Preparations for the session

1. Legal requirements

· NOTE: The Netherlands has introduced entry visas for some countries where this previously did not apply. PLEASE CHECK with the Dutch embassy in your country.

· Check that your visa requirements are done, and that the dates correspond to what is needed. Take into account your flight schedule.

· If you wish to visit other countries outside the Schengen group before or after the session, be sure to get visas already in your country. The consulates here make it very difficult and expensive to obtain a visa for their country if you are not a resident of Holland.

· It may sometimes be necessary to show at the airport in Amsterdam an attestation that you are attending a course and that you are financially capable of supporting yourself during your stay. This can also mean having a sufficient amount of money with you when you arrive. Thus, do not forget your letter of invitation to the school. If problems arise at the airport, give us a call.

2. What to bring:

· Books which you wish to use personally and to work on, if you think they cannot be found in our library.

· Slippers, for use inside the Institute.

· A small tape recorder, or a Walkman if you wish to listen to the reports done at previous sessions. A Walkman is indispensable if you wish to listen to music in your bedroom (so as not to disturb your neighbors).

· A laptop computer or a small typewriter, if you have one. We have a fast (ADSL) Internet connection at the institute, but almost no computers available for participants to use, and no typewriters. Your laptop can be plugged into our ADSL connection; or if you have a wireless card, you can surf the Internet from almost anywhere in our building!

· Notebooks, paper, ballpoint pens, etc. that you would need.

· Warm clothes! It can be chilly in Amsterdam even in the spring. We have a few extra coats for participants from warm countries, but not many. People from warm countries should expect to dress warmly even inside.

3. Insurance

It is possible to take a travel insurance to cover sickness and accidents costs during the period you travel and are here. Please do so - medical costs in the Netherlands are very high.

4. Financial contribution to the school

Each participant should bring with him/her the required amount for costs of staying, payable on arrival in cash only.

5. Books, music cassettes, videotapes.....for the Institute

· We welcome contributions for our library, especially books regarding your country and its specific problems, documents of your organization, journals and papers produced by the section/your organization and/or by others in the left that you think may be useful and interesting.

· The Institute has a video-recorder to play VHS-tapes. There are already some interesting video-cassettes here, but we would like more, educational as well as entertaining: unfortunately, these must be in European (PAL) format.

· Bring music cassettes, particularly music from your country to enrich the school's collection available to all the participants.