EXPO 2015 “comes in a crucial year for the United Nations: not only will we be evaluating our success in achieving the Millennium Development Goals but we will also be introducing a new global development agenda”. These were the words of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the reception co-hosted by Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini in Rome and the Government’s Commissioner for Expo Milano 2015, Giuseppe Sala. The event was organised to illustrate EXPO Milan 2015 to senior figures in the United Nations system.
The theme chosen by the UN, explained Ban Ki-moon, is “The Zero Hunger Challenge. United for a sustainable world”, echoing the campaign he promoted at the Rio+20 sustainable development conference in 2012.
The symbol of the UN Presence
In Rome for his two-yearly meeting with the executive directors of the UN agencies, Ban Ki-moon introduced the symbol for the UN presence at EXPO 2015: a green “zero” with a blue spoon placed diagonally on top.
Up to 18 giant spoon installations throughout the EXPO site will represent the five pillars of the Zero Hunger Challenge, women’s empowerment and gender equality and other UN content related to Expo’s thematic areas. Together, the UN spoons will act as beacons linking content and events along the UN Zero Hunger Itinerary.
Innovative participation model
Introducing a video illustrating the UN’s participation, the organisation’s Commissioner General for EXPO Milano 2015, Eduardo Rojas Briales, illustrated the innovative participation model. For the first time in the history of Universal Expositions, the UN will not have a single pavilion but instead a horizontal involvement with exhibits in numerous areas throughout the Expo Site. This will give the UN presence a higher visibility than ever before that will last long after the 6 months of EXPO Milan 2015.
“We’ll capture visitors’ attention”, concluded Rojas-Briales, “and convince them that ending hunger in the world is not a dream but something that we can achieve together in the timespan of this generation. We all have a role to play, even just through a commitment to change simple day-to-day decisions and actions”.
Minister Mogherini’s comments
“In 2015, a year that will see the 60th anniversary of Italy’s entry to the United Nations, our country will have the honour of hosting the Universal Exposition in Milan. The theme will be ‘Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life’”, commented Federica Mogherini. “EXPO Milano will take place at a crucial period for the Post-2015 Development Agenda and will be a unique opportunity to contribute to the global debate on nutrition and food security”.
“The United Nations system is a key actor in achieving the goals that Italy has set itself with this great event. Its participation will be based on a particularly innovative approach and a perspective of global sustainability”, concluded Minister Mogherini.
EXPO Commissioner’s remarks
“Our determination to act in unity and coordination with the representatives of the UN and its 3 agencies – IFAD, FAO, WFP – to fight and win the planet’s battle for the right to a safe, secure food supply takes concrete form with this important event in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon”, declared Giuseppe Sala.
“The participation of the UN, the first international organisation to confirm its attendance and the first to sign the EXPO Milano 2015 contract, demonstrates the global interest in the Universal Exposition’s theme, “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life”’. The aim, he commented, is the map out a coherent approach for the future and multiply the potential of our message from a sustainable development perspective.
IFAD President’s remarks
“In such an important year for us, EXPO 2015 gives the United Nations an opportunity to impart a greater impetus to solving problems linked to food and hunger”, as Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), underscored. He was speaking in the name, too, of the Food and Agricultural Organisation and the World Food Programme, which will be coordinating the United Nations participation in EXPO Milano 2015.
