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Magazine
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The General Commissioners' First MeetingFrom November 17 to 19, 2003, Vladimír Darjanin, the General Commissioner of the Czech Republic for Expo 2005, took part in the first meeting of general commissioners from all 121 countries participating in Expo 2005. The conference with its 250 official delegates was chaired by Mr. Taizo Watanabe, the Expo 2005 Commissioner General. The delegates were also welcomed by Mr. Vincente Gonzales Loscertales, the Secretary General of the International Expositions Bureau (BEI), who used his opening address to emphasize the importance and necessity of looking at world expositions in the third millennium as a future source of intellectual heritage. The delegates were then greeted by Mr. Masaaki Kanda, the governor of the Aichi prefecture, who presented the Aichi Hospitality project. As a part of this project, each of the participating countries will be partnered with one of the municipalities in the Aichi prefecture. The historical and culturally rich city of Otowa is the Czech Republic's partner and General Commissioner Darjanin met with the mayor of the city. In her speech Ms. Harumi Sakamoto, the Vice Chairperson of the organizing association, reminded delegates of the challenges facing the first world exposition of the twenty-first century. The first expo of the third millennium must be perceived of as creating a solid basis for communication between individual nations as a part of a global symphony of cultures. She then continued her address with a presentation of the prefecture of Aichi and in particular the exposition grounds, whose ecological approach is completely in harmony with the expo's theme of the symbiosis of modern technology and natural wealth. Important issues discussed during the conference included the holding of national days, commercial activities within the framework of individual pavilions, transportation, import duties, the distribution of modules, etc. The Czech delegation was presented with a detailed model of the Czech pavilion and its location in a very prestigious area of the European Zone, one which will guarantee a large number of visitors and undoubtedly pique the interest of the estimated 15 to 25 million visitors. More than five million tickets have already been sold. The delegates later had the opportunity to personally observe the construction at the exposition grounds. General Commissioner Darjanin was also very fortunate to personally meet with Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition and honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation. They discussed the importance of Toyota not only as the main sponsor of the expo but also for the Czech Republic as the largest Japanese investor in a greenfields site in this country. In 2005, the Toyota Citroën Peugeot Automobile Czech factory will open in the central Bohemian city of Kolín and Dr. Toyoda promised to attend the factory's ceremonial opening because, in his own words, the Czech Republic has made a deep and lasting impression on him. Dr. Toyoda also expression his belief that the Czech pavilion will be a very attractive and popular destination for visitors to Expo 2005 and that the Czech Republic will continue in the footsteps of its historical successes at world expositions. Another important moment was a meeting with Mr. Masaaki Kanda, the governor of the host prefecture of Aichi. General Commissioner Darjanin presented the governor with a letter and gift from Mr. Petr Bendl, governor of the region of Central Bohemia and discussed with him a project of cooperation between the Czech regions and Japanese prefectures. He also positively evaluated the Aichi hospitality initiative, which is the first step in establishing long-term cooperation. At the close of the meeting, General Commission Darjanin was elected to the fourteen-member steering committee together with representatives of Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Costa Rica, which has the status of observer. Bernard Testu, the French general commissioner, was elected president of the steering committee. The Steering Committee as an elected body represents and defend the interests of all 121 participating countries and will work closely with the organizers and official organs of the International Expositions Bureau (BIE). With its membership, the Czech Republic has a unique opportunity to use its vote to directly impact important decisions and have a significant impact on the preparations for and the running of Expo 2005 in Aichi. The Steering Committee will meet every three months prior to the Expo 2005's official opening and monthly thereafter. One additional development to come out of the general commissioners' meeting in Japan was the confirmation of a specific date for the holding of the Czech National Day at the 2005 World Exposition - June 24, 2005. |
