- Collaboration with Rosling’s Gapminder Foundation to challenge Expo 2020 visitors’ view of the world
- Expo to inspire greater understanding, communication globally
- Knowledge the basis for cross-border efforts to make a better future
DUBAI, 24 October 2019 – Expo 2020 Dubai has announced a collaboration with the Swedish-based Gapminder Foundation to turn Expo 2020 visitors into global champions for change. The news comes as Expo 2020 marks the one year countdown to The World’s Greatest Show of human brilliance and achievement.
Anna and Ola Rosling will work with Expo 2020 Dubai to create a series of questions to challenge visitors’ understanding of the world. This follows the results of Expo 2020’s Global Optimism Outlook Survey, which highlighted people’s desire for increased communication, knowledge-sharing and cross-border collaboration.
“The world is far more optimistic than is often felt,” said Ola Rosling, Chairman and Co-Founder, Gapminder Foundation. “The Gapminder Foundation was born to allow people to be able to learn more about the world for themselves in a clear, unbiased manner. We see challenges in the world every day but this, in turn, creates opportunities. The magic happens when the world comes together to inspire change on a global scale, and that’s exactly the intent of Expo 2020 Dubai. Therefore, we’re truly excited to be part of this project, to help people make better informed choices that lead to positive change for the future.”
The project will be developed between now and October 2020, when Expo officially opens, in collaboration with participating nations. A series of questions will then be placed across the Expo 2020 site, where data will be gathered and transformed into a factual analysis of our understanding and perception of the world around us.
Manal Al Bayat, Chief Community Engagement Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai said: “We are now just one year away from The World’s Greatest Show of human brilliance – one year away from bringing millions of people together with 192 participating nations, in the spirit of optimism, to understand the world around us, and to create and inspire people to build a better future.
“Our collaboration is part of Expo 2020 Dubai’s aim to drive positive and lasting change where it is most needed. That change cannot begin without us knowing more about the world around us, and with those we share it. We are thrilled to have Anna and Ola Rosling with us for such an important milestone, and we look forward to further developing the project ahead of opening next year.”
The Gapminder Foundation offers cost-free teaching material that allows people to develop a fact-based view on global society. The project aims to understand our knowledge of one another today.This reflects Expo’s optimistic purpose to connect millions from around the world to be inspired to create a better future. Working with Novus and IpsosMori, the Foundation polled 20,000 people in 31 countries.
They found that when people were asked a series of eighteen questions about global trends such as average income levels, the number of people aged over 65, or how the global population is distributed across continents, the average respondent got just 2.9 questions right.
By contrast, someone selecting one of three possible responses at random would be expected to score 6 out of 18. This difference demonstrates the extent to which people’s knowledge of wider world can be incorrect.
For example, the Gapminder / Ipsos Mori survey found that when respondents were asked what proportion of the global population lived in low income countries, a majority of respondents thought that 35% of people on earth did so. The actual answer is just 9% of the population.
Expo 2020 Dubai opens its doors to the public on 20 October, 2020.
About Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai will bring together millions of people for the World’s Greatest Show, celebrating human brilliance and achievement under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
- The six months from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021 will be a moment in time to be part of an unparalleled event. We are extending a warm Emirati welcome to the world:
- 25 million visits are expected, with many visitors expected to come more than once
- 70 per cent of visitors anticipated to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 168-year history of World Expos
- An entertaining global celebration with something for everyone, Expo 2020 will wow visitors with 60 daily events across 173 days, showcasing the best of music, technology, creativity and culture, while 200 F&B outlets will feature famous chefs and cuisine from every corner of the world
- Expo 2020 will be an endless journey of discovery. Visitors will have access to the latest innovations and breakthroughs, with more than 200 participants – including 192 nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions – coming together to highlight real-life solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges
- Expo 2020’s sub-themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability will inspire visitors to make a conscious effort to think and live differently, and give them renewed optimism that, through collaboration, it is possible to make a lasting change to the world
- The first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) will be located on a 4.38 sqkm site adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
The Expo 2020 Dubai Media Information System,Tawassul, is now available by registering at https://media.expo2020dubai.com. Tawassul is your essential tool to access important information and updates on topics such as media accreditation, licences and permits, press releases and visual assets.
The Expo 2020 Global Media Briefing, taking place in Dubai from 20-22 October 2019, will provide hundreds of members of the media the latest updates and insights on the event. To register, email: [email protected].
Visit: www.expo2020dubai.com
Follow: Twitter: @expo2020dubai | Facebook: @Expo2020Dubai | Instagram: expo2020dubai
About World Expos
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.
About Gapminder
Gapminder is an independent Swedish foundation with no political, religious or economic affiliations. Gapminder is a fact tank, not a think tank. Gapminder fights misconceptions about global development. Gapminder produces free teaching resources making the world understandable based on reliable statistics. Gapminder promotes a fact-based worldview everyone can understand. Gapminder collaborates with universities, UN, public agencies and non-governmental organizations. All Gapminder activities are governed by the board. We do not award grants. Gapminder Foundation is registered at Stockholm County Administration Board.