The future of food safety

International Food Safety Conference

The First FAO/WHO/AU International Food Safety Conference

12-13 February 2019

Logistics note to participants

I. Venue

The Conference will be held in the Mandela Hall of the African Union (AU) Conference Center at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The AU Conference Center, which was inaugurated in 2012, provides modern, environment-friendly conference facilities. Situated in the heart of Addis Ababa, it is easy to access and in proximity of the city landmarks.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s sprawling capital in the highlands bordering the Great Rift Valley, is the country’s commercial and cultural hub.

african-union-conference-centre-addis-ababa-ethiopia

II. Address of the venue

African Union Headquarters | Roosevelt Street (Old Airport Area) | W21K19 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Tel: (251) 11 551 77 00 | Fax: (251) 11 551 78 44

III. Working languages

Simultaneous interpretation and Conference materials will be provided in the UN and AU official languages.

IV. Conference materials

Conference materials will be made available on the dedicated website of the conference (http://www.who.int/food-safety/international-food-safety-conference). Participants are encouraged to use personal lap-tops/tablets during the Conference as the Conference will be generally paperless. Only the meeting programme and selected documents will be provided in hard copies.

V. Registration

Access on the AU territory and to the AU Conference Center will be allowed only for registered participants. Participants should register on-line before 29 January 2019, following the individual link provided by organizers. On-line registration will close on 29 January. Registered participants will receive at the gate of AU Headquarters two badges, namely a security badge for access to the AU compound and a Conference badge to enter the meeting venue.

To receive a personal registration link, please write to food-quality@fao.org

VI. Travel and hotel accommodation

Informal booking for non-sponsored participants has been made in two hotels:

The Hilton has blocked rooms for Conference participants from 11-13 February (US$160/night). Reservations can be made directly online by clicking here.
The Nexus Hotel has agreed to block rooms. To ensure AU-negotiated rates (US$68/night), reservations can be made by directly emailing Marketing.director@nexusaddis.com

VII. Ground transportation

All confirmed participants will be picked up from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and dropped off at their respective hotel, one of the recommended hotels.

Please do let us know at the earliest should you change your travel plans.

VIII. Catering services

Buffet lunch, coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided on both days of the Conference. A Conference welcoming cocktail will be organized at the venue on 12 February 2019.

IX. Medical assistance

The African Union Clinic will provide medical assistance to participants of the meeting. Participants will be required to bring their conference badge when they go to the Clinic. Any bill incurred outside the AU will be borne by the participant.

X. Visa information

For the participants in this Conference, arrangements are made for visa issue upon the arrival at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. AU will prepare a Note Verbale endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia with names of participants who choose to get a visa at the airport.

Note: Participants who will receive their visa upon arrival at the airport are requested to have with them the printed Note Verbale and invitation letter.

Participants who need a visa for Ethiopia shall write soonest possible to foodsafety@africa-union.org with a copy to food-quality@fao.org and foodsafety@who.int so that the Note Verbale and invitation letter are provided in time before travel.

In addition, visa for entering Ethiopia for can be obtained in either of the following options for which the applicants shall consider that no support can be provided for by co-organizers:
- On-line: For related information, please visit: https://www.evisa.gov.et
  Note: For e-visa application the Note Verbale is different from the Note Verbale to support visa issue at the airport. Please contact foodsafety@africa-union.org for support.
- At the Consulates of Ethiopia in participants’ countries.

XI. Weather

Addis Ababa has two primary seasons: a dry season from November to February, and for the rest of the year, a rainy season, divided into “small rains” and “big rains". In February, the day times are expected to become relatively hot with average temperatures of around 22°C highest and 8°C lowest.

XII. Currency

The local currency is Ethiopian Birr (ETB) and is used for transactions across the country. The US Dollar, Euro and British Pound are the most easily convertible foreign currencies, and 1 US$ ≈ Birr 28.0617 (official rate https://www.nbe.gov.et/market/banksexchange.html as of 10^th January 2019, actual rates may vary). Money can be changed from US Dollar, Euro and British Pound to ETB at the airport, in banks, as well as in hotels where there is a foreign exchange bureau.

Hotels in Addis Ababa will accept ETB, and most of them will accept Visa, MasterCard and cash US dollars payments. Please note that upon your departure, you should exchange back all your Birr to foreign currency. To do so, you should retain the receipt that is provided to you while changing foreign currency into Birr.

XIII. Electricity

The electrical power supply is 220-240 volts/50 Hz. Electrical outlets/plugs are of the two round-pronged types (the most common type is depicted in the picture below although there could be some variations) or you will need an adaptor.

two-round-pronged-electrical-outlet