Poland prepared to face the world at EXPO 2000
With just one month to go, the preparation of the Polish section at the World EXPO 2000 in Hanover appears to be in its final stages. Tadeusz Donocik, deputy economy minister and the government's plenipotentiary for the organization of Polish participation in EXPO 2000, presented a detailed program of the event at a press conference last week and confirmed that despite original fears, the zl. 12 million ($2.9 million) Polish pavilion had been completed two weeks earlier.
The pavilion is made of steel, glass and aluminum suspended on five steel pillars. With a zl. 47 million ($11.2 million) total budget, the section's organizers the Polish Chamber of Commerce and the Polish Foreign Investment Agency (PAIZ) are not going to compete with exhibitors from richer countries, but "will simply try to show why Poland is different and what accounts for the dissimilarity," Donocik said.
Donocik also announced that Poland's official mascot in Hanover will be the stork. "There are 41,000 stork couples living in Poland. That number accounts for 25% of the world stork population and is more than the total number in the European Union," he said.
One of the events aimed at attracting attention in Hanover is the Polish Club, a debate forum that will invite the participation of politicians, journalists, artists and everyday pavilion visitors from around the world. "It's a challenge for Polish intellectuals and artistic elite to participate in debates important for Poland and the world," Donocik said. "Poland should initiate such a dialogue, since it has a moral title to do that."
The Polish Club's discussions will tackle such subjects as Polish-German relations, Christianity in the 21st century and solidarity.
The debate forum's honorary guests include Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Solidarity Election Action (AWS) Chairman Marian Krzaklewski, Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, and speaker of the Sejm, Maciej Plazynski.
All debates will be broadcast on Polish and German public television and will be available live on the internet.
The principal Polish event in Hanover will be a "Polish Day," which will take place June 21in Hanover and June 22 in Wilhelmshaven at EXPO-on-the-Sea, where a fleet of Polish vessels will present a special marine program.
