GENERAL INFORMATION SFCG-36. Mainz, Germany June 2016

Transcription

1 GENERAL INFORMATION SFCG-36 Mainz, Germany 7-15 June PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR THE MEETING Overall Schedule The thirty-sixth annual meeting of the SFCG, SFCG-36, will be held in Mainz (Germany), from 7 to 15 June 2016, at the kind invitation of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). The official opening plenary will be held on 7 June. On 8 June, we will split up into SWGs and come back to the plenary on Tuesday 14 June (or earlier, as a function of the progress of the SWG work), until Wednesday 15 June (probably until early afternoon). Therefore, please do not foresee a return flight earlier than the evening of Wednesday 15 June. The following sessions are scheduled for each meeting day: First morning session 9:00 10:30 Coffee Break 10:30 11:00 Second Morning Session 11:00 12:30 Lunch 12:30 14:00 First Afternoon Session 14:00 15:30 Coffee Break 15:30 16:00 Second Afternoon Session 16:00 17:30 The first Plenary on 7 June 2016 will start at 9:30. Registration will start at 9:00 on that day. Please note also the following events: An Ice-breaker cocktail reception to be held after the first Plenary day on Tuesday 7 June A social event to be held on Tuesday 14 June (The details will be presented during the first Plenary)

2 Meeting Venue The meeting will take place at the Hotel Novotel Mainz, located in Mainz (Germany). Address: Augustusstraße 6, Mainz, Germany Registration will be arranged directly at the entrance of the hotel opposite of the reception desk. The entire conference area will be available for SFCG, thus all meeting rooms, the secretariat room and the coffee break area will be very closely located. The Plenary sessions will take place in the conference rooms Ceasar, Claudius and Augustus joined together. For the other days, the SWGs will meet in Rooms Drusus and Maurus. Internet access will be available in the conference area through broadband wireless connections. Secretariat facilities and delegates room The secretariat room Legionslager will be between the other meeting rooms and can also be used for small splinter meetings. Secretarial support from EUMETSAT will also be there (part time) to support the SFCG Secretariat. Documentation control Delegates should keep in mind the provisions of RES A8-3R2 and RES A19-1R5 and supply discussion documents within the time limits set by the Resolution, i.e., not later than 3 weeks prior to the start of the meeting for posting on the SFCG web site; this year s deadline for discussion documents will be 16 May Documents coming after the deadline will be strictly considered as information documents only. The deadline for coordination documents will be 23 May The deadline for information documents will be 30 May Please inform the secretariat as early as possible ( Bojana.Jokanovic@esa.int with copy to Enrico.Vassallo@esa.int, fax: ) of any document you plan to submit to SFCG-36, giving the document title, and if possible, a short abstract; the secretariat will subsequently assign a document number and inform you accordingly. This would greatly facilitate the preparatory work by the secretariat and thereby increase the efficiency of the meeting. The final version of the input documents should be sent to the SFCG Web Coordinator ( John.E.Zuzek@nasa.gov, copy to Enrico.Vassallo@esa.int and Bojana.Jokanovic@esa.int). Delegates are kindly invited to use the header and format provided in annex to RES A19-1R5 for their input documents. In order to ease the job of the SFCG Web Coordinator in publishing the documents on our Web site, delegates are warmly invited to send the document at their earliest convenience, possibly avoiding waiting until the day of the deadline. During the meeting a scratch directory will be made accessible to the delegates on the SFCG web site. They will be able to access the draft documents generated during the meeting and upload their own documents. No paper documents distribution is foreseen. Where to eat Lunch can be taken at the hotel restaurant Bajazzo starting at costs of around 10. The lunch menue with the prices will be provided at the beginning of the meeting. Also Dinner can be taken at the same restaurant or at the Kasematten wine restaurant in the 17 th -century vaulted cellar of the

3 hotel. There are also various restaurants near the meeting venue as the hotel is located only a few minutes from Mainz city centre. 2 HOTEL AND TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS 2.1 Hotel Accommodation The hotel makes available rooms at the following special rates (including breakfast) for meeting participants until 9 March 2016: Standard Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday room 6 June 7 June 8 June 9 June 10 June 11 June 12 June 13 June 14 June 15 June Single Double Bookings have to be made directly with the hotel using the following H5407-re@accor.com. When making your reservation please use the key word SFCG. Please note again that the special rates cannot be guaranteed for bookings after 9 March You may be lucky when you book later but this is subject to availability of rooms. Cancellation Policy Should you wish to change or cancel your reservation, please contact the hotel. Cancellation Fees: Up to 10 days prior to arrival: No charge Less than 10 days or no-show: 90% If you choose to stay in another hotel, there are a number of hotels available at the various internet hotel booking platforms. 2.2 Travel Mainz is just 30 km away from Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) and very easy to reach by train or rental car (if you decide to take one). By train: You can conveniently get to Mainz Hauptbahnhof (main station) within 30 minutes using the frequent local trains of the RMV public transportation company (e.g. S8) departing at the airport s regional train station (Regionalbahnhof) in the underground of the FRA airport. Just follow the signs like on the picture below. Tickets are available at the ticket machines before you go down to the track.

4 The hotel is just 650m away from Mainz Hauptbahnhof. You can choose to walk (uphill! Expect a bit of an exercise after the long sitting in the plane+train) or take a taxi. Taking a car from FRA airport takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the traffic which can be heavy towards Mainz during rush hours in the evening or in the morning when travelling back to the airport in the morning. The location of the hotel is at N / E Underground parking is available at the hotel but subject to a charge.

5 If you need any assistance for accessing Mainz from the FRA airport feel free to contact: 3 Visa Requirements Visa is not required to enter Germany for the vast majority of nationalities. In case of doubt, please inquire with your local German Embassy or Consulate well in advance of your travel. Be aware that the Visa generation task can be a very time consuming one. If you need a letter from EUMETSAT to obtain the visa, please send an with the request and all the necessary details. Please address it to markus.dreis@eumetsat.int and Enrico.Vassallo@esa.int 4 Climate The weather in the Mainz area at the beginning of June should be very pleasant with temperatures typically around C. 5 Currency Exchange Currency in Germany is the Euro. The hotels accept payments by cash or by any major credit card. ATM machines are available throughout the city of Mainz. Major credit cards are readily accepted in most shops and restaurants in Mainz.

6 Annex 1: Mainz City Centre