EC-69/INF.1, p. 5

World Meteorological Organization
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Sixty-Ninth Session
Geneva, 10 to 17 May 2017 / EC-69/INF.1
Submitted by:
Secretary-General
27.III.2017
MATERIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SESSION

Venue

The sixty-ninth session of the WMO Executive Council (EC-69) will be held in Geneva from 10to 17May 2017, at the WMO headquarters building, 7 bis, avenue de la Paix. The opening of EC-69 will take place on Wednesday, 10 May 2017 at 9.30 am. Detailed arrangements concerning the meetings and allocation of the rooms can be found in the EC-69 Tentative Work Plan, available on the main web page of EC-69 (link).

Working languages

Simultaneous interpretation into the six WMO official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, will be provided during plenary meetings in Salle Obasi. Side meetings will be held in English or with interpretation, when possible. Documents will be issued in the six WMO official languages.

Documents

EC members and observers who wish to submit documents before the session are invited to send them to the WMO Secretariat as early as possible, to allow time for their translation and distribution. According to Regulation 152 (b) of the WMO General Regulations, session documents should be distributed as soon as possible and preferably no later than 45 days before the opening of the session.

The documents will be in the form of decisions and/or resolutions requiring EC action. Resolutions will contain formal decisions on budgetary, regulatory and other matters requiring implementation by Members and delegated to EC by Congress; establishment of subsidiary bodies and their terms of reference. Other decisions will be recorded in the form of structured and numbered decisions.

Decisions will be used to place on record instructions/directives to the Secretary-General, the President, and constituent bodies in accordance with Cg resolutions/decisions; EC subsidiary bodies and other bodies reporting to EC, EC opinion/observations on a specific topic, procedural decisions and other decisions pertaining to the internal matters of EC. Background information will only be provided if it supports the draft decision/resolution.

Progress reports will be included in separate INF documents (numbered by agenda item). After the session, all INFs will be consolidated in a single volume as Part II of the EC-69 abridged final report and used for production of the WMO annual report.

Processes and document workflow

Both the presentation of the session documents and the organization of work during the session will be streamlined to meet the desire expressed by WMO Members to improve the effectiveness of documents and discussions. Therefore, EC-69 will focus on strategic issues where EC decisions and guidance are essential, while reporting will be reduced.

To provide an opportunity to comment on pre-session documents, the English versions of session documents will be posted on the EC-69 website before the opening of the session. Other languages will follow as soon as they become available. EC members who wish to have comments included in a posted document are invited to send them to the session e-mail mailbox: , with the subject line containing the document number and name of the EC member sending the comments. Comments sent before the 26 April deadline will be duly reflected in a DRAFT 2 version, which will clearly indicate the source of comments. DRAFT2 versions will be published on the EC-69 website, replacing the initially posted DRAFT1 version.

Please note that INF documents will not be formally presented during plenary discussions.

Proceedings of the sessions will be recorded. Detailed minutes of plenary meetings will not be taken, unless they are specifically requested by the plenary for particular deliberations.

Distribution of documents

Documents will be posted before and during the session on the EC-69 website, in line with WMO greening efforts to promote paper-smart meetings. Therefore, participants are kindly invited to bring Internet-enabled portable computers capable of handling Microsoft Word 2010 and Adobe PDF formats so that they can work in paper-smart mode during the session.

Provisional abridged report

The provisional abridged report of the session will consist of the resolutions and decisions contained in the documents approved during the session. Approved documents showing amendments in all languages will be posted on the EC-69 website as soon as possible after the session. Approved files of documents discussed during the session will be placed in the folder “Provisional Final Report” that will appear on the same website. The overall structure of the session report can be seen in EC-69/Doc. 1.

Registration of participants

Online pre-registration is required for all participants to EC-69. In view of their official status with WMO, EC members and all Permanent Representatives (PRs) of WMO Members have been given access to an online Event Registration system.

EC members are kindly invited to act as focal points for their online pre-registration as well as that of their alternate(s) and/or advisor(s) as relevant. Permanent Representatives of WMO Members are kindly invited to act as focal points for representatives of WMO Members or Permanent Missions in Geneva wishing to attend as Observer.

Alternates and/or advisors to EC members should be identified by EC members. Representatives of WMO Members who wish to attend as observers must provide official proof of representation, such as a letter from the relevant Member. Representatives of international organizations invited as observers to the session should provide in advance, or bring to the session, a letter of representation signed by the appropriate authority from their organization.

More information concerning online pre-registration will be provided in due course on the EC69 website.

A Conference Information and Registration Desk will be set up on the ground floor of the WMO building, close to the meeting rooms, to facilitate the registration of participants and provision of general information. Registration will open on Tuesday 9 May from 2 pm to 5.30 pm and continue throughout the session.

Participants will receive identification badges at the time of registration, which should be worn throughout the session. As longer lines are to be expected on the first day of the meeting, early registration and badge pick-up on Tuesday 9 May are strongly encouraged.

List of participants

A provisional list of participants will be uploaded on the website of EC-69 shortly after the beginning of the session. This list will be revised as soon as all participants have arrived and registered.

Internet facilities, computing and communications

Wireless Internet connection (Wi-Fi) will be available in the main conference room and at the WMO Conference Center. The access is free and does not require a password.

Computers with Internet connection are also available on the ground floor of the WMO building. The conference room is equipped with power and Internet sockets for laptop computers. It is recommended to bring a network cable to connect, if necessary, to the Internet sockets in the conference room.

Participants are also advised to bring their own plug adapters to plug into Swiss power sockets. Information on the appropriate plugs may be found on the Internet (for example, at: http://www.iec.ch/worldplugs/typeJ.htm). A limited number of adapters are available on loan from the Conference Information Desk.

Transportation

Hotels in Geneva provide all guests, upon demand, with a free ticket for public transport. In addition, upon arrival at Geneva airport, free tickets are available from the machine in the baggage conveyor hall before passing customs.

General information on how to get to WMO from the airport and how to get to the City centre can be found on the WMO website: link.

Currency

The local currency is the Swiss Franc (CHF).

The average exchange rate is as follows:

1 Euro = 1.07 CHF

1 USD = 1.007 CHF

Health requirements/medical services

Up-to-date information on international travel and health requirements are provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the following websites:

http://www.who.int/ith/en/ and http://www.who.int/countries/che/en/.

It is strongly recommended that you take out personal medical insurance for the duration of the trip.

Electricity and mobile phone connection

Power systems are generally 230 volts and 50 Hz. An adaptor may be necessary.

Local climate in May

Climate data during May in Geneva are listed below:

Mean temperature 13.7°C

Mean maximum temperature 19.1°C

Mean minimum temperature 8.5°C

Mean relative humidity 70%

Mean precipitation 70mm

Mean duration of sunshine 8 h/day

Hotel reservations

Participants are advised that hotel accommodation in Geneva and the surrounding area may be scarce. They may, therefore, wish to make arrangements for accommodation as soon as possible. Participants should inquire with the hotel to see if it is possible to have special UN rates for the dates of their stay.

Use of mobile telephones

Participants are kindly reminded that, as a courtesy to their colleagues, their mobile telephones should be muted on entry to the conference room. Participants are requested to hold phone conversations outside of the conference rooms.

Office accommodation

A limited number of offices will be made available in the WMO building for rental during EC-69. Delegations wishing to rent these offices should send a request specifying their needs to the Conference Services Division (). These requests will be processed on a “first come, first served” basis.

Contact details

Mailing address

Mail for delegates may be sent to the following address:

Ms/Mr ......

Delegate to WMO Executive Council

WMO Secretariat

7 bis, avenue de la Paix

P.O. 2300

CH-1211 GENÈVE 2

If you expect mail to be sent to the WMO Secretariat, please inform the Conference Information and Registration Desk.

Telephone – Fax

WMO Secretariat / Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail: / +41 22 730 81 11
+41 22 730 89 27

Conference Information and Registration Desk / Telephone:
E-mail: / +41 22 730 89 06

IT Helpdesk / Telephone:
E-mail: / +41 44 511 2007
(or *07 from a WMO phone)

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