More than one century later this optimism has been replaced by a more nuanced and realistic view of progress as witnessed by the theme “Nature’s Wisdom” of the current 2005 exhibition held in Aichi. The threats of natural resources depletion, environmental degradation and the neglect of human values have forced decision makers to rethink the unsustainable model of short term economic development. However, although the concept of sustainable development may appear simple and logic, its application highly complicates the decision making process regarding development strategies. The incentives for decision makers to consider the interests of future generations who do not have voting ballots and are not represented by any lobby appear limited. Therefore, the challenge of society is to find ways to link today’s decisions to the well being of future generations. This is likely to be a gradual process which starts with educating present stakeholders on the complexity of development issues and their individual responsibility. In this respect world expos are a powerful tool to promote public awareness of sustainable development issues as they reach out to all layers and age groups of international civil society. Countries with different development paths are able to show and share their experience and lessons learned. Visitors can be encouraged to measure the international dimension of environmental problems and become aware of the impact of their behavior as individuals. Enhancing people’s personal accountability for the destiny of future generations will prove to be a crucial step on the road to sustainable development. World exhibitions must play their role to help integrate sustainable development into every day life just as electricity was introduced through the 19th century expos.