The 55^th Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, along with related press events, will be held in the Prague Congress Centre (PCC), Prague, Czech Republic, from September 19–28, 2000.

Press Accreditation and Registration

The IMF and World Bank welcome journalists at their meetings. To obtain accreditation, journalists must file a "Request for Press Accreditation" form. The deadline for submission is Friday, August 11, 2000. However, we caution journalists that there is a Tuesday, August 1, 2000 deadline for filling requests for hotel accommodation. Journalists wishing the IMF-World Bank Joint Secretariat to arrange accommodation on their behalf must submit the press accreditation form, along with the hotel request, by August, 1.

Download a pdf file for the press accreditation form (use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this file, 745 KB).

For contact information, see below.

Accreditation Guidelines

To be accredited, applicants must hold valid press credentials.

Details of your credentials must be specified on the accreditation form. Acceptable press credentials include those issued by national and local authorities, or by a recognized professional association of journalists. If such credentials are not held, it will be at the discretion of the IMF and World Bank whether access to the Annual Meetings is granted. In the absence of credentials, a copy of the publication, an assignment letter from the Editor, and any other documentation to establish a professional bona fide must be attached to the application. Academic and student publications are not accredited.

NGO Press Credentials

Non-governmental organizations will be allowed to secure one, non-transferable NGO Press badge per organization provided the person securing the accreditation is a verified staff member of a publication produced by that organization. The publication must have a circulation beyond the NGO's internal staff and membership, and applications must provide evidence supporting this verification when submitting their application form, including a copy of the publication.

Formal Notification of Accreditation

Persons seeking press accreditation will be formally notified that they have secured credentials for the Annual Meetings. Confirmation and rejection letters will be sent starting on Friday, September 1, 2000. Persons who do not receive a confirmation notice are denied access to the Annual Meetings. Journalists must retain, and present the confirmation when collecting their Meetings' press credential at the PCC. Failure to present the confirmation could lead to significant delays, or possibly denial of access to the PCC.

Included with the confirmation letters will be identification decals and identification cards, which will be required upon arrival in the Czech Republic. The identification cards, along with national passports or other photographic identification, will also be required at the PCC prior to registration for the Annual Meetings.

Journalists who have secured accreditation can pick up credentials for the Meetings between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Monday, September 18, at the press registration desk located inside the PCC. From September 18 through September 28, the desk will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Journalists must come in person to register and must present press identification bearing a photograph. The Meetings' credential grants access to the Press Room, press conferences and briefings, Program of Seminars and some official events.

Press Room and Communications Arrangements

The Press Room at the PCC will be open continuously starting at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 19, through Thursday, September 28. Work spaces for 385 journalists will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each desk will be equipped with power outlets and a telephone from which local and long-distance calls can be made. Telephone service will be subject to charges. Press Room telephones can be used for data transmission via laptop. Facsimile machines will be available in the Press Room.

Ten Internet kiosks will also be available in the Press Room. However, e-mail service will not be provided. The kiosks are being made available primarily to give journalists access to the IMF website (http://www.imf.org) and the World Bank Group website (http://www.worldbank.org).

Joint Annual Meetings Website

The IMF and the World Bank Group operate a joint website (http://0-www-imf-org.library.svsu.edu/external/am/2000/prague.htm) to allow for regularly updating of the Annual Meetings schedule of press events, as well as provide a medium for posting briefing transcripts, news releases, and other information as it becomes available.

IMF and World Bank Media Relations Contacts

For further assistance prior to the Meetings, the IMF Media Relations Division can be contacted at [1]202-623-7100; by email, at (media@imf.org); or by facsimile, at [1]202-623-6772. The World Bank's Office of Media Relations can be contacted at [1]202-473-7660; by email, at Newsbureau@worldbank.org; or by facsimile, at [1]202-522-2616.

Interview Requests

The IMF Media Relations Division and the World Bank Media Relations Division handle requests for interviews of IMF and World Bank officials during the Meetings. However, the press offices do not service interview requests for official delegations to the Meetings. Those requests must be made directly to the delegations.

Broadcast Journalists and Photographers

POOLS FOR MINISTERIAL PHOTO OPS
The photo opportunities at the beginning of ministerial committee meetings (G-24, G-10, IMF Committee, Development Committee) will be pooled. The TV pool will include Czech TV, Reuters, APTN, and EBU, which will distribute video in the press room. The still photographer pool will include AFP, AP, Reuters, and a Czech member. A selection of still photos will be available in high resolution at www.imf.org. Pool members will meet in the press room a half hour before each event per the schedule posted at www.imf.org and distributed in the press room.

PLENARY MEETING
The plenary meetings from September 26-28 are open coverage, with camera positions in the rear of the hall available on a first come-first served basis. Audio mults will be available. Additionally, a pool feed of the opening plenary ceremonies on September 26 will be available in the press room through the collaboration of Czech Television and the European Broadcasting Union.

TELEVISION PRODUCTION AND TRANSMISSION FACILITIES
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will set up a media control room inside the IMF/World Bank press room of the Prague Congress Center (PCC) and will offer to all television organizations production and transmission facilities, to include playout, shared editing, and access to pool signal on tapes for services editing with EBU, or with their own recorder. Pool video is available at no cost. Charges for other services will equal for EBU members and non-members. The broadcast standard will be 625 Pal. Tape formats accommodated are Beta SX/SP and DVCPro.

Transmission facilities will be set up from the PCC via one EBU SNG truck with capacity for two simultaneous satellite paths, uplinking directly to the Eurovision network. No other SNG trucks will be connected to the PCC due to space constraints. Czech Television's landline from the PCC to their bureau is the only other transmission from inside the meetings venue. EBU will provide a live standup position with a view of Prague adjacent to the PCC.

The EBU Contact is Helena Baertschi at baertschi@ebu.ch and newsoperations@ebu.ch
Phone: 41 22 717 2840       Fax: 41 22 747 48 40.

RADIO JOURNALISTS
The PCC press room will have one radio studio with an ISDN line, available first come-first served. If you wish to install your own line, please contact kwhite@imf.org and wmurray@imf.org.

Passport and Visa Requirements

A passport valid for at least 60 days from the date of travel, and an entry visa for some nationals, is required for entry into the Czech Republic. As visa requirements are currently undergoing changes, journalists are strongly advised to contact with the nearest Czech Republic embassy, or consulate to determine whether or not a visa is required.

Journalists requiring visas should apply at a local embassy or consulate before departure to the Czech Republic. Lack of a valid visa may cause airlines to deny boarding, or the Czech immigration authorities to significantly delay entry clearance.

According to information available in May 2000, visas are not required by nationals of the following countries provided they have a valid passport: Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Weather

The normal temperature in Prague for the last part of September is around 15 degrees Celsius, or 59 degrees Fahrenheit. An umbrella and light coat is advised.

World Economic Outlook

The World Economic Outlook (WEO) press conference on Tuesday, September 19, is led by IMF Economic Counsellor and Research Department Director Michael Mussa and is devoted to the latest issue of the WEO. Published typically twice a year, the WEO contains projections and analysis that are an integral part of the IMF's surveillance of economic developments, policies in its member countries and of the global economic system.

Copies of the WEO will be available on a strict embargo basis to the press shortly before the report's scheduled release. Embargoed copies can be secured electronically by sending an e-mail request no later than September 8, 2000 to the IMF Media Relations Division (media@imf.org). Hard copies of the WEO will be available on Monday, September 18, 2000 to journalists accredited for the Annual Meetings starting at 9:00 a.m. Prague time (0700 GMT) at the press registration desk in the PCC. The WEO documents, together with the contents of the press conference, will be under strict embargo until 12:00 noon Prague time on Tuesday, September 19.

Program of Seminars

The 2000 Annual Meetings Program of Seminars is scheduled for September 22-25 at the Prague Congress Centre. The program features nearly 40 sessions and is designed to provide an opportunity for key players in the fields of international business, finance, and development to examine critical issues facing the world economy. The program, whose theme this year is "Making the Global Economy Work for Everyone," is organized around the issues of Changing Dynamics of Global Finance, Trade and Investment, Information and Technology, and Human Development, and a series of country and regional seminars.

All seminars will be on-the-record and open to journalists registered for the Annual Meetings. Seats will be reserved for the press at each session and are available to journalists on a first-come, first-served basis. Information about the 2000 Program is available at (www.worldbank.org/pos/)