The Global View
In 2017, Canada will celebrate its 150th anniversary as a
nation. What a wonderful time to host an EXPO and showcase the
extraordinary accomplishments of our nation and the shining beauty
of our land.
The University of Alberta is proud to partner with the City of
Edmonton, the Province of Alberta, and the Government of Canada in
advancing a national bid for EXPO 2017. Our South Campus, the
principal site proposed for EXPO, has tremendous potential. Located
in the scenic North Saskatchewan River Valley, it provides the
perfect vista to introduce Edmonton, Alberta, and Canada to
visitors from around the globe.
The University of Alberta is one of Canada's top-five
universities, with a strong international reputation as a vibrant,
engaged, and leading-edge academic community. The infrastructure
developed for EXPO 2017 will be an important legacy for our campus
that will be put to immediate, sustainable post-EXPO use.
Yet we are most excited by the legacy that we know will be the
most significant outcome of EXPO 2017. We share a vision with the
International Exhibitions Bureau that sees EXPO as a catalyst that
raises the bar of understanding on issues of global importance
among all visitors, and particularly youth.
The proposed theme for EXPO 2017, Harmony of Energy and Our
Future Planet, engages our strengths as a university and as a
partner in worldwide research networks such as the German Helmholtz
Association, the World Universities Network, and the Canada School
of Energy and Environment. Outstanding faculty and students in all
disciplines will participate in EXPO 2017 and engage with visitors,
sharing their knowledge and discoveries in entertaining and
memorable ways.
We also plan to engage our public and private-sector partners
and host a series of high-level international conferences during
EXPO 2017 that will attract the world's top academic, business, and
public-sector researchers and leaders. These conferences will raise
the profile of Canada, Alberta, and Edmonton in discovery and
decision-making circles throughout the world. Thus, the knowledge
transfer that begins at EXPO 2017 will continue as the people's
legacy for generations to come. New knowledge and new perspectives
shared at EXPO will be carried forward in the minds of future
students, educators, researchers, and members of the global
community as they collaborate to advance learning, discovery, and
citizenship in our region, the nation, and the world.
The University of Alberta was founded a century ago as a
teaching and research institution dedicated to the "uplifting of
the whole people". Today, we are a major international university,
and we consider this promise to "the whole people" to apply not
only to Albertans and Canadians, but to all citizens of the global
community.
Indira V. Samarasekera, O.C.,
President of the University of Alberta
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