Cape Media Services Speaker: Dr Laurine Platzky, Deputy-Director-General, Governance and Integration and 2010 Western Cape Coordinator for the Provincial Government of the Western Cape. Dr Platzky introduced the concept behind Cape Media Services – an initiative established jointly by Province and the City of Cape Town and in partnership with other organizations such as the Cape Film Commission, the Cape Town Partnership and the CTICC

The project been stimulated by a similar service offered in Bavaria during the FIFA World Cup in Germany in 2006 and witnessed in operation by Dr Platzky and her team.

Dr Platzky explained: “Our Province is teamed with Bavaria and we found that there is an innovative tourist association in Bavaria that started something called Bavarian Media Services. Initially they went to FIFA and asked: ‘Can we be accredited?’ but they heard nothing. So they decided to start something on their own because they realized there would be a large number of foreign journalists coming from all over the world, many of whom had never been to Germany before. The idea was to feed them information both prior to their arrival in Germany as well as during the event –doing what you would actually call ‘destination marketing’.”

Looking towardds 2010, Dr Platzky’s team realized that irrespective of where the media were based, and even thought the official International Broadcasting Centre would be in Johannesburg, most journalists were probably going to end up in Cape Town in one way or another.

Said Dr Platzky: “This an African World Cup, and what we want to do is show the rest of the world that Africa is not a basket case. We have some excellent skills and infrastructure and we’re actually quite innovative. So that’s what we want to get across – it’s not just about Cape Town or the Western Cape: but it’s about changing perception about Africa.”

Along with providing information to media during the 2010 event, Cape Media Services were also looking to establish a database prior to the event of available space, skills and equipment from within the local industry. “We want to grow this part of the economy – there’s the film industry, the print media, a whole bunch of aspects that have been historically based in Cape Town, some of which are doing quite well and some of which could do much better from a platform such as this.

“We don’t want the 3000 media or more to arrive lock, stock and barrel, all their equipment and people. We want them to use what we have here and so build our own capacity and economy.”

A major focus for Cape Media Services would be the Final Draw to be held in Cape Town on 4 December and to take place at the CTICC. Noted Platzky: “This is the only time when we won’t be competing with any of the other South African host cities. We will have everyone here in one place: from the famous footballers, their coaches and team managers to the entire FIFA hierarchy, and all the media. Plus it will be summer and a great opportunity to showcase our city and Province.”

For the immediate future, however, Cape Media Services would be concentrating on compiling the local database as well as assessing the needs of international broadcasters. Said Dr Platzky: “A number of broadcasters have been approaching individual companies and buildings for space to set up their facilities. So we are currently conducting an audit of space not only in the City but in other parts of the Province as well.”

During the 2010 event, Cape Media Services hoped to set up it’s own media centre where it will be able to assist with everything from the granting of permits to the setting up of interviews and information on stories outside of the sporting arena. For example, explained Dr Platzky: “We will have crews that want to shoot in a township. We need, for instance, a safe and secure taxi service to transport that crew – we’re even working with SAPS on this one as they’ve got some very good experience with these types of things and it’s a very innovative win-win for everyone – for the taxis, for the broadcasters and for the media in general.”

Cape Media Services would also be looking to source people with multiple language skills, said Dr Platzky: “There are four official FIFA languages at the moment (Spanish, French, German, English) but FIFAare including Arabic and Portuguese in the next round of the World Cup – however, we’ll be on the lookout for any other languages as well.” In conclusion, Dr Platzky stressed that Cape Media Services would be looking for further partners in addition to its current team, particularly from within the private sector: “With the limited budget we have, we need all the partnerships we can get. It’s very important that we give the media in general a positive and safe experience. We obviously can’t do better than good media exposure and there’s nothing worse than bad exposure. So this is a great opportunity for us to sell ourselves in so many ways. Not just for tourism, but for trade, investment, recruitment of skills and for keeping our skills here in the Western Cape.”

Related posts:

1. Cape Town & Western Cape accommodation lowers prices for World Cup
2. 2010 Central City Partners Forum III: Visualising the Experience
3. Celebrating 100 days to go on foot
4. The 2010 FIFA World Cup Final Draw
5. Central City Improvement District (CCID) Security Department joins forces with Correctional Services Department