COVERAGE OF SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IS 'WEBCAST' ON INTERNET

27 June 1997

Press Release
PI/1016

COVERAGE OF SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IS 'WEBCAST' ON INTERNET

19970627 Highlights of Earth Summit Follow-up Available through Week-Long Video Feed Viewable Directly on United Nations Home Page and Other Sites

The Internet has proved to be a bonanza for users wishing to follow the proceedings of the current special session of the General Assembly called to review and assess progress on sustainable development since the 1992 "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro.

The highlight of the coverage is the live gavel-to-gavel video feed being provided directly from the General Assembly Hall each day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT. The live video feed from United Nations television can be viewed directly from the United Nations Home Page (http://www.un.org/av). It can also be viewed from the Conferences, What's New and General Assembly areas.

The live Webcast is being made under special arrangements between the United Nations Department of Public Information and the Internet Broadcast Center at no cost to the United Nations. At the end of each day, the entire day's proceedings are archived and are available for on-demand retrieval arranged by country. The same site (http://www.internetbroadcast.com/un.htm) also carries live and archived daily United Nations press briefings as well as United Nations Radio on-line.

Complementing the live video feed, specific coverage allows virtual visitors to follow the special session each day through a range of reports, video clips, digital photos and editorial coverage. This coverage is also available via the United Nations Home Page (http://www.un.org/dpcsd/earthsummit/live.htm) and is the result of a partnership between WETV, OneSoft Corporation and the United Nations Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development.

The United Nations Website -- which carries major United Nations documents, news, press releases, a wide range of databases and information on all aspects of the work of the Organization -- receives almost 3 million "hits" a month and is coordinated and maintained by the Department of Public Information with the technical expertise of the Office of Conference and Support Services.

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