Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Ambassador Reed, UN Under-Secretary General and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka and Expo Section Commissioner General Awni Behnam opened the UN Pavilion today at the Shanghai World Expo.
Following the colourful and extravagant opening ceremony of the Expo the night before, the Pavilion was finally revealed to the public and media for the first time in a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Ambassador Reed and Mrs Tibaijuka were shown round the pavilion by Dr Behnam and treated to a moving performance by the UN Staff Choir who had flown out from New York especially for the occasion.
The UN Pavilion theme, One Earth One UN, highlighting the UN's work towards sustainable development and realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, is brought to life by exhibitions, films and lectures.
However, today all eyes were on the Forum area where Mrs Tibaijuka gave the inaugural lecture on the World Urban Campaign; Better Cities Better Life: Actualizing the Dream. This opens a series of talks by key figures and friends of the UN around the topic of sustainable urban development.
The Expo, which is expected to receive a record 70 million visitors over the next six months, was sold out on opening day to a public who were keen to see what each area had on offer. |
