New York - Osaka: Europe and the Arabs
The United Nations is preparing to participate in Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, with a special pavilion under the theme "United for a Better Future." The UN pavilion aims to showcase the organization's 80-year-long efforts to promote international cooperation and address global challenges with the goal of creating a better future for humanity. According to the UN Daily News, a copy of which we received this morning, Tuesday, the pavilion also stated that the World Expo is an event that brings together people and innovations from around the world in an effort to address issues facing humanity on a global scale. It will open its doors on April 13 and run for six months—until October 13, 2025.
The UN pavilion will provide visitors with an opportunity to learn about the organization's history, its current role in people's lives, and its vision for a better future for humanity.
To learn more about the UN's participation in this global event, UN News interviewed Mr. Maher Nasser, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Commissioner-General for Expo 2025 in Osaka. World Expos are organized by an organization called the Bureau International des Expositions, headquartered in Paris. They have been held since 1851. According to Maher Nasser, Expo is not just a place to showcase products and innovations; it is also an opportunity for cultural exchange and the strengthening of global partnerships.
He added, "Expo is a forum to showcase all that humanity boasts in terms of civilization, culture, arts, products, and natural beauty. Every country wants to showcase the best of what it has to offer at these exhibitions. There are companies, industries, and even new inventions that are discovered or displayed at international exhibitions."
Maher Nasser continued, "It's not a place where you go to solve problems. It's actually a place where people go to see other parts of humanity."
He explained that many of the famous landmarks in our world today were built specifically for Expo. The most famous example is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which was built when Paris hosted the World Expo in 1889.
This year's Expo in Osaka is being held under the theme "Designing the Future Society for Our Lives," with three subthemes: Saving People, Connecting People, and Empowering People. More than 160 countries are expected to participate.
The United Nations Pavilion at the Osaka Expo, "United for a Better Future," includes 35 UN organizations and 15 offices and departments. Regarding the reason for choosing this theme, Maher Nasser said, "We are united, and what unites us is that all our work aims to create a better future for humanity."
Nasser said that the UN's participation in the Osaka Expo coincides with the organization's celebration of its 80th anniversary, noting that the Expo represents an opportunity to engage with millions of visitors and introduce them to the UN's message and goals.
The UN Pavilion will focus on three main themes: past, present, and future. Maher Nasser said, "The first part is a time horizon. It looks back. What happened in those 80 years?" Regarding the present, Mr. Maher Nasser said that the United Nations is an integral part of people's daily lives. He added, "We highlight how the United Nations is now contributing and working in all countries of the world, not only in conflict zones, not only in humanitarian services, not only in peacekeeping, but also in issues that might not occur to the average person. These are things we take for granted, and the reason for their existence is the existence of the United Nations system and international agreements that have established the basic steps through which communication and cooperation take place. How do the various telephone networks work, how does the postal system work, issues related to health, how does the world cooperate to eradicate any infectious epidemics, how does cooperation take place on vaccine issues, and so on?"
Maher Nasser continued, saying, "So, wherever you look, the United Nations is actually part of your life."
The United Nations' vision for the future will also be presented, and how the Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved by focusing on saving lives, empowering them, and connecting them. Nasser noted that the pavilion will also include a virtual exhibition to enable those unable to travel to Osaka to view the exhibition.