World Expos share ideas about the future, including some of the latest developments in science and technology. Expos, or World’s Fairs as they are also called, have a history dating back to 1851. Whether you know it or not, you have probably experienced the fruits of World Expos. The Eiffel Tower, ferris wheels, IMAX movies, television, Elmer’s Glue, and ketchup were all introduced to the public at Expos.

The journey through an Expo gives each visitor the opportunity to go beyond their own hopes and dreams, and to experience many stories and futures from around the world. The overwhelming variety of an Expo can feel like a series of dreams: vivid, intense, and immersive experiences. However, that potential disjointedness is a strength. Rather than offering a unified narrative, the multiplicity of voices at an Expo can help participants envision a world where many worlds fit (Escobar, 2017). This research project explores that possibility by assessing the depth and variety of ways that publics - plural - are engaged in conversations about futures at Expo 2025 in Osaka.

Expos give a rare opportunity for everyday people to gather together for conversations about how to meet global challenges. Expos are a “...global gathering of nations dedicated to finding solutions to pressing challenges of our time,” according to the Bureau International des Expositions, the governing body for Expos. Throughout the most recent Expos, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were front and center. World Expos are places where stories are told about the future. Those stories are told in spectacular, multi-sensory, and sometimes deeply moving ways. In addition, there are a wide variety of stories, and they don’t just come from the ‘usual suspects’ of the wealthiest or most technologically advanced countries. 

Research at the Osaka Expo revealed many examples of countries’ solutions to global problems. 

World Expos are a place for people from around the world to share visions of the future and solutions to the problems we face. The next Expo will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2030.