against milan expo
by Sam Linney
Expo 2015 is heading to Milan this summer. The theme will be innovations and technological advancements concerning food, specifically ways in which to resolve the up-and-coming problems of starvation and food shortages in the future. The event is set to be of epic proportions, with a lot of time, money and hard work essential to its smooth running.
It is unfortunate then that the organisers’ website has been under the spotlight due to criticisms regarding its title pages, since the theme partially concerns the displaying of ground-breaking innovations. The titles on the English language page appeared to display a distinct lack of idiomatic English. In February, the translated titles came under scrutiny all over Italy, notably in the daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, which displayed screenshots of the original Italian titles in Google Translate alongside the English translations, whereupon it quickly became apparent that they were identical to the actual English titles on the website. One example would be the title “Turismo, ma non solo,” very loosely translated as “Tourism, but not only,” failing to encapsulate the true sense of the Italian. The titles and website have now been edited accordingly, however it was not the start that Milan would have wanted in the run-up to such a prestigious event.
The boom of tourism which Expo 2015 will bring to Milan is a further negative, because whilst on the one hand it will undoubtedly bring a lot of business and money into the country, there are still question marks over its long term sustainability. Furthermore, the excess noise and air pollution created as a result will provide headaches for both authorities and locals. Suspected corruption has also been widely reported, with executives and ex-MP’s being arrested in the run-up to the showcase event.
Finally, Corriere della Sera have predicted that the Milan Expo will almost double the number of sex workers in the city to some 15,000 over the five month duration. It is therefore of no surprise that the Milanese locals have started to label the event “Sexpo”. La Repubblica recently interviewed Milan’s city councillor with responsibility for welfare, Pierfrancesco Majorino, who said that “we have to get prepared quickly, and focus on prevention, harm reduction, and helping victims [of the sex trade].” It seems, as much as Matteo Renzi believes that the Milan Expo is “an important opportunity for Italy to present its best face”, there are always those with bad intentions seeking to exploit said opportunities.
opinioni