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Logistics Memo No. 3: 16 November 2004

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Following is some final information to help you finish your travel preparations and set your mind at ease when you arrive. We recommend that you print this memo out and carry it with you to Nairobi. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact nairobisummit@icbl.org.

Contents:

  1. Packing List
  2. Visas
  3. Airport Transportation
  4. Transportation within Nairobi
  5. Hotels
  6. Participant Kits and Passes
  7. Communications
  8. Opening Activities
  9. Security
  10. Exhibition Update - your t-shirts needed!
  11. Share Food and Drink from your Country
  12. Contacts
  13. Additional Information

1. Packing List

Please ensure to bring the following with you to Nairobi:

  • Passport, tickets, photocopies of all travel documents
  • ICBL invitation letter and Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa waiver letter
  • Campaign brochures, documents and other resources
  • Business attire for official Summit meetings and casual attire for other meetings
  • Sweater or jacket for cool Nairobi evenings
  • Electrical adaptors (UK plug)
  • Mosquito repellent
  • Umbrella
  • Shoes with good treads (rainy season, muddy roads)
  • Any medications you may need
  • Swimming suit to use at the hotel pool
  • Food or drink from your country
  • Landmine-themed t-shirts for the ICBL exhibition
  • Leave valuables you are afraid of losing at home!

2. Visas

  • If there is a Kenyan Embassy in your country we hope you have already applied for your Kenyan visa.
  • If you have not yet received a visa, please remember to bring your ICBL invitation letter and visa waiver letter with you. You will receive your free Kenyan visa upon arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
  • Once you get off the plane in Nairobi you will be directed to immigration. Once in the immigration area, fill out the visa application form. Stand in line and present the application along with your supporting documents from the ICBL to the immigration officer. You will be granted a free/ gratis visa.
  • If you have any challenges getting through immigration at the airport in Nairobi please contact the Kenyan Government's Host Country Organizing Committee Secretariat at 020-344-090. You may also contact Jackie Hansen at 0735-506-528 for assistance.
    Once you receive your visa you will enter the baggage claim area. After claiming your bags you may change money into Kenyan shillings (KSH) at the currency exchange in the baggage claim area.

3. Airport Transportation

Campaigner transportation to and within Nairobi will be provided by both the ICBL and the Government of Kenya. Following is information about transportation from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to hotels. Please contact nairobisummit@icbl.org or tel. 0733-462015 if you have any questions.

The ICBL will only arrange airport transportation for participants with hotel bookings made by the ICBL. Other participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation.

22-25 November

  • Participants must provide the ICBL with their exact arrival date, time, airline and flight number to ensure local transportation is waiting for them at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Participants arriving before 22 November must arrange their own transportation.
  • When you pass through the arrivals section of the airport just outside of the baggage claim area, a driver will be holding a sign that says "ICBL" and has your name and flight details on it.
  • The driver will take you directly to your hotel. Do not pay the driver.
  • The ICBL is invoiced directly for all airport transfers.
  • Non-sponsored guests must reimburse the ICBL 1000 KSH for their transportation (one way). Payment may be made in Kenyan shillings (KSH), cash, at the ICBL orientation meeting on 27 November.

26-29 November

  • The Government of Kenya will provide shuttle service from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Panafric Hotel and Norfolk Hotel.
  • Participants do not need to pay for this service.
  • A welcome table with a big Nairobi Summit banner will be located in the baggage claim area of the airport. Go to this booth and let the people staffing the table know that you are a Nairobi Summit participant. They will direct you to the airport transportation waiting outside. Participants will be dropped off at either the Panafric Hotel or Norfolk Hotel. Participants staying at other hotels can make their way to their accommodation from either one of these hotels. The ACK Guesthouse and Fairview Hotel are a two minute walk from the Panafric Hotel.

Alternate Transportation

If airport transportation is not waiting for you upon arrival at the airport, please take a taxi to your hotel. Taxi services have booths in the arrivals section of the airport, just outside the baggage claim area. A taxi from the airport to your hotel should cost no more than 1,200 KSH ($15 US).

Note for sponsored participants: The ICBL will not reimburse taxi costs if you had not provided us with your arrival details in advance. You may only be reimbursed for this cost if you arranged shuttle transportation and it did not arrive and you have a receipt for the taxi fee.

Taxis may also be hired at the airport by phoning Virgin Tours Limited at 0734-520-855 or 020-273-4225.

4. Transportation within Nairobi

  • The Government of Kenya will provide shuttle transportation to Nairobi Summit events.
  • Opening Ceremony- Shuttles will take participants from the Panafric and Norfolk Hotels to the opening ceremony venue and back to the hotels afterwards on 28 November.
  • UNON- Shuttles will leave the Panafric and Norfolk Hotels daily from 29 November - 3 December at 8am. Participants who miss the shuttle are responsible for finding their own transportation. At the end of the day, transportation will be provided back to hotels and/ or side events.
  • Evening activities- Transportation will be provided from evening receptions and other events back to all hotels.
  • The Government of Kenya will provide a schedule of shuttle service times and locations. ICBL members are responsible for their own transportation in Nairobi outside of this service.

5. Hotels

The ICBL has made block bookings at the Panafric Hotel, Fairview Hotel, Anglican (ACK) Guesthouse and Norfolk Hotel. Most ICBL participants will be staying at these locations. If you have any questions or queries about your ICBL-booked accommodation please contact Taryn Burul at 0733-462-015.

6. Participant Kits and Passes

Guests with ICBL hotel bookings will have participant kits waiting for them at the hotel reception Other campaigners can pick up their participant kit at the ICBL orientation meeting on 27 November.

The ICBL will have a UN security pass for each participant. They will be distributed at the ICBL orientation meeting on 27 November. If you are not able to participate in the orientation meeting you may contact Jackie Hansen to receive your pass on 27 or 28 November. Starting on 29 November at 8:00, remaining ICBL passes will be handed back over to UN security and participants may pick them up at the front gate of the UN building

7. Communications

Phones

  • If you need to rent a mobile phone or to purchase a SIM card please contact Taryn Burul at nairobisummit@icbl.org by Friday, 19 November.
  • To dial a landline in Nairobi from a mobile phone, dial 020 followed by the phone number. For example, to call the ICBL office at Handicap International, dial 020-576-073. It is much more expensive to dial a landline from a mobile phone than it is to phone from another landline.
  • To dial a landline from another landline, just dial the number. For example, to call the ICBL office, dial 576-073.
  • To place an international call, dial 0011, followed by the country code, city/ area code and telephone number. International calls are very expensive so try to use an international pre-paid calling card.
  • It is actually less expensive to phone internationally from your mobile phone using a prepaid calling card than it is to call from a hotel phone.
  • The least expensive way to place international calls is to use Telkom international calling cards (green cards).
  • These cards are sold at any post office and numerous shops throughout Nairobi and are available in denominations of KSH 200, 500, 1000 and 2000. They may be used with hotel, public and mobile phones. International rates depend on the country call but average around 141 KSH per minute (US $1.76).
  • To dial through the international operator using a landmine, dial '0195' or '0196'. If you choose to make international calls from your mobile, the costs will average around 194 KSH per minute (US $2.45).

Internet

  • Internet access is available in the business centers of all hotels. Dial-up access is available from some rooms at the Panafric Hotel and Fairview Hotel.
  • The UN has a cyber cafĂ© with 20 computers that are open to Nairobi Summit participants.

8. Opening Activities

The schedule of events during and surrounding the Nairobi Summit is very full. Raising the Voices training begins on 22 November. The International Youth Symposium begins on 24 November. The ICBL Non-State Actors Working Group workshop will be held on 26 November at the Panafric Hotel. Put on your running shoes on 27 November to participate in KCAL's Road Race for a Mine Free World. An inter-faith prayer service, Survivors Summit, documentary screening, Nairobi Summit opening ceremony and more will be held on 28 November.

The ICBL orientation meeting will be held on Saturday, 27 November from 15:00-17:00 in the Simba Room of the Panafric Hotel. We encourage all ICBL campaigners to participate in this meeting. We will provide an overview of substantive and logistical preparations for the Nairobi Summit, go over the program of events and activities, strategize our advocacy actions and much more. UN security passes will be distributed at this event.

More information on events and activities and a schedule of events will be available in your participant kit upon arrival in Nairobi. The draft schedule of events is online at www.icbl.org/nairobisummit/logistics/schedule

9. Security

Nairobi has the unpleasant nickname "Nairobbery" for a reason! Take care to keep you and your valuables safe.

Things to do:

  • Do not carry large sums of cash.
  • Carry a photocopy of your passport with you at all times and leave your passport and documents in the hotel safe.
  • Leave valuables in the hotel safe.
  • Travel in groups at all times.
  • Be alert and attentive to your surroundings at all times.
  • Carry a list of emergency contacts with you.

Things to avoid:

  • Do not walk alone.
  • Do not hail taxis on the street. Hail them at hotels or by phoning reputable companies.
  • Stay out of Uhuru Park (close to hotels) after dark.
  • Only withdraw money from ATMs during daylight hours at locations inside banks. Do not withdraw money for ATMs on the street.
  • Avoid wearing jewellery, expensive watches or displaying any signs of wealth.
  • Keep your camera out of sight in public places.
  • Do not walk around Nairobi at night, even if with other people.

10. Exhibition Update - your t-shirts needed!

The ICBL has organized a multimedia exhibition at the UN. It will included photos, videos, working group displays and advocacy actions and much more. The exhibition is designed to provide a glimpse into the campaign to ban landmines through the eye of campaigners. Click here For more information.

As part of the exhibition the ICBL is constructing a clothes line full of landmines-themed t-shirts! We are looking for your t-shirts to add to this component of the exhibition. Bring your landmines t-shirts and give them to Loren Persi on 27 November at the ICBL orientation meeting. Make sure to write your name on the inside tag of the t-shirt if you would like it returned to you. We will display your t-shirts throughout the week and return them to you on Friday, 3 December.

11. Share Food and Drink from your Country

Please bring food or drink from your country to share with your fellow campaigners. We will have tables available at the ICBL closing celebration on 4 December to share the wonderful treats you bring from home. Please remember not to bring any items that will violate customs regulations. Campaigners who have been to previous ICBL meetings can attest that this sharing of delicacies from home is one of the high points of meeting participation and a great chance to relax and get to know more about the cultures and customs of your colleagues.

12. Contacts

24 hour emergency contact (Taryn Burul), Tel. 0733-462-015
Liz Bernstein- 0735-506-532
Jackie Hansen- 0735-506-528
Loren Persi- 0735-506-534
Sue Wixley (Media)- 0735-337-396
Raising the Voices- 0733-707-785
International Youth Symposium- 0735-506-529
Virgin Taxi- 0734-520-855
Ambulance/ Police/ Fire, Tel. 999
Aga Khan Hospital, Tel. 374-0000
Nairobi Hospital, Tel. 272-2160

Panafric Hotel- 272-0822/ 271-4444
Fairview Hotel- 271-1321/ 271-0090
ACK Guesthouse- 272-3200 / 4780 / 8576
Norfolk Hotel- 250-900

13. Additional Information

Additional information to help you prepare for your trip to Nairobi is available online.