1. General Information

1.1. Official program

The forty‐second regular session of the General Assembly will be held from June 3rd - 5th, 2012, in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The sessions will take place in the Hotel Regina Resort and Convention Center, located in Tiquipaya, prolongacion Calle Cochabamba, camino a Apote, Bolivia.

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/42ag. Furthermore, the Government of Bolivia has an official Web page at http://www.42agoeabolivia.gob.bo/.

1.2. Central theme of the General Assembly
The theme proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, to be the focus of debate by Foreign Ministers of the Americas, will be “Food Security with Sovereignty in the Americas.” Read a press release about it here:  http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-081/12

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 42nd OAS General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) will take place from June 3 to 5, 2012, at the Hotel Regina Resort and Convention Center, located in Tiquipaya, prolongación Calle Cochabamba on the road to Apote, Bolivia.

1.5. Inauguration
The inauguration of the 42nd OAS General Assembly will take place on Sunday, June 3 at 18:30 (22:30 GMT) in the Colosseum of the Universidad del Valle, Campus Tiquipaya.

1.6. OAS Member States

* 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

• Thursday, May 31
  Official Inauguration: National Talent and Innovation Competition TIC Bolivia 2012
  Time: 9:00
  Location: Hotel La Colonia
  For more information, visit http://www.myybiz.net/yabt/main/NEWS/dc042312
• Friday, June 1
  Awards Ceremony: National Talent and Innovation Competition TIC Bolivia 2012
  Time: 17:00
  Location: Hotel La Colonia, Plenary Room
  For more information, visit http://www.myybiz.net/yabt/main/NEWS/dc042312
• Saturday, June 2
  Dialogue of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General with Civil Society
  Time: 10:00
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Dialogues/General Committee Rooms
• Sunday, June 3
  Dialogue of the heads of delegation and the Secretary General with the representatives of civil society, workers, the private sector, and other social actors
  Time: 9:00
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Dialogues/General Committee Rooms

2. Press accreditation and information prior to the event

2.1. Accreditation
Requests for accreditation will be taken beginning on April 18 until May 18. To receive accreditation, the applicant must fill out a form found on the webpage of the OAS at  https://www.oas.org/garspress. Once the form has been sent, the applicant will be notified by email of the approval of credentials.

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 Regina Tiquipaya, from May 30 to June 4 (9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 local time) and June 5 (9:00 to 12:00 local time) 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
The government of Bolivia has approved an exemption from the visa payment for journalists accredited to cover the 42^nd OAS General Assembly. To find the necessary documents to enter the country, visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.rree.gob.bo/.

2.5. Bringing equipment into the country
Journalists accredited to cover the 42^nd OAS General Assembly will not be charged for the entry of their equipment into the country. However, it will be necessary to complete form 191 that must be presented at the Customs Office upon arrival in the country, accompanied by a packing list (details on kind of equipment, serial number and brand). This applies to journalists work equipment including: cameras, tripods, lighting, microphones, still cameras and other similar equipment).

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 Bolivia.

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 Saturday, June 2, at 12:30 with the OAS Secretary General, the OAS Assistant Secretary General, and the Foreign Minister of Bolivia.
• There will also be a closing press conference Tuesday, June 5 with the OAS Secretary General, the OAS Assistant Secretary General, and the Foreign Minister of Bolivia.
• 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/42ag) 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 [email protected].

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 Regina Tiquipaya, will be open beginning on Saturday the 2nd until Tuesday, June 5, from 07:00 ‐ 23:00 (local time).

This center will offer the following services:

• Wireless connection for portable computers
• 120 work spaces
• 20 computers with Internet
• 10 telephone lines for local calls
• 1 sets for standup interviews
• 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 Bolivia: 220 volts AC, 50 Hz.
  

The radio and television transmission center will be equipped with:

• Video: Equipment for signal amplification and distribution of NTSC video with 20 BNC outputs.
• Audio: Equipment for distribution of audio, divided in the following way: 20 XLR outputs with audio from the floor (original); 10 XLR outputs with Spanish interpretation; 10 XLR outputs with English interpretation; 3 XLR outputs with French interpretation; and 2 XLR outputs with Portuguese interpretation.

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/42ag.

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/42ag), 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: [email protected] and/or contact Ernesto Cossich ([email protected]). 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 Bolivia 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 Regina Tquipaya Monday, June 4 at 12:30 local time.

3.7 Official radio and TV signal
The events of the OAS General Assembly will be broadcast live by Channel 7/TV Bolivia.

Also, they will be broadcast on the Web at www.oas.org/en/42ag/ and
http://www.42agoeabolivia.gob.bo/.

The activities to be broadcast live by Channel 7/TV Bolivia are:

• Saturday, June 2

  Dialogue of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General with Civil Society
  Time: 10:00
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Dialogues/General Committee Rooms

  Press conference hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General
  Time: 12:30
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Press Conference Room
  
  

• Sunday, June 3

  Dialogue of the heads of delegation and the Secretary General with the representatives of civil society, workers, the private sector, and other social actors
  Time: 9:00
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Dialogues/General Committee Rooms

  Inaugural Session
  Time: 18:30
  Location: Universidad del Valle Coliseum – Tiquipaya
  
  

• Monday, June 4

  First and Second Plenary Session
  Time: 09:00 -12:00
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Plenary Room
  
  

• Tuesday, June 5

  Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG)
  Time: 8:30
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room

  Third and Fourth Plenary Session
  Time: 9:00 - 18:00
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Plenary Room

  Closing session of the General Assembly
  Time: 19:00
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room

  Closing Press Conference
  Time: 19:30
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Press Conference Room

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.

Channel 7 TV contact:
Gustavo Portocarrero,
General Director, Channel 7/Bolívia TV
[email protected]
Cel: (591) 76787987 or (591) 68213139

3.8. Satellite signal
Bolivia TV State Television

Technical Data	Values
Satellite:	Intelsat 805 (55.5’West) Txp 21C Band C (3.5Mhz)
Download Frequency:	3763.0 MHz
Polarity:	Horizontal
FEC:	1/2
Symbol Rate:	3000 Msps
Modulation:	DVB-S QPSK
Encryption:	none
Video:	SD NTSC 4:3 without graphics
Audio Channel 1	Original
Audio Channel 2	Original
Audio Channel 3	English
Audio Channel 4	Spanish

Satellite Services:

• Rental Editing Suite, which includes:
  1 editing machine
  2 DVD Copiers or MiniDV or DVC Pro
  Editing Software
  With Editor
  Total Cost: US $150/hour
• Television Set for interviews and audio and video recordings, with a direct output to the satellite system of Bolivia TV.
  Total Cost: US $500/30 minutes.
• Satellite Transmission, for non-official events – liveshots or transmissions.
  Cost for the first 15 minutes: US $700 (Seven hundred US Dollars, and US $50 (Fifty US Dollars) for each additional minute.

Satellite Transmissions:
Activities that will be broadcast via satellite and via webcast through the sites www.oas.org/es/42ag/  and  http://www.42agoeabolivia.gob.bo/ are:

• Saturday, June 2 - 12:30
  Press conference hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Press Conference Room
• Sunday, June 3 - 18:30
  Inaugural Session
  Location: Universidad del Valle Coliseum – Tiquipaya
• Tuesday, June 5 - 19:00
  Closing session of the General Assembly
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room
• Tuesday, June 5 - 19:30
  Closing Press Conference
  Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya, Press Conference Room

In addition to the official transmissions the following video packages will be broadcast:

• Monday, June 4 - 13:00
  15 minutes of video with B-Roll and sound from Foreign Ministers and local authorities during their addresses in the first and second plenary meetings.
• Tuesday, June 5 - 13:00
  15 minutes of video with B-Roll and sound from Foreign Ministers and local authorities during their addresses in the third and fourth plenary meetings.

CONTACTS:
TECHNICAL DIRECTION: RUBEN MARQUEZ
BOLIVIA TV: CELL: 591-72036642 / 591-22113119
[email protected]

TRANSMISSION POINT TIQUIPAYA - BOLIVIA:
DANIEL URIA
CELL: 591-72037995 / 70663668
[email protected]

EARTH STATION BOLIVIA TV
LA PAZ - BOLIVIA:
RAUL ROMERO
CELL: 591-67197136
ENRIQUE CASTANOS
CELL: 591-72054337

INTELSAT: Marquez McKenzie Assistant Supervisor Carrier Management
CenterIntelsat Office 1-404-381-2600Toll Free 1-800-321-3959
Fax 1-404-381-2426 [email protected]

 

4. Transportation

The government of Bolivia 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

• Hotel Ambassador
• Cesar’s Plaza
• Apart Violetas

There are rooms reserved in these three hotels for members of the press. To make a reservation in one of them please send an email to: [email protected].

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 Cochabamba.

 

6. Other information

• Airport: The Jorge Wilstermann International Airport is located 3kms to the west of the center of Cochabamba.
• Weather: In June, Bolivia has an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Electricity: The electric current is 220 volts and 50 Hz.
• Local time: The official time in Bolivia is four hours behind (-4) Greenwich mean time (GMT).
• Area Code: +591 + 4 + the telephone number in Cochabamba
• Language: The official language of Bolivia is Spanish.
• Currency: The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano and its symbol is Bs. It is produced in bills of 5,10,20,50,100 and 200 bolivianos; en coins of 1, 2 and 5 bolivianos and in 10, 20 and 50 cents.
  
  Inside airports there are banks and currency exchange offices, where money can be converted to bolivianos. Within Bolivia US dollars are also accepted.

6.1. Vaccination
Those participating in the General Assembly do not need the international vaccine against yellow fever, as the locations where activities will be held are areas outside the danger zone. However, it is recommended that those who plan to visit tropical zones in Bolivia (El Chapare, Villa Tunari, Chimore, Yapacani in Cochabamba department or national Parks in Santa Cruz de la Sierra department) must be vaccinated.

6.2. Maps
Pending information from host country

7. Preliminary agenda

• Thursday, May 31
  
  09:00 TIC Bolivia 2012, Official Inauguration
            Location: Hotel La Colonia
  
  
  
• Friday, June 1
  
  17:00 TIC Bolivia 2012: Awards Ceremony
            Location: Hotel La Colonia, Plenary Room
  
  
  
• Saturday, June 2
  
  10:00 Dialogue of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General with Civil Society
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya - Dialogues / General Committee Rooms
  
  12:30 Press conference hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, the Secretary
            General, and the Assistant Secretary General
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Press Conference Room
  
  
  
• Sunday, June 3
  
  09:00 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 Regina Tiquipaya, Dialogues/General Committee Rooms
  
  12:45 Private Dialogue of heads of delegation, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary
            General with the heads of delegation of permanent observer countries
            Location: Old Library - Universidad del Valle - Tiquipaya
  
  18:30 INAUGURAL SESSION
            Location: Universidad del Valle Coliseum – Tiquipaya
  
  
  
• Monday, June 4
  
  09:00 First PLENARY SESSION
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room
  
  09:30 Second PLENARY SESSION
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room
  
  09:30 First meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya - Dialogues / General Committee Room
  
  12:30 Official photograph of the heads of delegation
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya - Garden
  
  13:00 Private meeting of heads of delegation with the Secretary General and the Assistant
            Secretary General
            Location: Old Library - Universidad del Valle, Tiquipaya
  
  14:30 Second meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya - Dialogues / General Committee Room
  
  20:00 Reception hosted by the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General
            Location: Hotel La Colonia, Salón de los Cristales
  
  
  
• Tuesday, June 5
  
  08:30 Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG)
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room
  
  09:00 Third meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya - Dialogues / General Committee Room
  
  10:00 Third PLENARY SESSION
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room
  
  14:30 Fourth PLENARY SESSION
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room
  
  19:00 CLOSING SESSION
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Plenary Room
  
  19:30 Closing Press Conference
            Location: Hotel Regina Tiquipaya – Press Conference Room