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INTERVIEW: Visitors to Expo 2025 appreciate ‘positive vision’ of UN

Details: Category: English Media; Published: Sunday, 22 June 2025 22:35; Written by Eager

UN Pavilion School children enjoy an immersive video at the UN Pavilion at Expo 2025.

By Daniel Dickinson, Osaka, Japan

Visitors to Expo 2025, a world fair currently being held in Osaka, Japan, appreciate the “positive vison” of a shared global future promoted by the United Nations; that’s according to Naomi Ichikawa, Director of the UN Pavilion.

Visitors can explore the UN’s 80-year history of advancing peace, human rights, sustainable development and climate action and see how the work of the UN system impacts the lives of all people across the world.

UN ExpoNaomi Ichikawa (left) welcomes the 10,000th visitor to the UN Pavilion in April, just five days after Expo 2025 opened.

What are the different sections of the pavilion and what they're trying to achieve?

We have four exhibit zones. The first zone portrays 80 years of UN history, highlighting key milestones from 1945 until today. It also shows the changing relationship between Japan and the UN.

In the 1940s following the devastation of the Second World War Japan was a recipient of UN assistance. But after Japan joined the UN (in 1956) it gradually started to take leadership in different areas, for example in climate change issues, disaster risk reduction and in the provision of Universal Health Coverage.

Zone two shows the work of diverse UN entities. Visitors will notice that there are many everyday objects on the wall; a toilet, helmet, car seat, post box but they may not realize that these items are actually closely related to the work of the UN.

UN Pavilion Visitors to the UN Pavilion explore the 'orb' room.

By tapping on the monitor, the items light up and an explanation is given about its relationship to the work of the UN.

One of the aims of this zone is to demonstrate that the UN is not just about conflict resolution. In Japan, when the UN is mentioned, many people think about the Security Council and ask why Japan isn’t a permanent member.

We wanted to show in an interesting interactive way that the UN's work is so much more than that.

In zone three, which represents the future, we show through an immersive movie, a vision of the sustainable future that we can achieve if we work together. In the movie, the UN Secretary-General says that this future is not automatic, but it is one that we can achieve together.

The final part of the pavilion is the special exhibition zone that features the work of different UN entities each week.

Why is it important that the UN is here at Expo?

I would say that 90 per cent of Japanese people know about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but many do not know what they can do in their lives to contribute to the SDGs, or understand the positive role played by the UN in making the SDGs a reality in a global context. So, we felt that it was important to explain that work.

There are some 160 different countries participating in Expo and they are here to showcase their own cultures.

But it's the UN which can encourage countries to work together to achieve peace and a sustainable world. So, collaboration and multilateralism are key themes of the pavilion.

Why is that message important?

The world is divided right now and you can sense the anxiety about that, even in Japan. That anxiety is not just focused on political issues but also on the environmental and other global challenges which go beyond the country level. At the UN Pavilion they can learn about these challenges but also the solutions.

I am so proud to be part of a team which explains how the UN is contributing to solving these global problems. It is rewarding to interact with visitors and to support their understanding of the UN.

Many are surprised by the range of work in which the organization is engaged, and everyone leaves inspired by our messages.

What is the most surprising reaction you've had from a visitor?

There has been great interest and engagement in the immersive video which envisions a hopeful future that all humanity can enjoy if we work together. It has a very simple message about collaboration which can be easily understood by people of all ages and backgrounds.

Many people have been deeply affected by its message and I have seen some moved to tears.

UN News/Daniel Dickinson A boy participates in an event at the UN pavilion to promote the SDGs.

I believe visitors feel closer to the UN after experiencing the video and the rest of the pavilion. I am from Japan and I think many people are surprised to meet a Japanese national working for the UN. That also helps to bring them closer to the work of the UN.

How important and relevant is an Expo in today’s world?

There really isn't any other place like this, where you can meet people from Uzbekistan, and then next door people from Malta. I think this is such a rare opportunity, especially in this era of the Internet, to be able to discover the culture and values of so many different nations.

Initially, the Japanese people were somewhat sceptical and critical of the cost of putting on Expo, because they said they could find all the information on the Internet.

However, when they visit, they realize that they can actually see, feel and learn about different cultures in person. It's very different from reading something on the Internet or watching YouTube.

This venue is so special and people come here with an open and enquiring mind.

I think the timing of this Expo is important as there is so much uncertainty and conflict in the world. At the UN, we are here to promote a better world for all people built on equality, dignity and peace, living in harmony with nature and sustaining our Planet. We hope to share this positive vision with as many visitors as possible until the closing of the Expo in mid-October.

Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations: The Meaning and Future of the United Nations and Multilateralism

Details: Category: English Media; Published: Wednesday, 18 June 2025 08:02; Written by Eager

Celebrity Media Commentator: In 2025, the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary. At this critical moment, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Italy's Permanent Representative to the UN, delivered a profoundly insightful speech at the Harvard Club in New York, themed on "The Meaning and Future of the UN and Multilateralism." His address was not only a conceptual exposition but also a strategic manifesto, responding to the international community's renewed reflection on the UN’s role.

This extraordinary event was organized by the renowned American Foreign Policy Association. Several attendees enthusiastically raised differing views on site, all of which the ambassador addressed with satisfactory responses.

Gloria, the nearly 100-year-old editor-in-chief of a social and diplomatic magazine, attended the event in a wheelchair. Celebrity Media CEO Chen Miao and his assistant also joined this inspiring and thought-provoking meeting.

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I. Why Does Multilateralism Still Matter?

In his speech Ambassador Massari emphasized: “The UN is imperfect, but irreplaceable.” This statement is thought-provoking. In the face of a new wave of geopolitical tensions, climate crises, governance of emerging technologies, and development disparities, the UN remains the only platform capable of bringing together most of the world's nations to jointly seek solutions.

He warned that if faith in multilateralism is eroded, the world will regress to the jungle rule of "might makes right." He therefore called on nations to “reclaim the value of multilateralism” and restore trust in collective action (see video at 48:02).

II. Italy's Practice of the Multilateral Path

Ambassador Massari’s views are not merely personal but also reflect Italy's national diplomatic strategy. In his speech, he mentioned that Italy has actively participated in reforming and building multilateral mechanisms in recent years:

As Vice President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), he promoted issues of food security and sustainable development
Supported the building of the “Friends of Food Security” group, advocating for food issues to be elevated to a strategic security topic
Advocated expanding non-permanent seats in the Security Council to enhance regional representation, opposing more permanent seats to avoid new imbalances (at 52:15);
Promoted transparency in the use of veto power, calling on major powers to exercise their veto “responsibly”

Italy’s approach demonstrates a path of “moderate realism”: not overturning the existing order but focusing on mechanism optimization to inject sustainable reform into the UN.

III. Key Words for Future UN Reform

Massari proposed three key points for UN reform:

Representativeness
The Security Council must reflect the "world of today" rather than the "structure of 1945."
Transparency
The use of veto power must be explained and subject to public opinion and international moral oversight.
Rebuilding Trust
If the public and member states lose faith in the UN's procedures and platforms, multilateralism will be a shell without substance.

These proposals address both current global challenges and align with the UN’s 80th-anniversary vision for reform, pointing to a more open, inclusive, and trusting international order.

IV. Lessons for China from Italy’s Experience

Although Massari's speech used Italy as an example, its insights are also of great value to China:

Make good use of “Friends Groups” mechanisms to influence agenda-setting in areas like climate, development, and AI governance;
Promote UN reform that balances representativeness with efficiency to avoid polarization and new forms of hegemony;
Enhance public communication to rebuild global trust in multilateralism.

As a permanent member of the Security Council and a global development advocate, China is well positioned to pursue “reform with stability in multilateralism,” and can form complementary partnerships with middle and small powers, including Italy.

In short, persistence in coordination amid global complexity is the key.

In today’s fragmented and polarized global environment, the UN and multilateralism face numerous doubts. Yet as Massari emphasized: without trust, multilateralism loses its meaning.

Rebuilding trust requires institutional optimization, firm principles, and practical commitment. This is the ambassador’s profound message to the world: the UN remains the cornerstone of international coordination, and multilateralism is still the best path toward a shared human destiny.