The United Nations has joined more than 200 countries and organizations at the largest international exposition ever to be held. Expo 2000, which opened in Hannover, Germany on 1 June and runs through 31 October, has as its motif "Humankind-Nature-Technology". In that context, the United Nations Pavilion is highlighting Secretary-General Kofi Annan's millennium theme, "The UN Works for You". Mr. Annan has appointed Nadine B. Hack as Commissioner-General for the United Nations at Expo 2000. She is President of NBH Executive Consulting, an international strategic planning and major events production company. Ms. Hack is also a former New York City Commissioner for the United Nations, Consular Corps and International Business, and has worked with many non-governmental organizations [NGOs]. Just prior to the Expo's opening, she spoke with Russell Taylor of the UN Chronicle about the preparations and her expectations for the UN Pavilion.

The first world Expo that I was consciously aware of was the 1967 Montreal Expo. They are essentially world's fairs; an opportunity for different countries and world organizations, but primarily countries-which distinguishes the Expos from world fairs where you have a lot of corporations and businesses-to present themselves in their fullest in terms of trade opportunities, in terms of tourism opportunities, in terms of promotion, to the world at large. The UN has been participating, since the 1950 Haiti Expo, so it has a long-standing history. Expo authorities have seen the UN presence as incredibly prestigious and have always placed the pavilions in wonderfully central locations.

When you arrive at Expo 2000, you come in through the main entrance, right where the train leaves you off from the airport and the city of Hannover. You walk over a bridge and come down into the central plaza. The German National Pavilion is on your left and the UN Pavilion on your right, so we're right in the heart of it. Based on prior Expos, anywhere from 40 million to 50 million people are expected to come. In earlier Expos, the UN had as many as 20,000 visitors a day, and we expect at least that many, given our location. It's very, very exciting.

When Secretary-General Kofi Annan first called and asked me to assume this responsibility, I had a very candid conversation with him. I suggested, rather than looking at this as a one shot deal-the Expo, five months-"let's look at it in a larger context of all the various activities of the millennium year campaign of the UN. Let's try to tie as much of it together as possible with the theme for this year's Expo: 'Humankind-Nature-Technology'". We have adopted it for the UN Pavilion.

Given this theme, what is the UN's overall message?

The overall message is, "The UN Works for You". And we're tying that theme into every component of the presentation. This is a real challenge. On the one hand, you want the exhibit to be content-rich and substantive, since there's a huge amount of information to convey about the fullness of what the entire UN system is doing worldwide on major issues. On the other hand, you also want it to be entertaining and exciting, so that the average visitor is not going to say "ho, hum" and leave.

The presentation is being structured in such a way so that, as you walk through the exhibition spaces, it stays very simple, with lots of visuals. But, at the same time, it's also made up of very complex digital imagery projected from the ceilings, from the floors, from the walls. The team that we have assembled is really terrific. They've won awards in the past at several Expos.

Jan Ralph, the technical director, he's the best. And Luis Sardá is a leading designer in Europe. He's just been commissioned by the King of Spain to launch an exhibit at the National Museum in Madrid on the history of design in Spain. He's an acknowledged "design guru" and has assembled a whole team of architects and audio-visual people. These are the same people who produce the 30-second TV shots shown during the half-time at soccer World Cups, and they're all working for a fraction of their usual costs just to be affiliated with the UN Pavilion.

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