1. General Information

1.1. Official program

The forty‐third regular session of the General Assembly will be held from June 4th – 6th, 2013, in Antigua, Guatemala. The sessions will take place in the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, located in 3a Calle Oriente No. 28 "A", La Antigua Guatemala.

The Official Program of activities of the General Assembly is available on the OAS Web page: www.oas.org (click on "General Assembly") or directly at www.oas.org/en/43ga. Furthermore, the government of Guatemala has an official Web page at www.43asambleaoea.gt.

1.2 Central Theme of the General Assembly
The theme proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Harold Caballeros, to be the focus of debate by Foreign Ministers of the Americas, will be “Toward a Comprehensive Anti-Drug Policy in the Americas.” Read a press release about it here:  http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-062/13.

1.3. Languages and work documents
The official languages for the work of the General Assembly are: Spanish, French, English and Portuguese. The work sessions of the General Assembly will offer interpreting services in these languages. Furthermore, sound distribution of the inaugural and plenary sessions of the General Assembly will be made in the above‐mentioned languages.

Official documents in the four official languages of the General Assembly will be available on the OAS General Assembly Webpage, and hardcopies will be made available at the International Press Center upon request.

Journalists are advised to bring laptops and earphones should they wish to hear audio of General Assembly meetings in one of the other official languages of the OAS by accessing the live Webcast. Handheld translation audio devices will not be made available to the media.

1.4. Headquarters of the General Assembly
The 43rd OAS General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) will take place from June 4 to 6, 2013, at the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, located in located in 3a Calle Oriente No. 28 "A", La Antigua Guatemala.

1.5. Inauguration
The inauguration of the 43rd OAS General Assembly will take place on Tuesday, June 4, at 18:30 (22:30 GMT) in the Finca Filadelfia.

1.6. OAS Member States

Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Barbados Belize Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba* Dominica Dominican Republic

Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname The Bahamas (Commonwealth of) Trinidad and Tobago United States of America Uruguay Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

* On June 3, 2009, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Americas adopted resolution GA/RES. 2438 (XXXIX‐O/09), which resolves that the Resolution from 1962 through which the Government of Cuba was excluded from participating in the inter‐American system is without effect in the Organization of American States (OAS). The 2009 resolution declares that the participation of the Republic of Cuba in the OAS will be the result of a process of dialogue to begin at the request of the Government of the Republic of Cuba and in conformity with the practices, goals, and principles of the OAS.

1.7. Events parallel to the General Assembly

Friday, May 31
08:00 - 18:00	Private Sector Forum Location: Hotel Camino Real, Salón los Lagos, Guatemala City

Sunday, June 2
10:00 - 17:00	National Talent and Innovation Competition TIC Américas 2013 Location: Hotel Soleil, Salón Los Volcanes, La Antigua, Guatemala

Monday, June 3
09:00 - 17:30	Awards Ceremony: National Talent and Innovation Competition TIC Americas Location: Hotel Soleil, Salón Los Volcanes, La Antigua, Guatemala
10:00 - 12:15	Dialogue of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General with Civil Society Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Salón Teatro
12:30	Press Conference: Foreign Ministers, Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Salón Teatro

Tuesday, June 4
09:00 - 12:00	Dialogue of the heads of delegation and the Secretary General with the representatives of civil society, workers, the private sector, and other social actors Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Salón Mayor

2. Press accreditation and information prior to the event

2.1. Accreditation
Requests for accreditation will be taken beginning on April 15 until May 17th. To receive accreditation, the applicant must fill out a form found on the webpage of the OAS at  https://www.oas.org/garspress/Default.aspx?lng=eng.

2.2. Requirements
Requests for accreditation must be made individually, only online and must be made through the OAS General Secretariat.

Each request must include a digitalized note from the director of the media company requesting accreditation with a size no greater than 1 Mb, and it must indicate the name of the press official to be accredited.

Furthermore, you must include a recent color photograph of the press official in JPEG format. Maximum size: approximately 250 Kb.

Resolution: 128 pixels length and 100 pixels width.

All media representatives are requested to provide all the information indicated on the form to be able to obtain their credentials.

2.3. Picking up your credentials
OAS issued credentials may be picked up at the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, from June 1st  to June 5th (9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 local time) or June 6th (9:00 to 12:00) by presenting the original letter from the requesting media organization and an official identification document (passport or identity card).

In order to pass through security controls and pick up credentials, you must present the email confirmation of your accreditation and your media identification.

For security reasons and to control access to meetings of the General Assembly, members of the press, in addition to presenting their OAS issued press credentials for the General Assembly, must present their own identification card issued by the media organization they represent. They must visibly display these two documents (media identification and OAS credentials) on their persons in order to obtain access to the meetings and events to which they have been invited.

2.4. Requirements for entering and leaving the country
Pending information from host country.

2.5. Bringing equipment into the country
Pending information from host country.

2.6. Security and technical inspection
For security reasons, press equipment will be inspected before coverage of the various meetings, which is why we request that you arrive at least one hour in advance.

Journalists must restrict their movement to press‐authorized areas, except when appropriate times are set up for photographs and video with the assistance of personnel from the OAS Press Department or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala.

2.7. Press conferences

• All press conferences held during the General Assembly will take place in a designated room inside the IMC.
• A press conference is scheduled for Monday, June 3, at 12:30 with the OAS Secretary General, the OAS Assistant Secretary General, and the Foreign Minister of Guatemala.
• There will also be a closing press conference Thursday, June 6 with the OAS Secretary General, the OAS Assistant Secretary General, and the Foreign Minister of Guatemala.
• Press conferences will have simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and English. At the end of the press conference, video, audio, photographs and press releases will be made available.

2.8 Advisories and Press Communications
All official documents, advisories, press releases, photo galleries and announcements will be published on the official website of the General Assembly (www.oas.org/en/43ga) and sent to the media representatives to the email address given on the press credential application.  If you would like to receive the communications at some other email address, please write to PressCredentials@oas.org.

To receive updates on events, announcements, photographs and press releases from the General Assembly, follow @OASofficial on Twitter and/or #43OASGA and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OASofficial

3. Areas and services for the media

3.1. International Media Center (IMC)
Media representatives with General Assembly credentials will have access to an International Media Center, equipped to provide them the resources needed to conduct their work. The Center, located in the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, will be open beginning on Sunday the 2nd until Thursday, June 6, from 07:00 ‐ 23:00 (local time).

This center will offer the following services:

• Wireless connection for portable computers
• 130 work spaces
• 20 computers with Internet
• 1 interview room
• 1 area for press conferences
• Room for editing and copying video material
• Closed circuit television to monitor the transmission.
• Access to satellite transmission
• Electricity voltage in Guatemala: 120 volts AC, 60 Hz.

The radio and television transmission center will be equipped with:

• Pending information

The daily list of activities, press releases and other information will be found in electronic format at the OAS/GA at www.oas.org/en/43ga.

Media representatives will be offered light refreshments during the course of the work day.

3.2. Internet
The OAS, through its webpage (www.oas.org) and the official webpage of the General Assembly
(www.oas.org/en/43ga), will provide live webcast services of the meetings of the Foreign Ministers, the Opening Ceremony, the Plenary Sessions and the Press Conferences in the four official languages of the OAS. The videos will be available on the webpage http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/videos.asp

Plenary Sessions and Press Conferences
If you wish to link the webcast to your website, please send an email to: webcast@oas.org and/or contact Ernesto Cossich (ECossich@oas.org). Radio and television stations that wish to air the webcast signal are authorized to do so.

The OAS, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/oasoea/, will have galleries of high‐resolution photographs from the General Assembly that you may publish with due credit. Similarly, official documents, draft resolutions, reports, speeches, press releases and other documents will become immediately available on the Assembly’s Web page.

3.3. Photographers and cameramen/women
Photographers and cameramen/women will be allowed to take images of particular events to be announced in due time. Among them are the following:

• Inaugural press conference
• Inaugural ceremony
• First plenary session on each of the two days of the General Assembly
• Closing ceremony
• Closing ceremony press conference

3.4 Press “pools”
If necessary, press "pools" are groups of limited size of media representatives (photographers and cameramen) who will be granted access to those events in which space is limited in order to capture images. The makeup of these “pools” will be announced in due time.

3.5 Bilateral meetings
Image capturing sessions will be held for bilateral meetings between Member State delegations and/or Observer countries that are open to members of the press. Media representatives covering these meetings will be requested to meet at the International Media Center, where personnel from the OAS Press and Communications Department or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala will accompany them to the meeting room. A schedule of bilateral meetings open to the media will be published daily.

3.6 Official photograph
The official photograph will be taken at the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo on Wednesday, June 5 at 13:15 local time.

3.7 Official radio and TV signal
Pending information from host country.

Plenary sessions will be broadcast and may be heard through audio and video services provided at the International Broadcast Center in the official languages of the General Assembly. Members of the media are responsible for bringing along the necessary equipment.

Also, audio and video of participating Member State foreign ministers and heads of delegation will be made available in four languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.

3.8. Satellite signal

 

4. Transportation

The government of Guatemala will offer transportation for journalists accredited to cover the General Assembly from the hotels recommended for the press to the headquarters of the General Assembly and vice versa. Routes and times to be announced.

 

5. Hotels

5.1. Hotels recommended to members of the press
Pending information

Infodesk
In each official hotel there will be an information stand where the participants can find additional details about transportation routes and schedules, the General Assembly headquarters, schedules for the registration process and late accreditation as well as general information about the city of Antigua.

 

6. Other information

Pending information from host country

6.1. Vaccination
Pending information from host country

6.2. Maps
Pending information from host country

7. Preliminary agenda

Friday, May 31
08:00 - 18:00	Private Sector Forum Location: Hotel Camino Real, Salón los Lagos, Guatemala City

Sunday, June 2
10:00 – 17:00	National Talent and Innovation Competition TIC Américas 2013 Location: Hotel Soleil, Salón Los Volcanes, La Antigua, Guatemala

Monday, June 3
09:00 – 17:30	Awards Ceremony: National Talent and Innovation Competition TIC Americas Location: Hotel Soleil, Salón Los Volcanes, La Antigua, Guatemala
10:00 – 12:15	Dialogue of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General with Civil Society Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Salón Teatro
12:30	Press Conference hosted by the Foreign Minister of Guatemala, the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Salón Teatro

Tuesday, June 4
09:00 – 12:00	Dialogue of the heads of delegation and the Secretary General with the representatives of civil society, workers, the private sector, and other social actors Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Salón Mayor
14:30 – 17:00	Dialogue of heads of delegation, the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, and the heads of delegation of Permanent Observers Location: Hotel Camino Real, Salón La Conquista
18:30	INAUGURAL SESSION Location: Finca Filadelfia

Wednesday, June 5
08:30	First PLENARY SESSION Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Plaza Del Átrio
09:30	Second PLENARY SESSION Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Plaza Del Átrio
09:30	First meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Mayor
13:15	Official photograph of the heads of delegation Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Capilla
13:30	Private meeting of heads of delegation with the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Location: Convento San José El Viejo
14:30	Second meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Mayor
19:30	Reception hosted by the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Location: Hotel Camino Real, Salón la Conquista

Thursday, June 6
08:30	Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Plaza Del Átrio
09:00	Third meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Mayor
09:30	Third PLENARY SESSION Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Plaza Del Átrio
13:00	Lunch offered by the Foreign Minister of Guatemala in honor of delegations Location: Finca Filadelfia, Patio Secado de Café
14:30	Fourth PLENARY SESSION Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Plaza Del Átrio
19:00	CLOSING SESSION Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Salón Plaza Del Átrio
19:30	Closing Press Conference Location: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Salón Teatro