EXPO IN DUBAI, ARCIGAY AND AGEDO CHALLENGE THE BUREAU: "LET IT BE AN INCLUSIVE EVENT"“
Bologna, September 29, 2021 – A few days before the opening of Expo Dubai and in the wake of the achievements of the 2015 Milan Expo, Arcigay and Agedo (the association of parents, relatives, and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people) are appealing to the BIE (Bureau International des Expositions, the intergovernmental organization that manages Expos, short for Universal Exposition) to require the states organizing and participating in the event to sign the "Charter for Diversity and Equal Opportunities in Expos that Welcome Everyone," created during the Milan edition of the major event. The appeal, which is circulating as a petition on the Allout platform (https://bit.ly/3m2b8fG), aims to consolidate the progress made by the organization under Giuseppe Sala's leadership in its Italian phase. The Charter signed at the time was the culmination of development work by over 70 civil society associations and the administration of Expo 2015 Milan. It explicitly called on the BIE to incorporate this element into its structure, in order to contribute to the fight against all forms of discrimination in future Expos—gender, age, disability, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, identity, and any other—and to support initiatives aimed at enhancing diversity promoted by the Organizer. "Unfortunately," Arcigay and Agedo complain, "even now, the evaluation criteria for a candidacy do not include initiatives or guidelines explicitly aimed at preventing discrimination against both Expo workers and those who pass through it. It is up to the individual organizers to ensure that EXPO provides a space that is truly inclusive of all forms of diversity." Therefore, the two associations urge the bureau to "define and implement guidelines respecting the principle of equal dignity and fair treatment in the workplace; to promote the evaluation, in the Bid Dossier submitted by the government of the State interested in organizing the Expo, of initiatives against all forms of discrimination; to ask the Expo organizers to regularly report to the BIE Executive Committee on progress in preparing an Exposition with a specific focus on enhancing human diversity; to support the Expo organizers in submitting Special Regulations for the Event regarding both the inclusion of male and female workers and the reception of male and female visitors; to ask the BIE Communication and Information Committee to evaluate the initiatives of the Expo organizers and Participants aimed at education and awareness-raising on this topic; to periodically monitor at the General Assembly the progress of the actions undertaken by the Expo organizers and Participants to promote equal opportunities and evaluate the impact of best practices; to evaluate, among the BIE awards, the initiatives adopted by the Official Participants. to promote diversity and inclusion“.
