REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT IRELAND’S NATIONAL DAY AT WORLD EXPO 2010 SHANGHAI
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT IRELAND’S NATIONAL DAY AT WORLD EXPO 2010 SHANGHAI THURSDAY 17TH JUNE, 2010
Your Excellency Mayor Han, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
My husband Martin and I are delighted to be back in the great city of Shanghai, this time to visit World Expo 2010 on the occasion of Ireland’s National Day at Expo. Ireland was one of the first countries to respond to the invitation from Premier Wen Jiabao in February, 2006 to participate in World Expo 2010. It was to be the first Expo to be hosted in a developing country and though it presented huge challenges we had great faith in Shanghai’s passion, commitment and creativity. Who could not be impressed by this city and by what it has already achieved? My first introduction to Shanghai several years ago introduced me to an energised and dynamic metropolis such as I had never seen before. It had the feel of a welcoming rural village but with all the dazzling hallmarks of a city of the future.
So I came anticipating a fantastic and exciting Expo and needless to say that is precisely what I have found and more. The Expo Bureau, people and government of Shanghai are entitled to be very proud of World Expo 2010 and I warmly congratulate them on its huge success. In fact Expo 2010 sets a wholly new standard for future World Exhibitions.
The theme of Expo 2010 – “Better City, Better Life” – resonates well with many countries, including Ireland. For many of us, a generations-old predominantly rural lifestyle has been overtaken by rapid urbanisation and that process has presented all of us with the complex task of addressing this quest for a better life in an urban environment. It’s a theme close to the heart of Shanghai where the government has facilitated environmentally friendly ‘green’ building design and the provision of ‘green areas’ and public parks within the city to improve the quality of life for residents. Shanghai is itself a living example of the Expo’s theme of ‘Better City, Better Life’.
The Ireland Pavilion has taken up the theme by exploring the relationship between the rural and urban landscape and the natural and man-made world in the context of Ireland’s history, economy, culture and geography. Given our status as the Emerald Isle with its temperate climate and its forty shades of green, the Ireland Pavilion is predictably among the most ‘green’ of all the national pavilions. It introduces visitors to the unique geography and coastal setting of Ireland’s major cities, the changing faces of urban living in Ireland through the ages and especially the contemporary changes driven by a focus on the efficient use of space and the need for sustainable development.
It does the job so well that the Ireland Pavilion has become a firm favourite with Expo visitors. That success is thanks to a great Irish team, architect of the Ireland Pavilion Desmond Byrne, his talented colleagues in the Office of Public Works, Irish architectural firm Henry J. Lyons which oversaw the construction of the Pavilion, Martello Media who did the interior fit out and exhibits, the Director of the Pavilion, James Blighe, and his staff who offer all visitors a warm “céad míle fáilte”, the traditional Irish welcome. I’d also like to thank our Commissioner General
John Kennedy and Deputy Commissioner General John Lynam in Shanghai for their hard work. I congratulate and thank each one of you for showcasing Ireland so brilliantly in Shanghai.
Of course, besides the wonderful permanent exhibits, the Pavilion hosts a lively, vibrant, cultural programme including exhibitions and performances throughout the full period of the Expo and I want to thank all the organisers, artists and entertainers whose genius will introduce visitors to so many different facets of Irish life. My thanks also to the Ambassador, Consul General and their colleagues both here and in Ireland who have worked so hard to ensure the success of the Ireland Pavilion. I hope many of those who visit the Ireland Pavilion will leave with a strong desire to know more about us and a determination to do something about it.
Here at Expo, many thousands of miles from Ireland, the world feels as it should – a widespread clan purposefully gathered in one place to get to know one another and to help each other plan a better shared future. The great city of Shanghai has made us all feel like a family at a homecoming and I thank its government and people for their remarkable achievement.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.