(ANS – Brussels) – Mr. Mattia Tosato, the executive secretary of Don Bosco International (DBI), also took part in the official Presentation of the Universal Exposition (EXPO) 2015 to the European Union on 29 January last.

The Universal Exposition will bring together 142 countries and international organisations around the them of “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. It will tackle the strategic objective of the global community: finding likely solutions to ensure everyone’s right to adequate, healthy, and safe nutrition which can at the same time guarantee environmental, social and economic sustainability of the agricultural food chain.

During the exposition, which will take place in Milan from 1 May till 31 October 2015, a good number of civil society organisations will play their part, amongst whom Don Bosco Network, committed to organising 30 events during the time of the exposition.

Contributing to the presentation were the Italian Prime Minister, the Honourable Enrico Letta; the Vice-President of the European Parliament, the Honourable Gianni Pittella, who emphasised how EXPO tackles a theme calling everyone to great responsibility for future generations; the President of the European Commission, Josè Manuel Barroso, who recalled the role that Europe can and must play in food development and safety; and the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, who spoke of his pride that an Exposition was being held in Europe, after Shangai.

Speaking then, in the following order, were, for Italy, Mr Giuseppe Sala, the only Commissioner from the Italian Government for Expo, who spoke of the close link between the Millennium development Goals and the central theme of the exposition, and Mrs Diana Bracco, General Commissioner for the Italian Pavilion, who presented Italian excellence in the fields of nutrition, health and well-being.

Finally for the European Union, the speakers were the Honourable Paolo di Castro, President of the European Parliament’s agricultural Commission, who spoke of the risk of neocolonialism in Africa by buying up agricultural land; and Mr David Wilkinson, General Commissioner of the European Union for Expo.

The European Union will have an exposition pavilion showing its own fundamental role in nutrition safety, especially where grain and bread are concerned, the basic elements for many diets.

Published 10/02/2014