Government on media arrangements for the 21st International AIDS Conference

15 July 2016

South Africa will host the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban from 18-22 July 2016 under the theme: “Access Equity Rights Now”,

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the South African National Aids Council (SANAC), will lead the South African Government delegation, which also includes SANAC, IMC Ministers and civil society.

The Conference is expected to be attended by about 18 000 delegates from around the world. It will provide South Africa with an opportunity to share its progress since 2000 in combatting HIV and TB.

Members of the media area advised of the following media arrangements for the smooth coverage of the 21st International Aids Conference:

Process of media accreditation

Online media registration is currently closed. Onsite media accreditation will take place at the registration area which is located at Centrum Parking, across the street from the Global Village and Exhibition Centre.

Applicants are advised of the following requirements:

Conference Voucher
South African Identity Document or Passport (Photocopies not accepted
Card or Letter from the editor
For foreign media: Passport and Media Card (Foreign Driver License will not be accepted

NB: All media are expected to undergo live accreditation

In the instance where you do not have the conference voucher, media is required to undergo to submit full details on-site. The accreditation voucher will be issued and this will allow your Accreditation card to be printed.

The process is as follows:

Confirmed Media Delegates -If your registration is confirmed, you should have received a Conference Voucher by email. Print the Conference Voucher and bring it with you to the conference. If you have any questions, email accreditation@aids2016.org

When you arrive at the registration area, follow the signs Confirmed Registrations and go directly to the Material Pick-Up desks where you will receive your conference material. After you have picked up your conference material, please proceed to Accreditation. At accreditation, you need to present your Conference Voucher and your passport (or national ID for South Africans) photocopies are not permitted. Security personnel will take your photo and print your badge for you.

Pending Media Delegates - If your media registration is pending and you have not received a Conference Voucher, follow the signs Media and go to one of the Pending Media desks in the registration area to complete your media registration, and to receive your Conference Voucher and conference material.

Any missing media credentials need to be provided and approved by the International Aids Society (IAS) secretariat before your media registration can be completed.

After your media registration is completed, please proceed to Accreditation where you need to present your Conference Voucher and your passport (or national ID for South Africans) photocopies are not permitted.

Security personnel will check your data, take your photo and print your badge for you.

New Media Delegates - If you have not yet registered, follow the signs Media and go to one of the New Media desks in the registration area to register for the conference. You need to provide the required media credentials when registering, and they need to be approved by the IAS secretariat before your media registration can be completed. Once your media registration is completed, you will receive your Conference Voucher and conference material. You then need to proceed to Accreditation where the process mentioned earlier will continue.

Once accreditation is complete, media delegates can access the Media Centre and all the other media venues.

Media accreditation dates and times

The following dates and times have been confirmed for accreditation:

Friday, 15 July 2016 13:00 – 20:30
Saturday, 16 – Sunday, 17 July 2016 06:00 – 18:00
Monday, 18 July 2016 06:00 – 20:00
Tuesday, 19 – Thursday, 21 July 2016 06:00 – 18:30
Friday, 22 July 2016 06:00 – 13:30

Media Centre Operations

A media center will be provided at the basement of the ICC. It will accommodate approximately 800 journalists and the center will be equipped with facilities that meet the requirements to enable media to transmit host broadcast material to their destinations of choice.

Wi-Fi will be provided at the media center.

NB: Only accredited media will have access.

Host Broadcast Arrangements

Due to the magnitude of the Conference, SABC has been contracted to provide a clean feed to all broadcasters and facilitate signal distribution.

As the appointed host broadcaster for the AIDS2016 conference and it will constitute of the following:

Coverage of Official opening of the conference
Closing of the conference
Provision of packaged edited material as selected and advised by the International Aids Society
Due to the magnitude of the Conference, SABC has been contracted to provide a clean feed to all broadcasters and facilitate signal distribution.
Due to the magnitude of the Conference, SABC has been contracted to provide a clean feed to all broadcasters and facilitate signal distribution.
Provision of World audio-visual- feed in either SD or HD for accredited media.
The pool feed will be accessible via distribution box/es with BNC connectivity plug-in-points

The contact person responsible for the coordination of the pool feeds and liaison with all technicians on media requirements is:

Setlogola Thoke – SABC Acting General Manager Special Broadcasts

Cell: 082 371 0021 or email thokens@sabc.co.za

Online Conference Programme

The entire AIDS 2016 programme is now available through the Online Conference Programme. All sessions, satellites and other programme activities are listed. Links to abstracts, slide presentations, webcasts, key sessions, rapporteur reports and e-posters will be added as they become available.

Media can use the Online Conference Programme to view topic-focused roadmaps and build your own personalised itinerary, which allows you to select individual sessions and print out your attendance plan. You may use your conference profile to save your itinerary.

Social Media

Follow the 21st International Aids Conference information and conversation on @GCISMedia @SAGov @GovernmentZA. Use the hashtag #AIDS2016.

Join the conversation on twitter @AIDS_Conference @GCISMedia @GovernmentZA @HealthZA @SAGovNews @SA_AIDSCOUNCIL by using the hashtag #AIDS2016. For more information on the 21st AIDS Conference, visit the webpage: www.gov.za or www.aids2016.org.

The AIDS 2016 fast and functional App is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. By logging on to the App, media will be able to retrieve you iterenary made on the online version of the programme. Access your schedule on the go.