Operator, conference room.
One of the largest conference centres in the world
The United Nations Office at Geneva is
a unique and universally recognised
forum where the international diplomatic
community holds most of the
large conferences on peace and disarmament,
human rights, humanitarian
issues, economic and social cooperation
and health. Each year, some 600 conferences,
corresponding to 4’000 meeting
days, are held in the 34 conference
rooms in the Palais des Nations, with
the participation of around 28’000 delegates
from across the globe. As one of
the largest diplomatic conference centres
in the world, the Office must adapt
its conference rooms, which date from
the time the Palais des Nations was
built in the 1940s and, for the new
building, in the 1970s.
Interprètes salle XII.
Ornamentation from many Member State donors
The architectural heritage of some conference rooms, their original materials, such as rare woods, fabric hangings and leather, necessitate a style of renovation which respects the period layout. Some rooms have been renovated by donor countries in a style reflecting their architectural and decorative traditions. Rooms H-3 and A-R are now called respectively the “Romanian Room” and the “Lithuanian Room”. Two of the finest are the Council Chamber, with the wall painting by the Spanish artist José-Maria Sert, and room X, refurbished by Latvia, where contrasting colours are harmoniously combined. The dark green seats are set off by the pale green ceiling, and the golden yellow of the panelling and furniture contrasts with the ebony-black floor and doors inlaid with amber. Also worth mentioning are the Swiss Room, commonly called the “delegates’ lounge” (room VI), the Leleu or French Delegates’ Lounge (room II), the Czech and Slovak Lounge (room IV) or the Slovenian Lounge (room A-302).
A programme to refurbish the conference rooms over several biennia
To meet ergonomic, lighting, acoustic, and
heat insulation requirements and new technical
standards, the Buildings and Engineering Section
has launched an extensive programme to
refurbish the conference rooms. It began in
1996 with the renovation of the Assembly Hall.
The interpretation booths in the Council Chamber
were refurbished in 2000, then room XII in 2001, room XVI in
2002, rooms IX, XVII, XIX, H-3 and A-R during the biennium 2003-2004. The «little» conference rooms in E-building date back to the
time of its construction in 1972. Most of them havebeen refurbished
during the biennium 2004-2005, i.e. rooms XXI, XXIII, XXV and
XXVI, and, at the end of November 2005, room XXIV. It is planned to
refurbish Room XXI in the next biennium, as well as rooms III, V,
VII and XXVII.
Apart from the refurbishment of the interpretation booths and the
furniture, this modernisation programme includes a change of carpeting
and lighting, the installation of built-in projectors with modern
audio-visual equipment and the replacement of the simultaneous
interpretation facilities by the latest equipment incorporating digital
sound and electronic display of the language being translated.
The new interpretation systems enable conference rooms to be used
in automatic mode when there is no interpretation, allowing the
Central Planning and Coordination Service of the Conference Services
Division to make more flexible use of these facilities. In this
era of online information, the Information and Communication
Technology Service has also installed in some conference rooms
wireless Internet connections.
This modernisation makes for improved working conditions of
delegates as well as interpreters and conference operators who all
work, whether visibly or behind the scenes at conferences, in the service
of history.
English version revised by Isobel Lang.
