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Habitat Invited to Participate
at EXPO 2005, A Global Event Expected to Attract 15 Million
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Prominent Interactive Habitat Display To Ram Home the
Need to Eliminate Poverty Housing |
TOKYO, 25th
September 2004: The Habitat vision of a world without
poverty housing
is set to be shared with millions of people from Japan
and around the world next year.
Habitat for Humanity International has been invited to
participate in EXPO 2005, in Aichi,
Japan. |
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The organizers
expect up to 15 million people to visit this enormous
“World’s Fair” during its
six-month run from 25th March to 25th September
A new international airport, trains and trams networks
are among the massive infrastructure
projects that have already been built to support the exhibition
in Aichi. Aichi is an industrial city
between Tokyo and Osaka. Most top Japanese brand names
are exhibiting, with many taking
complete pavilions to show off their vision of the exhibition’s
theme, “Global Harmony”
(www-0.expo2005.or.jp/en).
The sizable Habitat display, designed to look like a Habitat
house, is to be sited prominently
in the EXPO Citizen’s Pavilion open area.
The thrust of the Habitat display is to show the misery
of poverty housing and how Habitat --
and its hundreds of thousands of supporters and volunteers
-- transforms lives by providing
proper shelter.
A specific objective will be to raise awareness of poverty
housing issues among visitors,
most of whom are expected to be from Japan, and also to
mobilize Japanese interest in
supporting Habitat’s activities.
“EXPO 2005 represents a fabulous opportunity to highlight
the Habitat vision of a world
where everyone has a decent place to live,” said
Tetsuo Nakajima, Chairman of HFH Japan.
“We are particularly looking forward to exposing
millions of people from Japan and else
where in Asia to the reality of the Habitat mission. And
we hope many of them will leave fired
up to support our work either in Japan or overseas.”
HFH Japan’s main activities are raising awareness,
advocacy, and mobilizing funds and
volunteers. It supports the work of eleven Habitat campus
chapters operating in Japan and
the increasing number of teams of volunteers – about
50 a year involving a total of some
900 participants -- going overseas to build Habitat homes.
The Habitat display at EXPO 2005 features “poverty
housing” where visitors will experience
the sights and sounds of a typical slum. This will be
created through large-scale photographs
and visual effects along with a sound track. Visitors
will then enter a simulated Habitat house
that will feature different styles of materials used in
typical habitat homes. In the final section,
visitors will learn about ways they can be involved through
volunteering for overseas work
teams, or fund raising and other activities within Japan.
The display area is being designed by a professional Japanese
architect (who wishes to
remain anonymous at this stage) who is donating his time.
Local volunteers from HFH Japan will man the stand along
with volunteers from the Japan
Baptist Mission, which is supporting Habitat’s display.
The Japan Baptist Missionaries or
Southern Baptists has been in Japan for 100 years.
The EXPO 2005 committee is providing a start-up grant
of US$15,000 to help build the
“permanent” house
display.
HFH national offices and volunteers as well as corporate
supporters are being encouraged
to use the opportunity of Habitat’s participation
for marketing, public relations and other
activities. |
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