2008 Shangri-La Dialogue Press Policy
30 May – 1 June 2008
Welcome to the 7th IISS Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue. Since its inaugural meeting in 2002, the Dialogue has become a recognised part of the infrastructure of Asian defence diplomacy and is seen as the region's premier security institution. The 2008 Shangri-La Dialogue will be attended by 27 nations led by defence ministers and other senior officials, featuring many on and off-the-record debates.
The goal of the IISS is to ensure that the Shangri-La Dialogue will continue to serve as the best available vehicle in the Asia-Pacific for developing and channelling astute and effective public policy on defence and security. We are grateful to the media for helping to disseminate the proceedings of the Dialogue and inform the wider international community.
Please find below our guidelines for coverage of the Dialogue, together with instructions regarding registration and other logistical requirements. You should be aware that due to the need for security screening by the Singapore authorities, it will be impossible to register after 9 May. This is beyond our control and we regret that there are no exceptions.
Media Representatives by Invitation
The limited capacity and strict policing and security requirements for the Shangri-La Dialogue mean that the IISS is only able to grant a small group of individually-invited media representatives access to the secured area for the plenary sessions and the opening address.
Registration
Participants must register online and may do so from 24 April 2008 until the deadline of 9 May 2008. Those wishing to participate should emaildialoguepress@iiss.organd registration details will be sent to them as from 24 April. Through this registration we capture the information required to produce the security ID badges, without which access will be denied by the police security teams.
Venue: Shangri-La Hotel, 22 Orange Grove Road, Singapore 258350
Tel: +65 6737 3644; Fax: +65 6737 3257
The Secured Area
All open official Shangri-La Dialogue proceedings will take place within the secured area. The press room and lobby area of the hotel are located outside the secured area. Those allowed access to the secured area will require advanced screening and an IISS-issued ID badge, to be processed no later than 9 May.
Press Briefing and Opening Press Conference
There will be a press briefing on 30 May, tentatively scheduled for 1830, location to be announced. You are strongly advised to attend this meeting as we will go over all of the media arrangements, and it provides an opportunity to answer any questions you might have. Immediately after this briefing there will be an opening press conference with IISS Senior Fellows and other regional experts.
Keynote Address and Plenary Sessions
All media representatives whose accreditation allows access to the Keynote Address will be escorted into and out of the Island Ballroom before the opening address and after the Q&A. Unfortunately owing to capacity limitations the IISS is unable to invite the media to attend the opening dinner itself. Exact procedures for the plenary sessions will be announced at the briefing on 30 May.
Once again, because of space considerations, if your agency registers multiple people, we may ask you to nominate only one journalist (this excludes photographers and cameramen) to be in the ballroom at any one time. For the Keynote Address, for reasons of protocol, media representatives admitted to the ballroom must stay for the duration. However, for the plenary sessions, different members of the same agency may rotate in and out. The IISS will reserve a dedicated area for media representatives in the ballroom and will provide the necessary interpretation equipment.
Break-Out Groups
Break-out groups are strictly off the record. Access is limited to delegates only.
Restricted Areas
Journalist and media may not enter, photograph or film during the delegate reception on Friday night. Similarly, journalist and media may not enter, photograph or film during the delegate lunches on Saturday and Sunday. Media are highly encouraged to restrict their activities to the secured area and press room, as there are heavy security concerns with the Garden and Valley wing, as well as the private rooms.
Press conferences and Other Media Events
Details of official press conferences and other media events will be posted in the press room as the information becomes available from the government delegations. We will also e-mail out press conference announcements.
Press Room and Press Facilities
Given the strict security and capacity restrictions in place for the Shangri-La Dialogue, the IISS will establish a press room in order to provide journalists with as much information as possible. The press room will have light refreshments for journalists during the security summit, with lunch provided on Saturday and Sunday.
A real-time video link will show the Keynote Address on the evening of Friday 30 May and the plenary and Q&A sessions on the mornings of Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June. Transcripts (as prepared and/or as delivered) will be sent to the press room as they are released by the government delegations. However, we cannot guarantee any window of time or even the release of the speech. If ‘as delivered’ is going to be a time-sensitive matter for you or you require one of our translated languages, we encourage the use of tape recorders that can be plugged into the media equipment in the press room or the mult-box in the Ballroom.
There will be broadband connections for laptop computers in the press room, which will be located in the White and Pink Peony Rooms of the Shangri-La Hotel. During busy times, individuals will be limited to only 30 minutes on the broadband connections. There will be no desktop computers and journalists must provide their own laptop.
The location of these rooms can be seen at the following link:
http://www.shangri-la.com/uploadedFiles/property/Singapore/sls_floorplan.pdf.
Interviews
There will be ample opportunity to request interviews during the coffee breaks, through the Press Officer, and between formal proceedings. The IISS Press Officer will facilitate media arrangements and will direct requests to the delegates in an official capacity in order to schedule interviews and photo opportunities. Interviewees are instructed to contact the journalist directly if accepting to establish a time and date. Should you need assistance with a location, the Press Officer will attempt to find a room if any is available. Similarly, the Press Officer will convey media requests from delegations to the media representatives. If requested, the IISS may release your name and contact details to Delegates for the purposes of requesting an audience with your agency. Your agency is under no obligation to accept.
In the Press Room, there will be an ‘Interview Request Form’ for all Delegate interview requests. Once completed, the Press Officer will submit batches of these at different time intervals to government delegations with the request that they contact the media individuals direct.
Journalists who manage to obtain interviews with summit participants are free to report statements provided, of course, that they have the full understanding and agreement of the interviewee.
TV Crews
There is limited space on a platform at the rear of the ballroom for coverage of the opening address and the plenary sessions. Space on these platforms must be booked in advance by contacting the IISS ondialoguepress@iiss.org, stating clearly which sessions you wish to cover. Again, we will make every effort to accommodate your needs. If your agency is not granted a place on the TV platform, your agency may take the IISS live feed from the press room. For the opening address on 1 June, TV crews must let the IISS know in advance who will need access beforehand in order to set up their equipment, and how long they calculate that will take.
Tripods
For safety reasons no tripods will be allowed outside of the designated camera area at the back of the ballroom. Space permitting, tripods may be set up on the raised platform at the rear of the ballroom, but any photographer wishing to set up a tripod must apply to do so via the e-mail address given above. As space is extremely tight, cameras are not permitted to film from the sides or move around during proceedings. Should you need multiple camera angles, we encourage you to use our video footage which you are free to take and edit.
Photographers and Photojournalists
During the proceedings photographers must keep to the rear of the ballroom and other designated areas. However, we will endeavour to provide brief photo opportunities for the opening address and at the beginning of each plenary. We would be grateful if photographers would return to the rear of the ballroom when requested to do so by a member of the IISS staff. In addition, details of official photo opportunities will be posted in the press room as the information becomes available.
In order not to discriminate against agencies that are not permitted to enter the secured area, the IISS requests that photographers who are part of the select group pool share their images. A photo pool will be operating between the wire agencies.
Rights and Intellectual Property
Coverage of the Shangri-La Dialogue by the media must be carried out with the understanding that the IISS will be afforded the right to reproduce articles submitted as a result of attendance at the Dialogue both in its publications and on its website, and will also have the right to use images taken at the event, in generally but not exclusively the same formats free of charge.
As a consequence, the IISS would be grateful if photographers would submit copies of their images to enable the Institute to quickly assess imagery. We would also be grateful if broadcast agencies would submit copies of the aired footage. Photographers and broadcast agencies can be assured that the Institute will treat such imagery and coverage with due care and will only use it for Institute purposes.
Photographers and broadcast media are permitted to use our images, which will be placed on the IISS website at various times during the Dialogue. Broadcast media are permitted to take and use our live feed.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 30 May 2008.
