneri@fao.org

Please note that Media Passes for the Summit will also be accepted for entry to the NGO Forum, at the Palazzo dei Congressi, as well as Parliamentarian's Day, the Private Sector Forum and parallel events.

Programme
The programme of the Summit is being finalised this week, and I can advise you that as well as the main sessions in the Plenary Hall, there will be a whole range of related side events, including a Multistakeholder Dialogue and a seminar on the role of rural women in the fight against hunger. There will be a large number of press conferences and media briefings, both by FAO technical officers, on subjects related to the Summit themes, and by member country delegations, regional grouping and international organizations.

Media Centre
We are setting up a large Media Centre (Building T) which will offer plenty of working space for journalists. There will be Phone-card telephones with RJ11 modem plugs and audio sockets, and fax machines - call costs to be met by users. We will have a limited number of PCs available for common use (including one in Arabic), with Internet access, and printers. It will be possible to follow proceedings in the Plenary, the two main meeting rooms and the media briefing room on Closed Circuit Television sets. CCTV coverage of the opening will also be relayed to the Media Briefing Room (Iran Room, Building B) and projected on the large screen there as well as on the TV sets in the Media Centre.
During the Summit, there will be restrictions on access to the area reserved for Heads of State and Government, but FAO Information Officers will be on hand to assist in setting up interviews with delegates and briefings from FAO experts, as required. Texts of speeches will be distributed as quickly as possible in the Media Centre, though how quickly will be always determined by the speed at which we receive the text from the delegation concerned.

Radio
For Radio reporters, we have reserved a special area in the Media Centre where they will be able to plug into a live, broadcast quality audio feed from the Plenary. The telephones will have audio sockets for feeding reports. We will also be placing audio clips speeches on our special Summit website which can be downloaded at broadcast quality.

Television
There will be live global satellite coverage of the Opening Ceremony on the morning of 10 June and the closing Press Conference on 13 June. The Opening Ceremony will include speeches by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. Eurovision News Services will manage a Broadcast Centre within the FAO Media Centre providing:
· Stand-up positions for live programme inserts;
· Beta SP/SX PAL/NTSC and DVCPro PAL tape playout;
· Editing facilities in Beta SP/SX;
· Workspaces cabled for pool distribution;
· Direct uplinking to the Global Eurovision Network;

There will be a room set aside for conducting interviews Heads of State or Government.
A detailed technical note on the EBU live satellite coverage, including satellite details, will be distributed as of 30 May 2002. For further details of EBU facilities please contact:
Lance Newhart
Eurovision News Services
Tel: +41 (22) 717 2840
Fax: +41 (22) 747 4840
Newhart@ebu.ch
The FAO coordinator for satellite operations is:
Majid Chaar
Tel: +39 06570 53528 (internal:53528)
Mobile: +39 3482341161
Majid.chaar@fao.org
FAO's media production unit will have available for broadcasters, in Betacam SP format, a range of B Roll footage on a number of topics related to the Summit themes and the Side Events, as well as a range of relevant news features. The Unit will manage a pool system for access to the plenary floor by ENG crews and also for coverage of arrivals of Heads of State and Government. In the case of broadcasters who do not have their own crews at the Summit, video recording of particulars interventions can be obtained from the CBU. The FAO coordinator for Radio and TV is:
Enrique Yeves
Production Manager
Tel: +39 06570 52518 (internal 52518)
Enrique.yeves@fao.org

Photography
An area for photographers will be available adjacent to the main entrance of FAO where pictures can be taken of VIPs arriving. There will be a pool system managing Photographers' access to this arrivals area as well as the Plenary Hall. The FAO coordinator is:
Nicholas Rubery
Multimedia Group
Tel: +39 06570 53792 (internal 53792)
Nicholas.rubery@fao.org
FAO photographers will be using high-quality digital cameras and will periodically upload images into a gallery on the World Food Summit website from where they will be available for download.
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Further details of the Summit Programme, official documents, contact details for Media Officers, practical information about Rome etc, is available on our special World Food Summit website.
During the Summit, the site will carry reports of proceedings and also full texts of the interventions by heads of State and Government.
We look forward to welcoming you the FAO next month.

Nick Parsons
Chief, Media Relations Branch
Information Division
Tel: +39 06570 53276 (internal 53276)
Nick.parsons@fao.org