DUBAI: – The ‘Declaration for People and Planet’, launched on Wednesday (30 March) by Expo 2020 Dubai, builds on the success of the Programme for People and Planet, emphasising the need for concerted action and celebrating a movement that will continue long after the World Expo closes its doors on 31 March 2022.  

Running across the six months of Expo 2020 Dubai, the Programme – anchored by 10 Theme Weeks and 18 International Days – has prioritised youth, women and under-represented voices. Across 220-plus events, it has united more than 14,000 participants (joined online by more than 27 million viewers), from government and private sector leaders to academics and changemakers, culminating in a symbolic site-wide ‘Walk for People and Planet’ on Tuesday, that united thousands in a shared commitment to a better, healthier, more sustainable world for future generations.

Designed in collaboration with 192 nations, and adopted by the UAE Cabinet on 14 April 2021, the Programme for People and Planet has catalysed global action and impact, ensuring everyone has a seat at the table in helping to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing global communities.

With this in mind, the ‘Declaration for People and Planet’ will live on the Expo 2020 Dubai website, continuing to inspire collective action to address the 17 SDGs. The SDGs, or the World’s To-Do List, recognise that ending poverty and other global concerns must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, while also tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests.

Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “The Programme for People and Planet started a global movement, the momentum of which will continue to shape our shared future for decades to come.

“Uniting 200 nations and organisations, we have prioritised creative and purposeful partnerships to catalyse sustainable growth, inclusive of all stakeholders along the value chain. To drive optimal impact, we have also mandated that these collaborations be holistic and address the complex interdependencies of the SDGs.

“From world leaders to government ministers and captains of industry, to mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, the youth and our respected elders, the buzz you hear on our Expo site is humanity in glorious action. It is human progress in wonderful practice. It is dignity, and prosperity, and opportunity for all, and I am immensely grateful for, and inspired by, all that we have achieved.”

The Programme for People and Planet: Highlights and outcomes

During Climate & Biodiversity Week (3-9 October 2021), the UAE announced its ‘Net Zero by 2050’ pledge at the UAE Pavilion, making it the first nation in the Middle East and North Africa region to make such a commitment. Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Trade Partner DP World, which is already implementing extensive measures to tackle wildlife trafficking, was first to sign a pledge calling for the mobilisation of public and private resources to stamp out the illegal trade by 2030, and urged governments worldwide to commit to zero tolerance policies.

In a similar vein, World Wildlife Day (3 March 2022) saw the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment launch the UAE National Red List – an evaluation of extinction risk of more than 1,000 species in the UAE, as well as conservation plans and programmes for the species and their habitats.

Global Goals Week (15-22 January 2022) marked the first time the annual week has left the UN headquarters in New York, drawing experts and leaders from around the world, including UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J Mohammed. The week’s standouts include the Water-Food-Energy Nexus Summit, which saw the UAE, Jordan and the Netherlands issue a trilateral declaration affirming their commitment to optimise resource use – urging other governments to join them in acknowledging the inter-dependency of water, food, and energy. Launched during this Theme Week, the site-wide SDG Challenge – inviting visitors to create their own SDG-focused ‘to-do list’ – has also attracted 75,000 participants to-date, cementing Expo’s status as a global stage for the Global Goals.

The first Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) meeting of government ministers from across the world since the mission’s launch at COP26 took place during Food, Agriculture & Livelihoods Week (17-23 February 2022). During the meeting, AIM for Climate welcomed seven new government partners – Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, the European Commission, Guyana, Mozambique and Turkey – bringing the total to 40. The Chefs’ Manifesto, empowering chefs with a framework tied to the SDGs, was also launched in Arabic, widening its impact across the Arab World.

Following a prior memorandum of understanding between Smart Africa and the Estonian ICT Cluster to encourage technology transformation and knowledge sharing, an innovative agri-tech pilot project was conceived at Travel & Connectivity Week (9-15 January 2022). The project, titled ‘Coffee Subsector Data Registry to Empower Farmers and Monetising Sustainable Farming’, was a result of an enlightening panel discussion at Expo 2020 Dubai and is aimed at creating registries of coffee farmers and farms, in cooperation with state coffee trade regulatory bodies, in Kenya and potentially across Smart Africa Member States.

Tolerance & Inclusivity Week (14-20 November 2021) marked the first ever Festival of Indigenous and Tribal Ideas at a World Expo, to aid the resurgence of indigenous and tribal economies. The Te Aratini Festival, spearheaded by the New Zealand Pavilion, provided a vehicle for indigenous and tribal people around the world to share ancestral and contemporary knowledge, cultures and experiences.

The Blue Marble Vision framework – championed by the Sweden Pavilion, alongside UAE Space Agency, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and the Italy Pavilion – was launched during Space Week (17-23 October 2021). The framework, which includes an action-orientated plan for new cooperation in the sector, will inform the agenda of the Stockholm+50 conference – an international meeting convened by the UN General Assembly that will be held in Sweden from 2-3 June 2022.

Looking to the world’s future cities and rural areas, Urban & Rural Development Week (31 October-6 November 2021) saw UN-Habitat launch a roadmap – based on knowledge and learning built through its participatory slum-upgrading programmes – for last-mile delivery to slums and informal settlements.

Expo 2020 Dubai hosted the world’s largest celebration for the 2021 edition of World Children’s Day (20 November), featuring a youth-led concert in Al Wasl Plaza, where two new UNICEF Youth Advocates – including the first UAE National to be selected for the role – were announced to join the 2021 cohort of young thought leaders in support of children and their rights.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) celebration of the Universal Health Coverage Day (12 December 2021) was also hosted at Expo 2020 Dubai, welcoming WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for his first international trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that many globally continue to face a choice between their money and their life. To this end, the WHO also launched the Global Monitoring Report on Financial Protection in Health 2021 and the Tracking Universal Health Coverage: 2021 Global Monitoring Report at the World Expo, and the Expo 2020 Dubai community exceeded 10 million steps in Walk the Talk, a global campaign where people all ages and abilities get moving in a call for better health for everyone.

With 30,000 volunteers comprising the backbone of Expo 2020 Dubai’s operations and representing the largest volunteer campaign in the UAE, International Volunteer Day (5 December 2021) was an opportunity to celebrate all those who give back to society, and included the announcement of three ‘Volunteer Heroes’, selected from around the world by the UAE Ministry of Community Development, the Emirates Foundation and the International Association for Volunteer Effort.

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