05 Sep UN Climate Change Conference COP28

Contacta Hearing Loops Provide Hearing Access at the COP28

The COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai had 85,000 participants including more than 150 Heads of State and Government.  While meeting to take the first ‘global stock take’ of the world’s efforts to address climate change, Contacta and our partners Topland worked diligently behind the scenes to install hearing loops to make the conference accessible to those with hearing loss.

Our partners in the region, Topland, were commissioned to install Contacta large area hearing loop systems in 43 COP28 venues in the Blue Zone and in the Green Zone around Expo City.

The Blue Zone was a UNFCCC managed site, opened to host formal negotiations across the two weeks of the conference.  It was also home to the World Climate Action Summit, the country pavilions, presidency events, and hundreds of side events including panel discussions, round tables, and cultural events.

The Green Zone, managed by COP28’s host country of UAE, was an informal space for youth representatives, artists, businesses, regional and local decision-makers to discuss, present and exchange ideas and solutions for a net-zero future.

Topland Managing Director, Andy Faulkner, and his team of engineers focused on controlling of the electromagnetic signal emitted by all 43 systems. The goal was to ensure confidentiality and preventing the loop signal from spilling over between rooms.

The Contacta design team worked with Topland to carefully create custom phased array configurations, integrating cancellation loops in each space. Contacta’s 3D visualization software enabled perfect control of the signal and optimal coverage throughout the large meeting spaces with no overspill.

Hearing loops were the assistive listening technology preferred by the COP28 AV integration contractors, following the positive experience they had had at previous conventions.

More than 31,150ft of copper hearing loop cable was laid over several weeks prior to the event.  Thirty-two V22a-PRO and V34a-PRO Hearing Loop Drivers were selected to power loops in the larger rooms and eleven V15a Hearing Loop Drivers powered systems in the smaller rooms and spaces.

Quick Solutions to Meet the Deadlines of the Project.

Changes in room configurations and flooding caused by heavy rains days before COP28 opened, had the team thinking quick on its feet for solutions.

Despite the standing water, the loop cabling was unaffected.  Once the floors had dried, Topland’s engineers were able to test the loops, commission them to the IEC-60118-4 standard and meet the tight deadline before the conference began.

“This was such a significant job for us and the quality of Contacta’s design work for the loop areas gave us absolute confidence,” said Andy.

“Hearing loops were the ideal assistive listening technology for COP28 because it draws delegates from all over the world.  Loops are universal so no matter where people come from, with a T-coil enabled hearing aid or cochlear implant, they can access sound from the loop.  There’s no latency, so presentations and discussions are inclusive, and everyone is able to participate.”