The Foreign Service Journal, September 2016

22 SEPTEMBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL offer government-to-government, people- to-people, business-to-business and expert-to-expert opportunities, as well as all the variations this line-up suggests. • World’s fairs provide a relaxed setting for diplomacy, an opportunity seized by the 29 national leaders who paid calls at the Milan Expo, including Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin. • U.S. pavilions help American compa- nies reach customers, foreign businesses and government officials. Local American Chambers of Commerce in both Milan and Shanghai were enthusiastic partners of both U.S. pavilions. • World’s fairs inspire and promote innovation. In Milan, the U.S. pavilion created an accelerator program focused on solutions to global food issues and featured smart glass panels that adapted to sunlight. NASA sent its administrator and four other top scientists to inspire audiences with the agency’s contributions to agriculture and water resources, as well as space exploration. • Multilingual U.S. student ambassa- dors introduce visitors to the U.S. pavilion and to American youth and culture; many students who served in recent expos have gone on to Foreign Service and related careers. The entrance to the U.S. pavilion, American Food 2.0, at Expo Milan. COURTESYOFBEATRICECAMP