The International Press Centre (IPC) is an independent external service of the Directorate General for External Communication, which forms part of the Federal Public Service (FPS) of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. It therefore comes under the authority of the Belgian Prime Minister.
The International Press Centre is housed in the Residence Palace, a complex of art deco buildings with a rich history. It is located at 155, Rue de la Loi, Block C, 1040 Brussels, a stone’s throw from Schuman Roundabout, at the heart of the European quarter.
Numerous foreign journalists work in Brussels on a daily basis and a separate press centre, in which information of European interest could be given to the media, needed to be set up to welcome them. The federal Belgian authorities therefore decided to set up an international press centre during the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2010 to house both the authorities and the various press organisations.
The "mission statement" sets out exactly what the Residence Palace aspires to be:
- a permanent forum which will allow the Belgian authorities and international institutions in Brussels (especially the European institutions) to inform the Belgian and foreign press about their policies and how they function;
- a meeting place for journalists, political leaders, spokesmen, informers and communication and public relations experts;
- a professional centre to provide services to the Belgian and foreign press;
- a centre which provides national and international authorities, institutions, organisations and enterprises with facilities and integrated services for staging their press activities, news events and other communication initiatives, such as conferences and seminars.
Numerous journalists need to work and have deadlines for submitting their articles to their editors. That is why the press centre is open and journalists can use the various services round the clock.
Editorial facilities
Journalists can, if they wish, use the services of the newsroom located on the first floor. The newsroom can accommodate twenty persons simultaneously and has connections for laptops, a number of photocopiers and free wifi. Journalists can follow press conferences held in the Polak Room on a plasma screen via CCTV.
Cockpits
Cockpits provide journalists with a temporary personal workspace. These work units are equipped with a computer and printer.
Conference and meeting rooms
The Residence Palace has three large conference rooms and four smaller meeting rooms. The Polak, Passage and Maelbeek Rooms are designed primarily for press conferences or large meetings. The Magritte and Broodthaerts Rooms are used primarily as meeting rooms, while the Club and Salon adjoin the restaurant and may be used for private meetings or working lunches.
Radio facilities
Four studios allow direct broadcasting from the Residence Palace.
Television facilities
Audiovisual services in the Residence Palace are provided by ENG Videohouse. Videohouse can provide audiovisual assistance anywhere in the building from a central control room.
During live events, images may be broadcast by satellite and received using the "uplink" installation. Outside broadcast vans can broadcast or receive signals to and from the building from the car park.
There is also a recording studio with various editing and playback booths.
Journalists@YourService (J@YS)
The Residence Palace also houses various national and foreign press associations such as: the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the International Press Association (IPA) and the Belgian General Association of Professional Journalists (AGJPB), which comprises the Association of Professional Journalists (AJP) and the "Vlaamse Vereniging van Journalisten" (VVJ).
These associations have their own centre on the second floor: Journalist@YourService. This provides professional advice, assistance and a series of services to journalists working in Brussels.
For more information, especially on press centre services, please visit the press centre website: www.presscenter.org