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The
USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai
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Unveils
National Partners
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In Landmark
Public-Private Partnership, the U.S. Department of State
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selects PAVILION
USA 2020 Consortium to Support the Development,
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Execution and
Communications of the USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai
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Washington,
DC – July 2018 / Newsmaker Alert / Expo
2020 Dubai — the next World’s Fair — may be two years away, but plans and
preparation are well under way for the USA Pavilion. Recently, the U.S.
Department of State announced that Big
Things Group, leading the consortium Pavilion
USA 2020, was appointed to oversee the fundraising, project management,
design, construction, operation, and disassembly and removal of the USA
Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Following a nation-wide request for proposal
led by the Department of State, Pavilion USA 2020 will now begin a multi-year
partnership to bring the USA Pavilion to life, a huge undertaking that
will require the collaboration of its creative, commercial, and cultural
partners from across the 50 United States.
Pavilion
USA 2020’s winning design plans for the USA Pavilion were based on the
theme, “What Moves You,” and will feature highlights of American culture,
leading technological revolutions in mobility, and much more. The team
behind the new concept is a consortium of top individuals and agencies
who will work together to make the USA Pavilion a showcase of the innovation,
creativity, and diversity that defines the United States. Key areas of
focus include:
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Leadership
and Fundraising will be led by Big Things Group (BTG) and its principals
Frederick M. Bush, who served as Commissioner General of the 1992 World’s
Fair in Seville, Spain; and Gregory D. Houston, a leading figure in international
public diplomacy and public-private partnership development. Combined,
Mr. Bush and Mr. Houston have raised more than $1 billion in funding and
sponsorship for domestic and international projects, with a focus on major
events that develop stronger ties between the U.S. and the world. BTG’s
network of associates include leading fundraisers and philanthropic consultants
in nearly all major donor markets throughout the United States as well
as numerous funding centers abroad.
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Pavilion
Architecture will be developed by Colorado-based Curtis Fentress, one of
the premier U.S. architects of our day. Mr. Fentress is the founder of
Fentress Architects and winner of numerous international awards, including
the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. He is internationally
known as an innovative, award-winning designer of public architecture including
airports, museums, convention centers, laboratories, higher education,
civic, and government buildings. Fentress Architects is internationally
recognized for the design of Denver International Airport and Incheon International
Airport in South Korea.
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Exhibit
and Experience Design will be created by Michigan-based George P. Johnson
Experience Marketing (GPJ), the largest experiential and event marketing
agency in the world. Founded more than 100 years ago in Detroit, GPJ’s
large-scale installation work includes a six-acre multifaceted Chrysler
experience at the 1964 World’s Fair New York, pavilions at the Shanghai
and Aichi World Expos, and award-winning exhibitions at the Beijing, Salt
Lake City, London, and Rio de Janeiro Olympic games. They will work in
collaboration with Action Impact, their Dubai-based strategic partner that
created the Expo 2020 Dubai exhibition within the UAE pavilion at Expo
2015. They will also collaborate with fellow Project Worldwide sister agency
Spinifex Group for the production of interactive experiences that bring
mobility innovation stories to life. GPJ’s work will be led by Senior Vice
President of Pavilion Activations, David Rich, and Vice President and Executive
Creative Director, Paul Hemsworth.
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Design
Management will be provided by Virginia-based Giuliani Associates Architects.
Giuliani Associates is an architecture, engineering, and technology firm
with experience in the public and private sectors. Joining Giuliani Associates,
Fentress Architects, and George P. Johnson Experience Marketing as key
partners in the design team are Onuma, Inc., Thornton Tomasetti, and Syska
Hennessy Group.
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Cultural
Programming will be led by Global Ties U.S., which has a 60-year partnership
with the U.S. Department of State to coordinate international exchange
programs that attract over 5,000 current and future leaders to the United
States annually. With chapters of citizen diplomats in over 80 U.S. cities,
their reach will ensure the USA Pavilion reflects the creativity, diversity,
and nuance of every part of the United States. Global Ties U.S. will also
be supported by G7 Entertainment Marketing in the areas of celebrity talent
coordination and on-site production of all performances.
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Pavilion
Design Strategy & Monitoring and Evaluation will be supported via consultation
by Dr. Jay Wang, Director of the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University
of Southern California (CPD). Dr. Wang is considered the leading academic
expert in the design of Expo pavilions for country promotion purposes and
has written extensively on strategy and implementation within past Expos.
As a strategic partner and a recognized leader in the field of public diplomacy,
CPD will contribute to the project by providing research and evaluation
tools to the designers, and public diplomacy training to all staff, volunteers,
and ambassador-guides.
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Student
and Alumni Ambassador Programs will be managed through the combined efforts
of Global Ties U.S., the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and local partners
in the United Arab Emirates. These flagship programs of the USA Pavilion
will recruit, train, and manage young leaders from across the United States,
as well as alumni from U.S. Government exchange programs, who will help
tell America’s story at the U.S. pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
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Financial
Management will be overseen by BTG CFO Thomas Downing, a leading expert
in U.S. Government financial compliance and management. Working with Maryland-based
accounting firm Gelman Rosenberg & Freedman, pre-eminent in advising
and auditing organizations that implement programs for USAID and Department
of State, Pavilion USA 2020 will operate under the most comprehensive set
of financial controls ever implemented for a U.S. expo pavilion.+++
Advising
Pavilion USA 2020 are a diverse and talented set of leaders from across
the United States and the UAE. They include former NASA Administrator Sean
O’Keefe; former Secretary of Commerce Barbara Hackman Franklin; President
of the Aldrin Space Foundation Dr. Andrew Aldrin; Executive Director of
the Middle East Council of Gulf Chambers of Commerce Mike Jones; former
USAID Administrator (acting) Alonzo Fulgham; Director of TechStars Dubai
Ramzi Ismail; former U.S. Ambassador J. Steven Rhodes; CPD’s Dr. Jay Wang;
Director of NYU-Abu Dhabi Media Lab Matt Karau; Founder of Applied Minds
Bran Ferren; Celebrity Manager and television producer Ken Kragen; and
former Chairman of Columbia Pictures Herman Rush.
According
to Frederick Bush, “Few events in human history have had the scale and
size of Expo 2020 Dubai. Our groups take the opportunity to represent the
United States and all its nuance, diversity and talent as an awe-inspiring
challenge. We are proud of the teams we have assembled for this important
cause and look forward to raising the funds and creating the experiences
that will make all 325 million Americans proud.”
Working
with Colorado-based communications firm Human Design and the consortium’s
numerous communications partners throughout the U.S. and UAE, Pavilion
USA 2020 will begin an international outreach campaign that engages citizens
of the U.S. and the world in an awareness journey over the next 33 months.
By using the road to Expo to engage the world with U.S. companies, cultures,
and technologies; and to engage the citizens of the U.S. with the same
from abroad, Pavilion USA 2020 will reach and excite millions beyond those
who walk through the Expo gates.
The
U.S. Department of State is responsible for U.S. participation in international
exhibitions sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE).
The Department’s Expo Unit in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public
Diplomacy and Public Affairs manages U.S. engagement with the BIE, organizes
U.S. participation at overseas Expos (also known as World’s Fairs), and
mobilizes international support for U.S. candidacies to host Expos.
For
more information about Pavilion USA 2020 or to register interest in participating
as a vendor, please visit www.pavilion2020.org.
For further details about U.S. participation in World’s Fairs, including
Expo 2020 Dubai, visit www.state.gov/r/expo.
For more information on Expo 2020 Dubai visit www.expo2020dubai.com.
Media
Contact:
Gregory
D. Houston
240-350-8001
The
Big Things Group |