IWC8 Logistical Information

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VENUES

The portfolio conference will take place 9-13 May 2016 at the Jetwing Blue Hotel in in the city of Negombo, Sri Lanka. The high-level segment will take place 13 May 2016 at the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The international roundtable will follow IWC8, as a separate event, on 14-15 May 2016, also at the Jetwing Blue Hotel.

ACCOMMODATION

Ethukale, Negombo, Sri Lanka

Telephone: +94 112345720

Fax: +94 112345729

Email: resv.blue@jetwinghotels.com

Jetwing Blue Hotel booking link: http://reservations.jetwinghotels.com//index/promo/code/IWC8/pr/2

Promo Code: IWC8

This promotion is valid until 15 April 2016. There are limited rooms available. Please book your lodging early.

Jetwing is also offering the promo rate at one of its nearby properties, the Jetwing Beach Hotel. This hotel is a short walk to the Jetwing Blue Hotel conference venue. Jetwing Beach Hotel booking link: http://reservations.jetwinghotels.com//index/promo/code/IWC8/pr/1

Promo Code: IWC8

The IWC8 special rate for a deluxe room at these two properties is US$150 (single occupancy) and US$170 (double occupancy) per night (inclusive of taxes). Breakfast and Wi-Fi are also included. Deluxe rooms include air conditioning, an electronic safe, a private balcony or terrace, a television, a tea/coffee making facility, an ironing board, and a hair dryer. Participants will receive a full refund (less bank charges) for a room cancellation at least eight days before check in. No refund is available for cancellations within seven days of check in. Check in is at 2:00 pm.

When booking through the Jetwing website, please be aware that full payment is required in advance. To pay on arrival (subject to cancelation fee) please fill out this form and email it to ashan@jetwinghotels.com/ resv.blue@jetwinghotels.com /and resv.beach@jetwinghotels.com. This booking form must be completed for each room booked.

Download Here > Pay on Arrival Booking Form

For participants wishing to make alternative accommodation arrangements, the IWC8 Organizing Committee has been advised that the following hotels are in close proximity to the Jetwing Blue Hotel:

Heritance Hotel: www.heritancehotels.com/negombo/

The Hotel J: www.hotelj.lk/negombo/

Jetwing Lagoon Hotel: www.jetwinghotels.com/jetwinglagoon/

Family-run guesthouses and several other hotel options are available throughout Negombo.

A special United Nations Daily Subsistence Allowance rate of US$174 has been set by UNDP for the duration of the IWC8 and adjoining international roundtable. If you need a copy of the official memorandum please contact the IWC8 Secretariat at iwc2016@iwlearn.org.

All IWC8 participants require a Business Purpose ETA visa (individual) at a cost of US$40. Participants are responsible for this payment. UN Laissez-Passer holders also require a visa. An expedited process is available online at the Sri Lanka Electronic Travel Authorization website, http://www.eta.gov.lk. Follow the online application process and pay with a credit card or debit card. You will be prompted to enter the national company's address. Please use:

UN Compound 202-204

Buddhaloka Mawatha

Colombo 7

Tel: +94-112-580691

This application process takes about 10 minutes. Once approved, print out the visa confirmation and bring the document to the Sri Lankan port of entry.

Participants can also obtain a Business Purpose ETA visa (and pay the associated fee) at Sri Lankan embassies abroad or at Bandaranaike International Airport. Participants may be prompted to show at the port of entry: (1) a round-trip ticket and (2) evidence of sufficient funds to cover expenses in Sri Lanka.

UN Laissez-Passer holders also require a visa (no fee required).

Nationals of Singapore, Maldives and Seychelles and children under 12 are exempt from the ETA visa process. Nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Egypt, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria and Sierra Leone face additional restrictions for travel to Sri Lanka. The IWC8 Secretariat will assist nationals from these countries with the visa procurement process.

Please ensure you attach your passport page in the IWC8 registration portal. This will help streamline the visa process at the airport.

Participants are advised to ensure they have adequate travel health insurance. Jetwing Blue Hotel maintains an on-call doctor. Per the Sri Lanka Tourism website, no inoculations are compulsory unless the participant is coming from a yellow fever or cholera area. The following vaccinations are recommended particularly if participants plan to extend their trips and visit remote areas of the country: typhoid (monovalent), polio, tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and rabies.

Trishaws/Tuktuks: ideal for short journeys within towns and cities, and for short excursions. Most trishaws are not metered. Always agree on a fare beforehand. Most drivers charge about Rs.50 per km. (Please hire at your own risk).

Taxis: Look for cars with yellow tops and red and white license plates. Taxis are metered, but it is advisable to agree on a rate before setting off. Drivers expect a 10% tip.

Rail: Trains connect most major towns.

Sri Lanka has left-hand traffic.

A country distance calculator is available at: http://distancecalculator.globefeed.com/sri_lanka_distance_calculator.asp

MEALS AND DINING

IWC8 will host two dinners (Monday welcome reception and Friday gala event) and four lunches (Tuesday to Friday, including lunch on the technical site visit day). Lunch will be provided for the international roundtable participants on both days. Coffee and tea will be served during breaks.

Participants staying at the Jetwing Blue Hotel or the Jetwing Beach Hotel will receive breakfast as part of the hotel rate, which will include an international menu, as well as Sri Lankan traditional breakfast items. Breakfast will be served in the main restaurants of each hotel.

Tap water is not safe to drink, and boiling and filtering is sometimes done too hastily in some hotels and restaurants. The best solution is to drink bottled water. The Jetwing Hotel has an environmental policy in place (Jetwing Eternal Earth Programme). The IWC8 Secretariat will work with the hotel to ensure water consumption (as well as the overall conference operation) is done in a sustainable way.

Dining options in and around Negombo include:

Lords Restaurant: 80B Porutota Rd (fusion) (5-minute walk from Jetwing Blue Hotel)

Tusker Restaurant: 83 Ethukala Rd (seafood) (9-minute walk)

Ammehula: 286 Lewis Pl (international) (13-minute walk, 3-minute taxi)

Petit Restaurant: 100/7 A Palangathuraya (seafood) (6-minute walk)

Sunny Restaurant: 98/1 Palagathuraya West (seafood) (7-minute walk)

Black Coral Restaurant: Jetwing Beach Hotel (international) (3-minute walk)

LANGUAGE

The official language of the IWC8 is English. Sri Lanka has two official languages—Sinhala and Tamil. Most locals have some knowledge of English, and signs are often in English.

Sinhala basics:

Hello/Goodbye = aayu-bowan

My name is = maaghe nama

Yes = owu

No = naha

Please = karuna kara

Thank you = istuh-tee

Sorry = kana gaatui

Excuse me = samah venna

CURRENCY

The local currency is the Sri Lankan rupee (Rs), divided into 100 cents (pricing in cents is rare).  Currency notes are Rs5,000; Rs2,000; Rs1,000; Rs500; Rs100; Rs50; Rs20; and Rs10. Beware of mistaking the Rs500 note for the somewhat similar Rs100 note. To check whether notes are genuine when not given at a bank, look for a lion watermark. Coins are in denominations up to Rs10. Have plenty of lower denomination notes (Rs50, Rs100, Rs500) to buy small items and low-cost meals, as change is often hard to come by outside hotels and major stores. Most hotels, restaurants and shopping centres accept credit cards. Some establishments may try to add a credit card surcharge, which is illegal.

Exchange rates: 1 U.S. dollar = Rs145; 1 euro = Rs156.

ELECTRICITY

Electric current is 230 V / 50 Hz in the country. Plug orientation is pictured below. If you travel with a laptop computer or other electronic devices, please bring an adapter and surge protector/stabilizer.

TIME ZONE

Sri Lanka Standard Time is 5 ½ hours ahead of GMT.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

The weather is generally warm and sunny. Coastal and lowland areas enjoy average daytime temperatures of about 26-30°C (often climbing up well into the 30s during the hottest part of the day). Relative humidity varies from about 70% during the day to 90% at night. May constitutes the start of the Yala monsoon season (May to August) in the western part of the country. Please be mindful that technical site visits are mostly outside. Participants are advised to bring a light rain jacket and umbrella.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Country Code: 94

International Access Code: 00

Emergencies: 118/119

MORE INFORMATION

For specific inquiries, please contact the IWC8 Secretariat at iwc2016@iwlearn.org.