Shanghai, May 14th , 2007

Request for UBPA Self-Recommended Exhibition Cases Proposals

The World Exposition Shanghai China 2010 (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai World Expo") will be held in Shanghai from May 1st to October 31st, 2010. It is the first time in the history of world expositions that "city" has been chosen as the theme. The Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) will be an extraordinary innovation in the history of world expositions, thus creating one of the most striking features of the Shanghai World Expo. Located at Zone E with the area of 15 hectares, UBPA will offer a great stage for cities to propose their solutions to the urban issues from different perspectives and through their best practices in different thematic fields. The UBPA will be both an exhibition area and an exhibit itself and it will constitute the largest Thematic Pavilion in Shanghai Expo 2010. It will be a fascinating zone for a period of 6 months. With the approval of the International Selection Committee (ISC) of the UBPA, the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination invites cities from all over the world to submit their proposals for the UBPA. These proposals made by the cities will fall under the category of "Self-Recommended Exhibition Cases".

1. Definition of Participants

1.1 UBPA participants shall be individual cities or groups and networks of cities, independent of the fact that their countries are participating or not in the Shanghai World Expo.

1.2 Corporations, International Organizations, NGOs, NPOs and other civil associations are also welcome to participate through partnership with cities.

1.3 Cities shall apply under their own names, represented by their authorities.

2. Exhibition Dimensions

2.1 UBPA is designed as one of the most important pillars for the development of the theme of "Better city, Better life".

2.2 Four exhibition fields have been designed as follows: Livable Cities, Sustainable Urbanization, Protection and Utilization of Historical Heritages and Technological Innovation in Built Environment.

2.3 Around 30 cases will be finally chosen.

3. International Selection Committee (ISC)

3.1 The ISC was established on the first meeting of the ISC, held in Shanghai from April 25 to 26, 2007. The main responsibilities of the members are to define the selection criteria and specifications, assist the Expo Organizer in incorporating the selected cases / projects into the UBPA Master Plan and select the Best Exhibit(s) in the UBPA during the whole duration of the Expo.

3.2 The ISC members are Representatives from UN HABITAT, BIE, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, World Bank, OECD, Asian Development Bank, UCLG and mayors of Paris, Geneva and Zaragoza. Chinese relevant ministries, urban administrators and urban researchers are also members of this committee.

3.3 The ISC is a 20-member committee. However, the number of the members is flexible, depending upon the necessity.

3.4 The ISC is co-chaired by Mme. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and Mr. Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, Secretary General of the BIE. The Secretary General of the ISC is Prof. Zhou Hanmin from the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. The Secretariat of the ISC is the International Participation Department of the above-mentioned Bureau.

4. Selection Criteria

n International Recognition:

Cases shall win worldwide recognition from the international community, namely influential global or regional inter-governmental organizations, NGOs, academic and professional associations, etc. International recognition could be stated as prizes and honors awarded by relevant authoritative organizations, recommended by relevant websites and publications, as well as introduced in relevant authoritative journals and periodicals, etc.

n Innovation:

Cases shall be significantly innovative, reflecting in the dimensions of institution, policy, science and technology.

n Value:

Cases shall serve as models and could be promoted and replicated regionally and globally.

n Balance:

The balance between different regions, races, cultures, developed and developing countries will be taken into consideration.

5. Case Selection Procedure

5.1 UBPA case selection procedures will include self-recommendation, preliminary selection, review & approval, consultation and final selection. The ISC may encourage different proposed cases to establish a joint project and partnerships.

5.2 Cases proposed can be classified into two types: Self-recommended and Organizer-recommended.

5.3 The ISC will conduct a preliminary selection of the proposed cases and the Organizer will send a¡°Participation Plan Proposal for the UBPA of Shanghai World Expo¡±to cities that win the preliminary selection before Sept. 30th, 07. After the collection of the feedbacks and second round selection by the ISC, the Organizer will send out official invitation to the selected cities.

6. Expression of interest starts on May 1, 2007 and ends on August 31, 2007. The Expression of Interest Form of "Self-Recommended cases of the UBPA for World Expo shanghai China 2010" and detailed information and requirements could be downloaded from the Expo 2010 official website at: http://www.expo2010china.com.

Please prepare your expressions of interest form in written and deliver either by the post or through email by August 31st, 2007.

Postal address: 3588 Pudong (S) Road, Shanghai, 200125 China

Department of International Participants

Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination

Email: fangyufeng@expo2010.gov.cn, lixin@expo2010.gov.cn

If there is any problem, please feel free to call:

Mr. FANG Yufeng +86-21-22062303

Miss. LI Xin +86-21-22062429

Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination