- Development experts, architects, mayors among those joining digital pre-Expo event
- Sessions to probe how world population will live and grow in balance with our planet
- Event is one of 10 themed weeks focusing on key issues faced by global communities
Dubai: Leading development experts, technology visionaries and government officials from some of the world’s most populous and resilient cities are set to gather virtually for Expo 2020 Dubai’s Urban and Rural Development Week to discuss the future of smart cities and sustainable habitats.
Hosted by Expo 2020 and delivered in collaboration with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and Siemens, Expo’s Premier Infrastructure Digitalisation Partner, Urban and Rural Development Week will take place on 3-4 November 2020 and will look at how the world’s population will live and grow in harmony with our planet.
It will feature remarks from Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau and UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation; Helmut von Struve, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens UAE and Middle East; Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN-Habitat.
Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy said: “The promise of a better future rests on the notion that everyone in the world has a right to safety, shelter and opportunities for advancement. Cities and rural areas around the world, as well as formal and informal settlements, are facing an escalating burden to provide round-the-clock access to services and utilities.
“With the help of the brightest minds in the management and development of our habitats, Expo 2020 Dubai is inviting the world to explore how we can ensure that the habitats of the future are smart, resilient and sustainable, where no one is left behind.”
The event will also feature a session, co-curated with the Executive Council of Dubai, with opening remarks from His Excellency Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality and Member of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee, with some of the world’s prominent mayors and urban planners, including the Honourable Mxolisi Kaunda, Mayor of Durban, South Africa; Diana Alarcón González, Chief Advisor and Director of International Affairs, Mexico City; and Dr Davide Ponzini, PhD, Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
Other notable speakers include David Lecoque, Chief Executive Officer at Alliance for Rural Electrification and the Honourable Virginia Raggi, Mayor of Rome, Italy, as well as representatives from a range of organisations dedicated to improving the lives of people in urban and rural and communities, including C40 Cities.
Urban and Rural Development Week is the third in a series of 10 pre-Expo thematic weeks – launched last month with Space Week – that bring together influential policy makers, industry chiefs and experts, Expo participants and the public to explore specific challenges and share ideas towards their solutions.
Featuring Q&A sessions and panel discussions, they will help shape the thought-provoking content and conversations taking place during the six months of Expo 2020 Dubai, where participants will seek collaborative solutions to the world’s most pressing issues – including the Global Goals; Climate and Biodiversity; Knowledge and Learning; Space; and Water – to help shape a better, more sustainable future for all.
Expo 2020 Dubai – the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region – will run from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022.
About Expo 2020 Dubai:
Expo 2020 Dubai will bring together millions of people and the greatest innovations from around the globe, helping to shape a better world under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
- The six months from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 will be an opportunity to be part of an unparalleled event and we are extending a warm Emirati welcome to the world
- Expo 2020 will be an endless journey of discovery. Visitors will have access to the latest innovations and breakthroughs, with participants – including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions – coming together to highlight real-life solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges
- Expo 2020’s sub-themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability will inspire visitors to make a conscious effort to think and live differently, and give them renewed optimism that, through collaboration, it is possible to make a lasting change to the world
- The first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) will be located on a 4.38 sqkm site adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
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About World Expos:
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.
