Australian Expo Delegation Visit to Shanghai, November 2007
Dr Lachlan Strahan, Assistant Secretary, Images of Australia Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), will lead the official Australian delegation to Shanghai in November for the second annual Participants Meeting for the 2010 World Expo. The Australian delegation will include Peter Sams, the Pavilion Director, and David Glass, Director Business and Communications.
The Participants Meeting, which will take place on 15-16 November, will be hosted by the Shanghai Expo Coordination Bureau. The meeting’s main purpose will be to provide briefings to participants on China’s preparations for the World Expo 2010.
As of 21 October 2007, 154 countries and 20 international organisations had committed to participate in the Shanghai World Expo, which is expected to be the largest expo ever.
The Second Participants Meeting will be critical for two reasons. First, it will provide an early measure of China’s preparations for the World Expo, which commences in 920 days. Second, it will be an excellent opportunity for participating countries and international organisations to get detailed briefings on the latest expo developments. The more information that we have about China’s operational plans, the construction of the expo site in Pudong, the calendar of expo events in 2010, and the bureau’s expo regulations, the more effective Australia’s preparations for Shanghai will be.
Detailed design, architectural and budget preparation work for Australia’s national pavilion was recently completed by Think OTS, a Melbourne-based firm, in conjunction with its partners, Wood Marsh, which provided architectural services.
The pavilion design concept which Think OTS has developed will provide a dynamic pavilion which contributes to the “Better Cities, Better Life” expo theme, which reflects the breadth and depth of the Australia-China bilateral relationship, which provides a terrific platform for Australia’s business program at expo and which offers visitors an enjoyable and memorable experience.
Following the Second Participants Meeting, the Australian delegation plans to brief the Australian business communities in Shanghai and Beijing on Australia’s preparations for the 2010 World Expo.
