EGYPT – Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, has unveiled the Expo 2020 Workers’ Monument and paid tribute to the workforce responsible for building the first World Expo held in the Arab world.
Her Excellency unveiled the striking and emotive structure, which is an expression of the incredible achievement and spirit of more than 200,000 workers from around the world.
Praising the contribution, dedication and achievement of Expo’s workforce, HE Reem Al Hashimy said: “We wanted to honour the incredible work of more than 200,000 workers and their contribution to Expo 2020 Dubai. Each and every one deserves to be known, with our sincere thanks and praise, for their tremendous efforts.
“Their dedication to their work has been integral to creating this historic event, the most inclusive World Expo ever. Thanks to your efforts, the planet is able to come together, at a time when international cooperation is most needed, with the collective aim of achieving a better future for us and for future generations.”
The Workers’ Monument, designed by renowned London-based architect Asif Khan, features every worker’s name carved into stone structures. Inspired by the Moon’s metamorphosis in eclipse, the cylindrical columns also reference the traditional science of cartography and the fine engineering seen in astrolabes from the Islamic world.
The colonnade, comprising columns cut from a single monolithic block, is located along the main walkway of Expo’s Jubilee Park, and will be visited by millions from across the world. It reflects a spirit of collaboration that is deeply rooted in the UAE and underpins the vision and ethos of Expo 2020 – the first global event of this size and scale to be held since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since ground was first broken on the vast Expo site in 2015, the 200,000-plus workforce drawn from across the globe has completed in excess of 240 million working hours, transforming what was once a huge expanse of desert into the incredible home of Expo 2020, a world-class city of the future and a beacon of the Dubai Urban Master Plan 2040.
Expo 2020 has also developed the Workers’ Portrait Series, which includes stunning images capturing the diversity and spirit of the Expo workforce, accompanied by their own inspiring quotes, highlighting their achievements and aspirations for the future. These images will be proudly displayed during Expo 2020 on the digital screens around the Public Realm, where they will be seen by visitors from around the world. A selection will also be exhibited at the Expo Media Centre Gallery during Expo 2020.
The Series follows a 2017 audio-visual exhibition that showcased workers’ stories of Expo 2020, told in their own languages.
Throughout construction, Expo 2020 has followed an overarching strategy called Better Together, a positive, values-driven approach to health and safety and worker welfare. Six pillars underpin the strategy – Leadership, Communication, Competency, Engagement, Reward and Recognition, and Continual Improvement – each including a number of different activities and programmes.
Training is a key part of the Better Together Competency pillar, and a range of health and safety training courses have been offered to the Expo workforce at all levels of seniority, in a variety of languages and formats. To date, training has been delivered to more than 35,000 frontline workers, 3,000 Supervisors, and 2,000 Senior Leaders and Managers, all of whom will be able to take the knowledge they have gained on to subsequent roles.
With ‘technology for good’ a key concept at Expo 2020, the Continual Improvement pillar of Better Together included the ambitious Expo Worker Wellness Programme. As part of the pilot programme, Whoop wearable devices were distributed to workers with the aim of enhancing preventative healthcare, leading the global conversation on how technology could be used to create a safer working environment on construction sites around the world.
Expo 2020’s Better Together programme has evolved with the changing global realities. As the world battled the COVID-19 pandemic, Expo who worked quickly to implement a far-reaching programme of precautionary measures across the entire site. In addition, the Worker Welfare team liaised closely with contractors to support the implementation of widespread vaccination programmes across their workforce.
The Better Together strategy continues to evolve as Expo 2020 transitions from a construction site into event time mode. Designed to encourage a shift in behaviour, and set new benchmarks for worker welfare and health and safety, the Better Together programme is set to continue to shape industries around the region, long after Expo closes its doors on 31 March 2022.
Accompanying quotes for Workers’ Portrait Series:
Anna Nalumansi, Cleaner
“I have managed to make friends with different people. I have managed to develop my career. My best moment working for Expo 2020 is that it is mixed, showing social and good hospitality. My best moment when I collaborate with different people of different countries.”
Deepu Das Devadas, Operator
“Being a part in the Expo 2020, I am proud and as the theme is Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, even I got the opportunity to be part of it.”
Divine Elomba Njombi, Security Guard
“It is my greatest experience working at Expo, knowing it’s one of the biggest events going to bring many nations together. I will be glad to share this story with my loved ones once it comes to pass.”
Gurmit Singh Amrik Singh, Mason
“I have spent over one year in Expo 2020. I have a lot of moments in Expo but the best moments are these. 1) Social education by Expo advisers 2) Unique project in the world 3) Best way to learn the best education for work 4) Award distributing for best workers.”
Kanahaiya Chauhan, Mason
“I would like to build more houses back in India.”
Rajkishor Mahto, Cleaner
“Career passion and personal satisfaction. Financial stability. Service and social responsibility.”
Umar Hayat, Rigger
“I want to make sure my children’s future is safe.”
Nsomenang Alain Tokeh, Security Guard
“I dream and aspire to become an entrepreneur in the future where I will be able to create opportunities to impact into the society through employment, impact the poor and needy, bring people together for positive purposes as well as changing lives for the betterment of society.”
-Ends-
About Expo 2020 Dubai
From 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai will welcome visitors from every corner of the globe to join the making of a new world, as it brings together the planet in one place to reimagine tomorrow.
- With the purpose of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, Expo 2020 will be the world’s most impactful global incubator for new ideas, catalysing an exchange of new perspectives and inspiring action to deliver real-life solutions to real-world challenges
- Expo 2020 will be the biggest cultural gathering in the world, presenting a visually striking and emotionally inspiring 182 days, as more than 200 participants – including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses, and educational institutions, as well as millions of visitors – create the largest and most diverse World Expo ever
- Expo 2020’s subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability will inspire visitors to preserve and protect our planet, explore new frontiers and build a better future for everyone
- For six months, Expo 2020 will be a must-visit family destination, with thousands of events, amazing exploratory experiences, and free entry for children up to age 18
- Expo is committed to building a more equitable and just world for everyone, while keeping visitors safe by following the latest guidance of the world’s leading medical, science and health experts
- Expo 2020 is the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, located on a 4.38 sqkm site adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
- Built with a meaningful and measurable long-term legacy in mind, the Expo site will transform into District 2020 – a model global community that will rethink the cities of the future – after Expo 2020 closes its doors
How to cover Expo 2020 Dubai in person at event time or report on the event remotely
To attend Expo 2020 or cover Expo 2020 remotely using content and assets generated by Expo, you must be accredited.
To kick off your journey with Expo 2020, please ensure that you:
- Register to access our Media Information System, Tawassul at https://media.expo2020dubai.com.
Tawassul is regularly updated, providing the latest content assets, including press releases, photographs, audio and video, the electronic media kit, and information on broadcast and photography operations. It also provides you with important information and updates on facilities and services such as media accreditation, visa information for international accredited media, and permits. Access to other media-related systems (Media Asset Management System and Media Bookings System), which will be launched in Q2 2021, will only be permitted to accredited media (see below). Information about these systems can be found on Tawassul.
- Once registered, submit an Expo 2020 Media Accreditation expression of interest.
Within this expression of interest, please appoint an Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) from within your organisation who will act as the single point of contact with Expo 2020 for media accreditation. Following this, approved media organisations will be provided login details and instructions for the accreditation system to enable them to submit applications.
For support, contact Expo 2020 Dubai’s Media Services team at media.services@expo2020.ae or +971 (0)56 689 2101.
Visit: www.expo2020dubai.com
About World Expos
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All
Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.
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© Press Release 2021
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