Launch on Master on Environmental Assessment and Integrated Management in Urban Areas

Vicente G. Loscertales' announcement at the Italian Pavilion – Expo Shanghai 2010

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The initiative to launch an International Master on the management and the assessment of  environmental issues in cities and to inaugurate it in within Expo Shanghai 2010 is a very important step in highlighting the role of World Expos in the 21st Century.

21st Century Expos are  no longer about products. They are about ideas and knowledge. Of course products and technological innovations are still there, but  the focus is on their functions and the way in which they can support solutions to tackle the major challenges of humanity.

The theme of Expo Shanghai 2010 Better City, Better Life – which we are experiencing through exhibitions, events and forums – is already clarifying and stressing how successful strategies and practices for city management  must rely on a systemic view of the different resources and issues that make up the overall urban fabric.

Environmental management has direct effects on the economics of a city; economic activities impact the environment, the culture, the social profile, etc.; the planning and management of the culture and the identity of a city identity tied directly into economic growth and environmental issues… and so on.

In light of this, a master with the title "Environmental Assessment and Integrated Management in Urban Areas" is addressing the core needs of the cities of today and of the future.

Let me fast forward from Shanghai 2010 to Milano 2015.

The Milan Expo will have a major “ideas component” that is already shaping up into a legacy as an international Center for Sustainable Development.

In keeping with the BIE Convention, the theme legacy, as embodied in the Milan Center for Sustainable Development, creates a framework to foster and to promote a better understanding of the theme Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life . This Center, rooted in the concepts of training and cooperation with fulfil and advance the objectives of education and progress of Milan 2015, but also of World Expos in general.

Today, more than ever, the BIE has the responsibility to promote the values of Expos of education, innovation and cooperation. However, to do so, we first need to rely on the ability and vision of each Expo to devise initiatives that make strong contributions to these values, and then establish a continuity between these initiatives.

This Master will greatly contribute to these objectives not only by continuing to expand on the themes and messages of previous Expos, but also by translating the theme into a formula for advancing the contributions of future generations.

I wish to compliment and express my deepest gratitude to the Universities and the Foundation partners, the Italian Government, the city of Milan and the Expo 2015 organizers. By engaging in this initiative for cooperation and education you are creating, through the Expo, a powerful connection between China, Korea and Italy that will drive the growth of a network of human resources, of talents and of knowledge for future sustainable urban management.

Congratulations and thank you very much.