FABRIZIO GATTI - President of Expo 2000
Where does the idea of a Fair on Rights and Equal Opportunites come from?
With the entrance of the Regione Piemonte and of the Municipality of Turin in our shareholding structure, Expo 2000 is no longer simply a company which makes available large exhibition spaces, but has also become an entity which can porpose initiatives of its own accord.
We will focus on events which will have a strong national and international emphasis, in line with the kind of policies which the governmental institutions are following, which will build on the name that Turin has become thanks to the recent Winter Olympics and Paraolympics. It may seem peculiar to add a Fair, which at first may appear a commercial venture, to words like Rights and Equal Opportunities. But social solidarity is one of the columns of our industrial plan, as much as innovation and culture are.
We will follow the vocation that this territory has always had along the axis of volunteer work and of not-for-profit; the so-called "third sector". The history of Piedmont honours such a choice and this is demonstrated by the number or bodies and organisations dedicated to these themes that are present in Piedmont. We believe that equal opportunities are an important aspect of economic development, so it only makes sens to have an International Fair on Rights and Equal Opportunites for All.