Greetings and Happy Midweek!
As we all in this pandemic weary world begin to emerge from isolation, whatever that has looked like for each of us, I thought this week we could have some fun exploring global gatherings and expositions, which of course are wonderful opportunities for cross-cultural communications and global community building. They are also an excellent example of the HARBOR dimension in Global SKILLs’ 3 Dimensional Dynamics Model*, where people come together to share common interests and work toward achieving goals with mutual beneficiality.
I have three personal world exposition souvenirs.
One is a pink glass bud vase with gold embossing, from the New York World’s Fair in 1940, probably bought at that fair by my paternal grandparents who lived in the city. As a child, I loved that vase with its unusual shape and lettering - it ‘spoke’ to me of travel and exotic places! My own New York World’s Fair souvenir is actually attending it, way back in 1964 - yes, I was very, very young (!) but I remember it like it was yesterday!! And then there were the wonderful Foires Internationales in Dakar, Senegal, which we attended several times over the decades, and even lived right next door to the fair grounds in the late 1990’s.
My memories as a casual attendee of these events are mainly that I was always in awe at the crowd’s press and diversity; the kaleidoscopes of cultural, economic and social displays; and the delightful markets packed with their vast array of wares! Professional attendees’ agendas include networking and partnership building, with opportunities for visitors to further explore all the host country offers. And, as even now the world wonders what will happen with the 2021 Olympics, we observe how politics, the arts and athletics play their own unique roles depending on the event.
How about you ~ have you ever attended a global gathering, world fair or exposition, and as you reflect back on it, what was one cross-cultural take away?
Share about that with a friend or note it here.
And check out Global SKILLs LINKs below for some additional “Meet the world” moments!
Until next week,
Betsy
* Global SKILLs 3 Dimensional Dynamics Model: 1st dimension = HOME; 2nd dimension = HOST; 3rd dimension = HARBOR) ~ contact me for more information on this model and how you might use it in your current programming
Global SKILLs LINKs
~ A historical take on ‘meeting the world’: A History of World Expos in 40 Objects
~ A fine arts exploration of Asian participation through dance in Worlds Fairs https://www.asiaworldsfairs.org/dance
~ An interesting perspective on how the unique Dakar Fair architecture fits into a broader African “Architecture of Independence” movement: https://www.archdaily.com/599251/architecture-of-independence-african-modernism/54dabed8e58ececb53000096-fidak-foire-intern?next_project=no
2021 ~ Celebrating 40 years of working in
intercultural communications and global community building
Connecting, Collaborating, Cultivating Community