09-06-2009

2015: EXPO IN MILAN

Expo 2015: Milan has done it!

What is a World Exhibition?
World Exhibition is the name given to large public exhibition held since the mid 19th century. The official sanctioning body is the Bureau Internationelle des exposition (BIE).
BIE-approved fairs are divided into a number of types: Universal and International. They usually last between 3 and 6 months.
When we say Expo, we generally mean a Universal fair.
Expo features a specific theme, and is hosted by an organizing country (in particular by one city) in involves many nations and international organizations.
EXPO 2010 will be nosted by Shanghai, China and the theme will be "Better city, better life".

When.
Expo 2015 will be held from May to October. The opening hours will be: from 9am to 1am, with day and evening tickets (Expo day: 9am-9pm; Expo night: 9pm-1am)

The Theme.
"Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life" - this title includes the whole range of topics regarding food and nutrition: lack of food in some places , nutrition education, OGM and more. 

EXPO 2015 provides the chance to look at issues like:

* Improving food and water quality and security;
* Extending healthy nutrition to the 850 million people in need, in order to eliminate hunger, reduce infant mortality and the spread of disease;
* Preventing the new health problems of affluent society, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer by promoting the practices that help avoid them;
* Innovating food production, conservation and distribution processes through research, technology and company know-how;
* Educating people to prefer a correct nutritional lifestyle;
* Valuing the knowledge stored in “food traditions” as nutritional, cultural and ethnic wisdom.

The quality and distribution of agricultural food products is not merely an important economic issue, it is a social necessity.  The role of territory is crucial: the centuries-old local traditions of raising crops and animals can be grafted to new technology and discoveries to great benefit.

EXPO 2015 will display the scientific and technological responses to issues such as:

- preserving bio-diversity;

- finding healthy and environmentally secure biotech tools to help make safe food and water available;

- ensuring new food sources in areas where food production is less developed or threatened by enviromental factors.

EXPO 2015 is a unique opportunity in terms of communication and promotion for the entire food production universe: countries, regions, farmers, processing companies, logisitics and distibution, and research centers.

Milano prepares for EXPO 2015.
The site will be connected to the city by a land route of 20 km that will pass through areas of historical, artistic and cultural interest in Milan along its way to the EXPO. A water way will be created through the use of existing canals and the requalification of others. This route will illustrate the role of water and irrigation in Milan's history and will bring people from the the Darsena (the ancient  canal port) into the agricultural country near the fair. 

A huge number of major projects will transform Milan for the occasion of the EXPO.
In the Garibaldi-Repubblica zone an entirely new neighorhood is rising: Fashion City.

On the site of the former Alfa Romeo factory: shops, services, a train station and a big park.

Nor far from that, the "Jewellery Center" a focal point for the gems industry.

At Porta Vittoria, on the site of a train station now underground,  "European Library of Information and Culture".

In the Rogoredo-Santa Giulia zone, a new residential area with   34 hectares of public park. The new courthouse will be located in this "Citadel of Justice", as it will be called.

The Bicocca quarter will host the new "Cinema Town" connected to the Milano-Bicocca University, and the Politechnic University in the Bovisa area will be the new hi-tech research pole.

The Porta Romana zone is being transformed into a hotel complex with a new management center and a modern art museum promoted by the Prada Foundation. 

On the site of the old Milano City Fiera, a fantastic trio of skyscrapers, a museum and surrounding park will  be the hallmarks of the CityLife project.

LEARNING ITALIAN TO PARTICIPATE IN EXPO 2015

We are already organizing special courses in Italian for foreigners. In particular:

For foreign organizers and staff members who will come to Milan in the period previous to the exposition:

Courses for 1,3 and 6 months, both group and individual.

Group courses are organized on six levels, and are held either in the morning (GM40 and GM80) and in the evening (GS40).

Individual courses can vary either in intensity and duration.
Before starting,  a level test helps place students in the best program.

For Expo visitors and exhibitors who would like to take advantage of being in Milan, learning the basics of communication in Italian or refresh Italian studied in the past:

Courses of brief duration (1, 2 weeks) for individual or small groups. The course will provide the skills and the vocabulary of the most common daily situations that foreigners visiting our city will encounter: arrival at the airport, catching a taxi, shopping, meeting people, and saying why you're in Milan.

For those who are part of the Expo organizing staff and will have to move to Milan for a long period of time:

Long term courses (1 year): both group and individual.