Fourth Global Meeting of Ministry of Health Focal Points for Violence and Injury Prevention 17-18 September 2016 Hall Congress and Concert Centre Tampere,

INFORMATION CIRCULAR

Dear Participant,

We are pleased to provide you with the following information regarding the practical arrangements for the above meeting, which is a 1.5-day pre-meeting to the 12th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. The 12th World Conference will be held in Tampere, Finland from 18-21 September 2016 also at the Tampere Hall Congress and Concert Centre.

1. Venue of the meeting Address: Tampere Hall Congress and Concert Centre Yliopistonkatu 55 33100 TAMPERE FINLAND Phone: +358 9 58409 350 Email: [email protected] URL: https://www.thl.fi/en/web/injury-prevention/safety-2016

2. Language of the meeting The meeting will be held in English, French, Russian and Spanish, while the 12th World Conference will be held in English only.

3. Registration Registration will start on 17 September 2016 at 8:00 in the Tampere Hall Congress and Concert Centre. Accompanying persons (spouses, children) will not be allowed to register for the meeting due to security/logistics constraints.

4. Opening session and closure The meeting will open at 9:00 and close at 17:00 on the first day, Saturday, 17 September 2016. A reception follows the meeting on day one from 19:00. The meeting will start at 9:00 and close at 14:30 on the second day, Sunday, 18 September 2016. The 12th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion opens officially at 15:00 on 18 September 2016.

5. Dinner reception Participants are invited to a reception on the evening of Saturday, 17 September 2016. More information is to be provided at a later stage.

6. Accommodation All meeting participants are responsible for booking their own hotel rooms. Please visit the 12th World Conference web site for recommendations: https://www.thl.fi/en/web/injury-prevention/safety-2016/registration/accommodation

7. Travel tickets, travel authorizations and subsistence allowance (for participants attending the meeting at the expense of WHO) For those Ministry of Health focal points attending the meeting at the expense of WHO, it is your respective WHO Regional Adviser and his or her colleagues who should provide instructions for booking your travel tickets, securing your travel authorization and obtaining your subsistence allowance (per diem). Please be sure that this has been arranged prior to your departure from your country.

8. Visas All meeting participants are responsible for obtaining their visas if needed for travel to Finland. Importantly, should an invitation be needed in order to apply for a visa, please contact the Finnish organizers of the 12th World Conference, either Kirsi Popova ([email protected]) and Laura Kolehmainen ([email protected]). Please visit the following web site for additional information: http://formin.finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentId=327076&nodeId=49153&contentl an=2&culture=en-US

9. Banks/exchange rate facilities The currency in Finland is the EURO (€), which is divided into 100 cents. In Finland, prices in euros are rounded up to the nearest 5 cents. Foreign currencies are easily exchanged to euros at exchange agencies and banks in Tampere’s city centre. There are no currency restrictions in Finland.

10. Telephones

The telephone area code for Tampere is 03. If you dial from abroad, first dial the code for Finland, 358, and then the area code without 0, then dial the subscriber number (for example: +358-3-243 4102). There are very few public telephone booths left in Finland as the majority of Finns have a mobile phone. Most telephone booths require special telephone cards that can be purchased at kiosks. Some work with credit cards.

11. Electrical current

The electrical current in Finland is 230V (50 Hz). The plugs and power outlets are the same as in other continental countries in the European Union. A transformer will be needed if your electrical equipment requires a different voltage.

12. Getting to Tampere

Tampere is located in Southern Finland, 175 km north of . It is easily accessible by many different means of transportation. It is generally recommended that participants make the voyage between Helsinki and Tampere by train.

By air

You can choose to fly to Helsinki or Tampere. offers 130 non-stop destinations around the world and 350 departures a day, connecting Europe with the rest of the world. It is the principal airport in the network of 24 airports operated by Finavia, the Finnish Airport Operator.

Tampere is also well connected and easy to reach by air. Tampere has an international airport (Tampere-Pirkkala) served by Finnair, SAS and Ryanair. There are frequent direct flights to Tampere from both Stockholm and Helsinki. The trip from Tampere-Pirkkala Airport to Tampere city centre takes less than half an hour.

More information about flights to Tampere http://www.tampereconventionbureau.fi/travel-to-tampere/by_air/

More information about how you can get to Tampere from the airport

By train

Tampere is centrally located in Finland and easily accessible by train from all over the country. From Helsinki, regular trains roll to a smooth stop in Tampere in less than two hours. Services run approximately every hour. Tickets can be bought online or at self-service machines or ticket windows.

See train timetables here https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage

By train from Helsinki Airport

The train connection between Helsinki city center and Helsinki Airport was opened in July 2015. You can now take a train from Helsinki airport to Tikkurila and change there to a long- distance train which takes you straight to Tampere. Trains from Tikkurila to Tampere are relatively frequent between 5 am and 11 pm (1−2 trains per hour). Journey time is 75−90 minutes depending on the train.

More information and the train schedules are available at HSL website

See train timetables here: https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage

By bus from Helsinki Airport

Buses run from Helsinki Airport and from Helsinki city center to Tampere approximately every hour, and the journey takes less than two hours.

In general, transport connections within Finland are of an excellent standard. The main roads are good, and public transport is punctual, efficient, comfortable and affordable.

Timetables for buses from Helsinki Airport to Tampere More information about bus connections: http://www.paunu.fi/in-english/

13. Local transportation in Tampere

The public transportation system in Tampere includes bus and taxi services.

Tampere City Transport's blue and white buses offer an extensive service network of 26 routes covering the entire city. A single ticket for €3 is valid for one hour inside Tampere's city limits. For further information, visit: http://www.tampereconventionbureau.fi/visitors_guide/local_transportation/

14. Registration for the 12th World Conference Participants in the meeting planning to attend the 12th World Conference need to register to do so. Ministry of Health focal points from high-income countries should follow the instructions provided here: https://www.thl.fi/en/web/injury-prevention/safety- 2016/registration. For those Ministry of Health focal points from low- and middle-income countries attending the meeting at the expense of WHO, they should await further instructions before registering for the 12th World Conference. Once registered, all participants will receive a confirmation of registration, a copy of which they should bring with them to the 12th World Conference registration desk on Sunday, 18 September, in order to receive their conference bag.

15. Emergencies services

The general Finnish emergency telephone number is 112 http://www.tampereconventionbureau.fi/visitors_guide/emergency-services/

16. Guide

If you are travelling to Finland for the very first time, you may have questions concerning practical matters. Additional useful information may be found here: http://www.tampereconventionbureau.fi/visitors_guide/

17. Contact information Should you have queries with regard to any of the above, kindly contact:

Laura Sminkey Email: [email protected] Telephone office: +41 22 791 4547 Telephone mobile: +41 79 249 3520

Pascale Lanvers-Casasola Email: [email protected] Telephone office: +41 22 791 2881 Telephone mobile: +41 79 793 9578