Johannesburg and the Summit

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

Aug 11 2002 (IPS) - The city of Johannesburg, South Africa, will be the epicenter of discussion and debate for two weeks, as it is hosting a key international meeting, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which is to draw tens of thousands of delegates from around the world. This Summit, convened by the United Nations, is expected to bring together at least 100 heads of state and a total of 65,000 delegates, according to organizers' estimates. For the host city the event poses an opportunity and a challenge.

Beyond the meetings and panel discussions during the Summit itself, the city has had to face a long preparation process, including building infrastructure and developing a strategy for dealing with the influx of so many visitors in a short period of time.

The Johannesburg Summit Company was created to handle the preparations for the conference, which is also known as Rio+10, as it is taking place a decade after the last world environmental meet of this magnitude, also organized by the UN, in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

The Johannesburg city authorities, who have a web site with information on the pre-summit groundwork, report that two weeks before the arrival of the delegates, more than 43,000 hotel rooms have been reserved. The organizers are also working with local families to provide housing for 7,000 more visitors.

This South African city is 115 years old, founded in 1886. It is a mining and industrial center, with a population of 3.8 million residents (1998). An Internet site providing figures about the city states that 40 percent of the population is younger than 24, and 72 percent is black.

The Internet is an important source of information for travelers heading to South Africa for the Summit. In addition to information specific to the conference, one can find Johannesburg tourism guides, weather reports and other services available in the city, set 2,000 meters above sea level.