As Expo 2020 attracts people from around the globe, the mega event works towards making a noticeable impact on the world around us, environmentally, socially, and culturally. Together with people from every walk of life, Dubai’s Expo works on creating a meaningful impact through a range of programs and initiatives. Since innovative ideas come from all around the world, the Expo initiatives provides the assistance, platform, and visibility to innovators worldwide whose ideas benefit society, the environment, or both. There are three major initiatives behind Dubai’s Expo 2020, which are the Global Best Practice Programme, Sustainability, and the World Majlis.
Global Best Practice Programme
The Global Best Practice Programme showcases initiatives from around the globe that have offered significant and sustainable interventions, with the goal of spreading them elsewhere, showcasing genuine solutions to the world’s largest issues. The program focuses on five areas that correspond to many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). From 1,175 applications to the Global Call for Proposals, the jury chose 25 projects. Alongside, they have also chosen 20 Untold Stories from around the world that highlight community efforts and stories of effective solutions for people and the earth.
Inclusive and sustainable service delivery
The first area is inclusive and sustainable service delivery, which focuses on services from solar energy to the internet, clean water to recycling, be inspired by those who are trying to improve the lives of communities by providing dependable services. Their inventions make an impact everywhere, from cities to refugee camps.
Livelihood and enterprise development
The second area is livelihood and enterprise development, which includes projects from around the world that provide encouraging alternative job and income possibilities, such as women in the workplace, competitive products and services, and increased market access to provide people the tools they need to improve their lives.
Social development
Another area covered under the initiative of the Global Best Practice Programme is social development. Focusing on providing them with the proper necessary tools to break the cycle of poverty and ensures that they have access to affordable healthcare and education, allowing for social mobility.
Resilient habitats
Alongside, another area of this initiative is resilient habitats. Communities can cope better with difficulties and adversity by adopting and implementing resilience strategies to safeguard their human, economic, and ecological assets, from climate change to fast urbanization.
Water, food, and energy security
The last area that the initiative focuses on is water, food, and energy security. Focusing on smarter consumption and resource management to better meet increasing requirements for a growing global population.
Sustainability
Dubai’s Expo aims to deliver one of the most sustainable Expos ever. Through its emphasis on sustainability ingrained in everything they stand for, they hope to establish a legacy after Expo is over.
Generating clean energy and reducing water consumption
Expo installed renewable energy systems totaling 5.5 megawatts on all permanent projects around the Expo site. This is enough energy to make 180,000 round journeys from Downtown Dubai to Abu Dhabi’s Corniche. In addition, Expo has achieved a 52.4 percent decrease in water consumption in the buildings in 2019. That is compared to the Dubai Electric and Water Authority’s baseline water requirements (DEWA). This equates to 102,835,000 liters per year, or about 41 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Promoting natural solutions
Expo aims to build the groundwork for a sustainable legacy for future generations. They do so by focusing on human growth and technology breakthroughs while protecting the planet’s ecological and natural resources. 50% of the landscaping plants used at Expo 2020, and 95% afterward, are native and adaptable species. An important sustainability goal is to manage 95% of the landscape without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.
Seeds of Change
Expo 2020 has established the Seeds of Change initiative to engage guests and make the carbon offset program more relevant. Visitors may ‘vote’ by giving ‘seeds’ in this unique, crowd-sourced concept, which allows them to choose which carbon offsets will be purchased by Expo. After that, Expo will promote inspirational projects from across the world. Those are projects that produce carbon offsets while simultaneously offering social or economic benefits to their local communities.
Reducing waste
One of the primary goals of the sustainability initiative in Expo is waste reduction. 85% of the garbage will be separated into multiple waste stream through removing trash from landfills. This happens during building, operation, and decommissioning. Expo has also launched the Planet Over Plastic Pledge, in which they urge participants and partners to reducing packaging and single-use items, as well as recycling on-site.
World Majlis
Since the first Great Exhibition in London in 1851, World Expos have been a particular venue for bringing together curious minds interested in future questions and, in doing so, learning more about each other. Expo 2020 Dubai has proudly carried it on by combining it with the long-standing Emirati tradition of the majlis.
To make change in the world, discussions and dialogues need to take place globally. The World Majlis at Expo aims to spark new ideas and perspectives, through conversations that matter and make a difference. The forum includes 8 – 10 globally recognized thought-leaders, invited for their exceptional contributions to the topic. In each Majlis, students and members of the public are also welcome to contribute and engage.
The World Majlis included the Next Gen World Majlis, giving a young people’s perspective during and after Expo 2020. It includes the Women’s World Majlis, which is a series of discussions centered on critical women’s issues. This is being offered in conjunction with the Women’s Pavilion. The Women’s World Majlis places women’s viewpoints at the center of each Expo thematic week.
