WTIS-18 - Practical information

​​VENUE

The 16th World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS-18) will be held from 10 to 12 December 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland, at the following address:

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland

WTIS-18 is organized by the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

REGISTRATION

Registration for WTIS-18 will be carried out exclusively online. To register, please complete the WTIS-18 online registration form. Registered participants will receive a confirmation of registration letter by e-mail from ITU.

Participants are required to present their confirmation of registration letter to the Registration Desk at the Montbrillant entrance of the ITU, together with an official identity document bearing a photograph (e.g. passport or driving licence) in order to obtain their event badge. This badge must be worn at all times when entering or when inside the ITU premises.

Citizens of a number of countries are required to obtain a visa in order to enter Switzerland. The visa must be requested and obtained from the office (embassy or consulate) representing Switzerland in your country or, if there is no such office in your country, from the one that is closest to the country of departure.

IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM THE SWISS MISSION CONCERNING THE OBTENTION OF VISAS!

Switzerland has implemented necessary measures to facilitate the issuance of visas for official delegates invited to take part in conferences and international meetings with organizations having concluded a headquarters agreement as well as other persons invited in the framework of good offices.

The time needed for a visa request to be processed may vary from case to case and could also depend on local circumstances. It is therefore strongly recommended to take the necessary steps well in advance so visas can be issued as required. In general, exceptions excluded, visa requests can be lodged at the earliest three months before the departure date and at the latest twenty one days before the departure date . All visa applicants should submit completed and signed application forms as well as all other necessary documents. Applications which are not complete will be delayed and not registered until complete.

Further information is available at: Swiss Confederation - Federal Office for Migration

Visa support

Participants may, if they encounter problems, request visa support . In such cases, the following information is required and should be submitted via e-mail to BDTMeetingsRegistration@itu.int

- a scanned copy of an official letter (with your organization's letter head), addressed to BDT Director , duly stamped and signed by the highest authority in your organization and nominating you to participate in the 16th ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium, Geneva, Switzerland, 10 - 12 December 2018; and

- a passport copy containing:

• Name as shown on passport.
• Date and place of birth.
• Passport number.
• Passport issuance and expiry dates.
• Country of issuance of passport.

Coming to ITU

The ITU premises have three buildings: The Tower Building, the Varembé Building and the Montbrillant Building. The Tower and Varembé Building access points have been equipped with electronically monitored security airlock systems (SASs). Each SAS is activated by access control technology that requires individual identification prior to entering or exiting the premises. Because of these recent changes:

• Delegates shall ENTER the premises via the Montbrillant Building access point ONLY . However, they can EXIT the premises at any of the three access points (Tower, Varembé, and Montbrillant).
• Long-term delegates, who hold accreditation for a one-year validity or more, have been issued (or can be issued) the new biometric smartcard, which allows them to ENTER or EXIT at the Tower, Varembé and Montbrillant access points. For the time being, those with these smartcards still have to collect their event badge at the Registration Desk in Montbrillant. Details on how to access the ITU buildings can be found at the following link: ITU Circulation Plan

Delegates attending ITU conferences and meetings may benefit from special rates in a number of hotels in Geneva. The following procedure should be followed in order to simplify the reservation of hotel rooms on the special terms extended.

• Delegates must reserve their room directly at one of the hotels on this list AND NOT through any intermediary such as a travel agency or airline.
• They must confirm the booking by mailing or faxing this generic confirmation form , which must include their credit card number by way of guarantee.
• When checking in, delegates may be required to provide evidence that they are attending an ITU meeting (and should in this case show their "Confirmation of Registration" letter).

Note: ITU has established this procedure to facilitate, but not to deal with, reservations.