The Programme for People and Planet (abbreviated as PPP) is a programme of events that was inaugurated at Expo 2020 Dubai and took place throughout a six-month period between October 2021 and March 2022. It was endorsed and adopted by the Cabinet of the United Arab Emirates in April 2021 and has received support from various United Nations agencies and offices. The Programme focused on areas such as social development, culture, economics, environmental issues, gender rights, and futurist topics, among others.
Background
The Programme was part of Expo 2020 Dubai (), a World Expo hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The event recorded more than 24 million visits in its six months.
Vision
The Programme for People and Planet was designed to address the many challenges the world faces today, by deploying the convening power of World Expos and the UAE to galvanise collective and meaningful action.
The Programme provided a platform for open dialogue and the exchange of new ideas, designed to help reimagine the global economy; place equality, universal respect and human dignity at the centre of human progress; and instill a sense of responsibility to live in harmony and balance with the natural world.
History
Expo 2020's Programme for People and Planet was revealed in August 2021. The previous year, the Programme ran 10 virtual pre-Expo talks with the participation from various countries and international organisations.
During event time, the Programme for People and Planet delivered 229 events featuring speakers from 142 countries. It had over 19,219 participants in person and over 29 million virtual viewers, including 1.2 million visits on the Virtual Expo platform only. The event series were held during 10 Theme Weeks and 15 International Days. On 29 March 2022, the Programme culminated in the Walk for People and Planet, a three-kilometre walk attended by over 3,000 people.
Across the six months, the Programme for People and Planet had participation and endorsement from various world leaders, including Amina J. Mohammed, Helen Clark, and Bill Gates, as well as artists such as Coldplay.
Programme structure
The Programme was organised around five key tracks – Build Bridges (cultural focus), Leave No One Behind (social development focus), Live in Balance (sustainability focus), Thrive Together (economic focus), and UAE Vision 2071. The Vision 2071 track focused on the UAE's long-term plans for its future. Each track was integrated by different series of events including Cultures in Conversation, Business Forums, World Majlis, Women's Pavilion Programme, Dignified Storytelling, Expo Live and the Best Practice Area.
International days celebrated by the Programme included World Food Day, World Cities Day, International Day for Tolerance, World Children's Day, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, International Volunteer Day, Universal Health Coverage Day, UN Arabic Language Day, International Day of Education, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, World Wildlife Day, International Women's Day, International Day of Happiness, Mother's Day, and World Water Day.
Event series were held across 10 thematic weeks, which were: Climate & Biodiversity (3-9 October 2021) Space (17-23 October 2021) Urban & Rural Development (31 October-6 November 2021) Tolerance & Inclusivity (14-20 November 2021) Knowledge & Learning (12-18 December 2021) Travel & Connectivity (9-15 January 2022) Global Goals (15-22 January 2022) Health & Wellness (27 January-2 February 2022) Food Agriculture & Livelihoods (17-23 February 2022) Water (20-26 March 2022)
Components
Cultures in Conversation
This programme spotlighted the wealth of cultural diversity at Expo, demonstrating that cultural practices and traditions frequently hold similarities across different countries and regions.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Programme
This programme focused on localisation and implementation of Agenda 2030. Topics included scaling up and applying innovative approaches to service delivery, and different ways to empower last mile communities and households at risk of being left behind, so that they might fully benefit from and actively contribute to sustainable development.
Sustainability@Expo
This series spotlighted Expo's sustainability efforts as well as countries across the Expo site that demonstrated sustainability through their pavilion content, design, programming, and operations.