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Home / Features / Global thought leaders engage in lively conversation about future cities at Expo 2020 Dubai World Majlis in Shanghai

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Global thought leaders engage in lively conversation about future cities at Expo 2020 Dubai World Majlis in Shanghai

Prominent thought leaders from around the world came together for an insightful conversation about future cities and the transformative power of World Expos at Expo 2020 Dubai’s second international World Majlis session, which was hosted at the World Expo Museum (WEM) in Shanghai, China. The latest World Majlis session, titled ‘The Future of Cities: World Expos as Experiments in Mega-Change’, saw 25 current and aspiring leaders address the future of urban living, as well as the potential of World Expos to influence long-term development in their host cities and beyond.

Moderated by Marjan Faraidooni, Senior Vice President – Legacy Development and Impact, Expo 2020 Dubai, other World Majlis participants included His Excellency Hong Hao, Chairman, WEM; Professor Joan Busquets, Harvard School of Design and Technical University of Catalonia; and Professor Cheng Jian, Shanghai Coordination Center of World Cities Day.

The Shanghai World Majlis session coincided with the inaugural World Expo Forum for Development and International Cooperation, which saw senior officials from Expo 2020 Dubai join 350 international delegates at WEM to discuss global collaboration, innovation, design, culture, and economic and urban impact.

A scale model of the Expo 2020 site was also unveiled during the World Expo Forum. The masterplan, displayed throughout the two days of the event, will remain as a permanent exhibition within WEM, contributing to the museum’s content.

Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director of Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, who hosted the World Majlis session, said: “As the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Expo 2020 has the potential to positively influence urban development across Dubai, the UAE and the region as a whole. The insights generated during the World Majlis session in Shanghai will help shape this journey, making a meaningful contribution to the impact of the next World Expo on future cities.

“In addition to the World Majlis, the World Expo Forum represents a valuable opportunity for the Expo 2020 team to harness the power of multilateral cooperation by learning from delegates with experience of delivering previous World Expos, and connecting with the wider international community in a truly collaborative environment.”

Expo 2020’s World Majlis series is designed to address 21st century challenges through the long-established Emirati and Arab tradition of the majlis – a gathering place where people from different backgrounds can gain new perspectives by engaging in conversations that matter to their communities.

During the Shanghai World Majlis session, His Excellency Vicente González Loscertales, Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions and World Majlis participant, the governing body of World Expos, said: “World Expos must be considered as part of the masterplan and dynamic process of a city’s development. Integration between the government and citizens creates the best results, as was the case in Japan. In Lisbon for example, the big change in the orientation of the city created a fantastic place for the new generation.

“Shanghai was the epitome of success and what a World Expo can do for a city, while the citizens supported its vison during and after. Those where examples of some of the urban best practices that have evolved in the past and how we can continue to drive progress on the journey to 2020 and beyond.”

His Excellency Hong Hao, Chairman of the World Expo Museum and World Majlis participant, said: “Shanghai Expo not only brought dramatic changes to the city’s infrastructure, but also improved the spiritual aspect and qualities within people, such as morality, that resulted in an elevated civilized society. The city became also cleaner, more organised, inclusive and harmonious.”

The latest session was the second to take place outside the UAE. Expo 2020’s first international World Majlis was held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, United States in September 2018. It was titled ‘How can the power of innovation and the human spirit enable more people to create their own future?’.

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