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BIE-Cosmos Prize Expo 2020 Dubai awarded to N/a'an ku sê Foundation

The Expo 2020 Dubai edition of the BIE-Cosmos Prize has been awarded to the N/a'an ku sê Foundation for its Conservation Research Project - Rapid Response Unit.

Jointly awarded by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the Expo ’90 Foundation and Expo 2020 Dubai, this edition of the BIE Cosmos Prize was open to citizen projects exemplifying Expo 2020 Dubai’s overall theme, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.

BIE-Cosmos Prize Expo 2020 Dubai awarded to N/a'an ku sê Foundation

Following a call for applications in 2021 that received applications from over 34 countries around the world, 10 projects were shortlisted to be showcased at Expo 2020 Dubai, where they were presented on Al Wasl Avenue. Receiving a grant of 20,000 euros, the winning project was announced after selection by an international jury, which recognised the particular relevance of N/a'an ku sê Foundation’s Conservation Research Project – Rapid Response Unit with regard to Expo 2020 Dubai’s Sustainability subtheme.

N/a'an ku sê Foundation’s Rapid Response Unit is a human-wildlife conflict mitigation initiative that works across Namibia, with the aim of facilitating peaceful coexistence between wildlife and humankind.

Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the BIE, stated: “By fostering a shared culture of trust between conservationists and landowners in Namibia, the N/a'an ku sê Foundation exemplifies Expo 2020 Dubai’s theme and clearly illustrates the mutually beneficial outcome of engaging in meaningful dialogue.”

Mr. Hiroaki Katayama, Executive Director of the Expo ’90 Foundation indicated: “N/a'an ku sê Foundation’s Conservation Research Project – Rapid Response Unit is a noble and promising initiative that encapsulates the Expo ’90 Foundation’s core principle of harmonious coexistence between humankind and nature”.

Yousuf Caires, Senior Vice President, Expo Live, Expo 2020 Dubai declared: “Finding practical solutions to the world’s most pertinent issues has been a core focus for Expo 2020 Dubai. The proposal for a Rapid Response Unit to help livestock owners address threats from wild carnivores is a clear example of this at work and exemplifies how mutually beneficial solutions for both humankind and nature are not simply ideal, they are possible. Now more than ever, we need to acknowledge and respect the natural world as a key stakeholder in how we live and prosper”.

The winning project is a human-wildlife conflict mitigation initiative that works across Namibia, with the aim of facilitating peaceful coexistence between wildlife and humankind. By promoting non-lethal livestock protection techniques, providing practical advice to farmers and landowners, and sharing data on the movement of carnivores, the goal of the N/a'an ku sê Foundation is to increase the population of carnivores in Namibia, in particular cheetahs, while also decreasing the amount of livestock lost to predation.

The BIE-Cosmos Prize is a collaboration between the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and the Expo ’90 Foundation of Japan, which commemorates Horticultural Expo 1990 Osaka and its value of “Harmonious Coexistence between Nature and Humankind”. The BIE-Cosmos Prize has been awarded at all World and Specialised Expos since 2008, with the aim of giving visibility and support to citizen projects that promote the theme of the Expo and the values of the Expo ’90 Foundation.

Organised under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. Expo 2020 Dubai is the largest global gathering to take place since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, gathering over 190 countries from around the world, and having received over 23 million visits since it opened its gates on 1 October 2021.