KYOTO CONFERENCE TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON INTERNET
Press Release
EN/DEV/451
KYOTO CONFERENCE TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON INTERNET
19971128 KYOTO, 28 November (UNFCCC) -- In one of the most ambitious Internet video broadcasts ever attempted, the Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held from 1 to 10 December at the Kyoto International Conference Hall in Japan, will be seen and heard in real time via the Internet.The unique broadcast will be available in up to seven languages: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Japanese, Russian; and Spanish. It will be delivered from up to 16 computer servers located in seven countries, greatly increasing the speed and improving the quality of those transmissions.
The broadcast will feature the opening and closing ceremonies of the Conference, speeches by ministers and other heads of delegations, official negotiating sessions that are open to the public and selected special events sponsored by United Nations and non-governmental organizations. Viewers in time zones where live broadcasts are inconveniently timed will be able to view videotaped proceedings and events at their convenience. In addition to voice and video transmission, the Conference web site will feature regularly updated information about the Conference proceedings, including documentation, scheduling and a list of participants. It will also feature interactive chat sessions that will enable Internet users to address topical questions to guest speakers.
The video broadcasts and chat sessions are integrated with a number of linked web sites. The address of the Conference web site developed especially for the current meeting is www.cop3.or.jp, and there are mirror sites in Europe at www.cop3.de and in North America at www.cop3.org. The Japanese- language web site for host-country outreach is at ww2.cop3.or.jp. The Conference web site and its mirrors are in addition to the regular web site maintained by the Climate Change secretariat at www.unfccc.de.
At the Kyoto International Conference Hall delegates will have Internet access via a cyber-centre -- the CC:INFO Centre -- where they can access news coverage on the Conference from around the world.
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