The ambitious multimedia information hub planned for the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development has been scaled down considerably due to funding hiccups, but the dedicated radio station and Internet coverage are to go ahead.
Initially planned as a R1.5 million hi-tech information hub including Internet, SMS and radio communications, the project has been scaled down to include Internet and radio coverage using existing SABC resources. The budget has been cut by more than half.
Steven Lang, coordinator of the World Summit radio and the SABCnews.com sub-site on the World Summit, says the project encountered funding difficulties in the planning stages, but new funders had come aboard and the Johannesburg World Summit Radio would go ahead, broadcasting on Radio 2000 frequencies between 26 August and 4 September.
"The radio station is more or less a joint venture between SABC News/Radio 2000 and the Water Dome, a water affairs event running parallel to the summit, at the Northgate Dome. We intend having facilities at the Water Dome and the Sandton Convention Centre, " he says. To enable delegates to track news and events broadcast by WSSD Radio, Lang says the funders will distribute 25 000 portable radios to delegates in their official delegate packs.
The online service (www.sabcnews.com/joburg_summit) will distribute news, audio and video feeds of the summit, and its existing SMS and WAP news services will be used to send personalised reminders, news and advisories to delegates. The Internet service should be accessible to delegates via Internet caf'es and kiosks to be installed at key areas by the summit organiser, the Johannesburg World Summit Company.
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