All set for Expo 2005

The World exposition is back to Japan after a gap of 35 years. A little more than a decade after Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan achieved the desired goal of catching up with the advanced nations and ranked among the world's leaders in terms of living standards.

Much of humanity's achievement during the second half of the last century was based on tremendous success in the field of science and technology. But the progress, however, gave rise to new concern that our endless desire to reach development goals might be taking our surrounding environment over the brink. Moreover, as the world continued to face problems related to shortage of energy and hunger, a new approach to development became essential. As a result, for the first time in the history of world exposition, Expo 2005 is attaching special attention to the importance of preservation of our natural surroundings, as the main theme for the event, "Nature's Wisdom," stresses on the need for building a new civilisation in harmony with the mechanism of nature.

World exposition's journey to Japan's Aichi prefecture took more than 15 years from the first announcement the local authorities made in 1988 of their intention to host the event. In February 1990, Aichi selected hilly area in Seto City as perspective site for Expo and started lobbying the government for official backing. It was only in December 1995 that the Japanese cabinet approved Aichi's application for hosting of the exposition. It was a period of anxiety for Japanese economy as a prolonged recession loomed and rocked the achievements of the past. The anxiety of the government over country's economic health no doubt found its reflection in the relatively longer period that it needed to approve Aichi's application. In June 1997 Aichi was selected over Canada as host of 2005 Expo at the general assembly of International Bureau of Expositions in Monaco. Japan Asso-ciation for the 2005 World Exposition, the main body to supervise the building of facilities and infrastructure as well as running the whole show, was established in October the same year. The association modified the initial plan to use Aichi Youth Park in Nagakute Town as the main venue and in December 2001 announced the master plan for Expo.

Construction works for Expo started only in October 2002 and a year later the organisers started selling advance tickets. The total cost for construction has been estimated at 135 billion yen, which is being provided by the central and prefecture governments and the city administration of Nagoya. The figure does not include the cost for the construction of a new international airport in Nagoya, a motorway linking the venue with existing national highways, and a brand new linier train line using Maglev trains. In addition to construction cost, the organisers also budgeted 55 billion yen as operational expenditure for the exposition. They are hoping that approximately 15 million people will visit the Expo in its duration, which would allow them to make a relatively modest recovery of the investment. A ten percent of visitors are expected to be from overseas, a predominant number from South Korea, China and Taiwan.

The venue for Expo 2005, comprising Seto and Nagakute area, embodies the theme of "Nature's Wisdom." A global loop runs through the heart of the Nagakute site linking main pavilions of various participants. The loop is an elevated corridor that eliminates the need to alter the venue's rolling terrain. It links the six Global Commons that host the pavilions of participating countries, corporate pavilion zone, and the interactive fun zone. The central zone that accommodates the symbol of Expo 2005, the Global House, is situated inside the loop. Adjacent to the Global Loop is the forest experience zone, where visitors will be able to enjoy the natural state of the forest and experience the harmony of nature's wisdom.

The Seto area, on the other hand, keeps the natural environment in its original state as much as possible. Giving full consideration to the preservation of the natural environment, it provides visitors with a unique opportunity to touch and feel the nature. It also consists of a second Japan and a second Aichi pavilion, as well as an attractive circular three-storied building with an open-air plaza composed of four uneven areas that will hold events and exhibitions and serve as a venue for citizens' participation.

Bangladesh was relatively late to join the group of participating nations. Our decision makers back at home could not decide for very long whose jurisdiction country's participation should come under. The main theme of Expo related closely to environment created the initial confusion, which was compounded later when the cost of participation looked to be a greater stumbling block. A Tokyo based Japanese company, Kasho Ltd., came to our rescue as it expressed willing-ness to represent Bangladesh at Expo.

As a result, our participation in this prestigious event has been made possible by the physical and financial involvement of a Japanese company.

Bangladesh pavilion at Global Common 1 is now set to invite visitors, who will be able to see some of our products made of environment friendly methods and techniques. The pavilion also houses a food stall to sell Bangladeshi food to visitors. The management company of the pavilion has already brought two expert cooks from Bangladesh, who will be busy preparing some of our authentic dishes at the Expo venue.

Expo 2005 also includes a cultural part, which too is considered important for participating nations, as it would provide them with the rare opportunity of displaying cultural

aspects of their respective countries. Throughout the duration of Expo, each participating country and international organisation has been allocated a specific day for their cultural events. According to the Expo calendar, June 9 will be the national day for Bangladesh, when a special cultural event will be held at the main stage of Expo with the participation of artists and performers from our country. Taking into consideration the burden of expenses for the developing countries to ensure their participation in such events, the organisers of Expo has allocated fund for travel and accommodation for up to ten participants from each developing country. Visitors to the Expo as well as expatriate Bangladeshis in Japan are now eagerly waiting to see who will be the lucky ten to carry the message of our culture to such a prestigious gathering.