Informal Meeting of NATO Defence Ministers

1. Information

Defence Ministers will hold informal meetings in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday 04 and Friday 05 February 2010, under the chairmanship of the NATO Secretary General, Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The Minister of Defence of Turkey, His Excellency Mr Mehmet Vecdi Gönül will host the meetings.

Public Diplomacy events will be held on the margins of the ministerial meetings, including the Science for Peace and Security Information Day at the Istanbul Technical University. A press conference with the Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy and the Rector of Istanbul Technical University will be held to launch this event at 11h15 on 4 February 2010.

2. Programme and pools

The detailed programme will be given to media representatives when they collect their accreditation. It will entail restricted access by selected visual media to the opening of Council meetings and the official portrait, the unrestricted access to press conferences and the retransmission of media events to the press working area and TV/Radio editing booths. Information about individual ministerial media programmes should be sought directly from the national Delegation(s) concerned. A list of NATO Delegation press officers is available from the information desk and upon accreditation.

All duly accredited media representatives are invited to a Media reception that will take place on 4th February in the evening.

Press conferences are in principle media events open to all accredited media. The initial remarks of the various NATO meetings will be broadcast live on the internal closed-circuit television system and can be viewed in the press working area. Audiovisual media representatives who wish to cover the initial remarks from inside the Council room may make a written request for a pool card to the e-mail address given at the end of this advisory. No confirmation will be sent. Pool cards for restricted-access events will be given to a small number of cameramen and photographers drawn from among those who submit an accreditation request on time; these will be distributed at the Media Centre information counter starting at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, 4 February 2010.

When a media representative accepts a NATO pool position it is with the strict understanding, in accordance with international practice, that the act of accepting the accreditation to be in a NATO pool implies explicit and unconditional agreement by that media representative that he/she will share immediately and upon request with other media accredited to the NATO event all information collected, and/or all material produced, while in that pool. It also implies explicit agreement that the media representative will share the material with no impediment from their own news organization, at no charge to other journalists and with no restriction on the use of the material for legitimate news purposes.

Media representatives can only accept the pool accreditation if they have the explicit backing of their employer to all of the conditions on providing pool material as the basis of accepting the pool position.

Photographers seeking pool photo materials should first contact the Wire service photo agency of which they are a member or client. Media representatives and the news organizations that employ them who accept any material from a pool accept it with the explicit and strict understanding that it must be identified as pool material any time it is used, that it can be used only for legitimate news purposes and that the receiving party has no right to sell pool material or otherwise profit from it.

The NATO photographers and cameramen will post the audiovisual sequences of all the media events on the NATO website; the sequences can also be obtained from the TV & Radio Unit (see the contact details below) and/or the NATO Internet Television Channel.

3. Venue

The Istanbul Congress Centre (Harbiye 34267 Istanbul) is the venue for the ministerial meetings. The Media Centre will be located in floor B2 and B3 of the ICC. The Media Accreditation Office will be located in Floor B2 of the ICC.

4. Accreditation and security checks

Media representatives wishing to cover the ministerial meetings need to request accreditation. Applications for accreditation can only be made electronically on-line via internet by clicking on the following link: https://my.hq.nato.int/

The accreditation process requires interested media representatives to create a user name and password and to provide a digital picture (3.5 x 4.5 cm passport-size photograph in JPEG format). Applications for accreditation should be made no later than noon (Brussels time) on 01 February 2010. Applications received after that date may encounter delay or be rejected. Media representatives having completed the request for accreditation on the internet must bring a print-out of the request confirmation.

Media representatives who already have an account in the system are requested to follow a few short steps, due to the modernisation of the accreditation platform. Please click on the link above (https://my.hq.nato.int/). On the right side on the web page, click on the link ‘’forgot password’’ (1) and enter your e-mail address which appears in your registered profile (2) (a access code will be sent to it). After that, click on ‘’forgot password’’ button (3) and check your email. Please return to the Welcome page (https://my.hq.nato.int/) and click on registered user (second bullet). You will be invited to enter your email address and the access code sent to you. You can change this password/access code after your first login.

If you encounter any connection problem, you can contact us directly by email (mailto:press-at-istanbul@hq.nato.int).

Access to the Media Centre requires a media pass issued at the Accreditation Office. Media passes will not be mailed to applicants and must be picked up in person at the Media Accreditation Office upon presentation of a valid I.D. card or passport and a valid press card (or letter of accreditation from a recognized media organization).

Passes must be worn visibly at all times and secondary identification may always be asked for by security personnel. Media representatives are informed that security personnel will examine and may test equipment and personal effects carried onto the site, and they are advised to arrive with sufficient lead time to clear security checks.

Television and radio broadcasters, wire services and photo agencies bringing bulky equipment are particularly urged to bring it into the Media Centre on Wednesday, 3rd February 2010.

5. Hours of operation

These opening hours are subject to change as the official programme is finalised and any amendments will be notified via the NATO website, www.nato.int.

6. Broadcasting

The host nation is setting up twelve television and eight radio editing booths located in the Media Centre. A TV studio equiped for live transmissions, a radio interview room as well as 2 outdoor stand-up positions will also be made available.

Satellite uplink trucks and O.B. vans will be parked nearby. The Host Broadcaster, TRT, will provide live coverage of arrivals of delegations, the public sessions of all meetings, and major international news conferences. TRT will provide the signal and technical assistance. For enquiries or to book a TV studio or TV editing booth, please contact:

Deniz GÜCÜYENER, or Işıl KOÇ, or Burak DUYSAK
International Broadcasting Department
Telephone: +(90) 312 463 46 57
Mobile : +(90) 532 37539 88
Directorate General of Turkish Radio Television

The Radio Broadcaster, TRT, will provide and manage the radio studio. For enquiries or to book the radio studio and radio editing booths, please contact the persons detailed above.

7. Communications

Laptop computers will need to be equipped with RJ 45 plugs in order to be able to connect to the LAN high-speed communication network in the Media Centre. In addition, ISDN lines will be available for radio transmissions, both in the media working area and in several radio editing booths.

Please check if you need to use a Euro ISDN standard adaptor. Electricity supply in Turkey is at 230 volts and plugs have three round pins.

8. Accomodation

Istanbul is a large city with numerous hotels of varying quality and standing on offer in the immediate vicinity of the Istanbul Congress Centre. Media representatives are invited to make their own hotel arrangements and access to the Media centre will be possible via taxi and public transport..

The host nation authorities have identified :

Euro Plaza (****)
Tarlabaşı Bulv. No. 3 Taksim-Tepebaşı, 0212 254 59 00 info@europlazahotel.com

Feronya Hotel (****)
Abdulhamit Cad. No. 70 Taksim, 0212 238 09 01 feronya@feronya.com

Green Park (****)
Abdülhak Hamit Cad. No. 50 Taksim 0212 238 05 05
taksim@thegreenpark.com

Lamartin Hotel (****)
Lamartin Cad. No. 25 Taksim 0212 254 62 70 info@lamartinehotel.com

Point Otel (****)
Topçu Cad. No. 2 Taksim 0212 313 50 00 info@pointhotel.com

Taksim Square Hotel (****)
Sıraselviler Cad. No. 15 Taksim 0212 292 64 40 info@taksimsquarehotel.com

Riva Hotel (****)
Aydede Cad. No. 8 Taksim 0212 256 44 20 riva@rivahotel.com.tr

Many other hotels are also available.

9. Transport

Media representatives are invited to make their own way to their hotel and to the media centre.

10. Enquiries

Istanbul Technical University
Professor H. Gonca COSKUN (Mrs)
Email: gonca@itu.edu.tr

Tel: +32 (0)2 707 50 41, Fax: +32 (0)2 707 50 57
press@hq.nato.int - http://www.nato.int/home.htm