Much work ahead for UAE ambassadors of Dubai Expo 2020

A band of enthusiastic 2020 ambassadors have much to do as they work feverishly from now till November to raise public and corporate support for Dubai's bid.

DUBAI // The world expo inspectors' tour of the UAE ends today, but for a band of enthusiastic 2020 ambassadors the competition has just begun.
Between now and the November announcement of who among the UAE, Brazil, Turkey, Russia and Thailand has been chosen as host, eight adults and three youth ambassadors have pledged to work feverishly to raise public and corporate support for the bid.
"This is our countdown to spread our message that the expo must come to Dubai," said Eenas El Sheakh, 37, an Egyptian mother of two who lives in Abu Dhabi, and is a language teacher and tour guide.
Mrs El Sheakh was chosen after she wrote a poem about Sheikh Zayed's vision of unity, Once Upon a Dream.
"We should get the opportunity as the first Arab country to hold an expo and we are completely capable," she said.
"I know the scale of an expo because I attended the 2000 expo in Hanover, Germany, and it's an honour that Dubai is bidding for it."
The "Be Part of it" expo ambassador contest was held last year, and hundreds of entrants wrote poems, essays and songs, or produced artwork and videos to win a spot.
The 11 winners form a diverse group of architects, government employees, artists, students and media professionals.
Emirati university student Sara Al Boom, 20, spent four weeks filming in the scorching heat of Ramadan last year to capture the myriad languages spoken by the country's nearly 200 nationalities.
Her video shows male and female residents writing out the expo theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" in languages including Sinhalese, Tagalog, Urdu, Polish and Arabic.
"I think Dubai is full-on ready for the expo," said Ms Al Boom, an American University of Dubai student whose mission is to reach the youth.
"The expo is all about engaging talent for the pursuit of a better future and Dubai has been doing exactly that for years. This period is critical as we have to constantly remind people about the bid."
In November last year, the ambassadors travelled to Paris to represent the UAE at a reception attended by 161 member states of the Bureau International des Expositions, the organisation that oversees world expos.
Fielding questions from ministers, economists and members of the public helped boost their confidence, they said.
German national Ben Ouattara, 30, said he and his fellow ambassadors would have to come up with fresh ideas to involve companies, schools and the man on the street.
He hopes companies will become involved by organising events around the theme and place Expo 2020 video clips on screens in lifts and reception areas.
"You can catch the attention of the young and old waiting for an elevator," said Mr Ouattara, who runs a video production firm and made a short animation film describing the country he moved to a year ago.
"Images will get stuck in their head and it will not cost anything because you use existing equipment. We must push ahead because the more the message grows, the more dynamic it gets."
A song composed by Jasim Mohammed from India and Adel Ibrahim from the Comoros Islands, both employees of the Arabian Radio Network, sends an invitation to the world in Arabic and English to become involved.
The song has had more than 19,000 hits online. Its lyrics include:
"Come around and you will see this is the place to be.
We're one big family, Emirati, Emirati.
Welcome to a land, the place that we call our home.
From all around the world we have come together, together to live a dream.
The culture, the music, the feel of our land,
It's more than words can describe.
We're here to spread our love to the world."
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