The World of Expos with César Corona

This feature was included in CPD's 2023-24 Annual report.

César Corona is CPD's Assistant Director of Engagement and CEO of ExpoMuseum.com

World Expos led me to public diplomacy, and public diplomacy led me to USC. While studying electronics engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), I discovered an opportunity to work for the Mexican National Section at Expo 1998 Lisbon. During that experience, I learned about Expo 2000 Hannover and began preparing to apply for a position at the Mexican Pavilion. After two years of learning German and a rewarding experience as a host in Hannover, I realized my true interests lay in international relations, inspiring a shift in my academic direction.

As I immersed myself in state theory and diplomatic law, I struggled to find a theoretical framework to understand  and explain how accredited government representatives engage with the public at World Expos. This search for a framework led me to a scholarship at McGill University in Montreal, where my professor of Canadian Foreign Policy, Dr. Marc Lanteigne, introduced me to the concept of public diplomacy. It was an instant connection: the framework I had been looking for. From that moment, my focus on diplomacy, public diplomacy, and World Expos deepened.

After sharpening my understanding of diplomatic law at the General Directorate of Protocol of Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I was awarded a Fulbright-García Robles scholarship to pursue a master’s in public diplomacy at USC. During my time at USC, I connected with Dr. Jay Wang, and together we worked on a project at Expo 2010 Shanghai. After graduation, we continued our collaboration on projects at Expo 2015 Milan and Expo 2020 Dubai. At Expo 2012 Yeosu, I developed and implemented a project for the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE), and as I worked on it, I had the opportunity to visit pavilions with my public diplomacy professor, Dr. Nick Cull. We continued our exploration of pavilions together at Expo 2015 Milan.

Through these experiences, I’ve built a diverse network of contacts in the Expo world, many of whom I connected with through my work at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. Over time, I have collaborated to establish theoretical foundations for studying World Expos through a public diplomacy lens, a framework I continue to refine. By merging diplomatic law with communication theory, I aim to advance both the understanding of Expos and the broader field of public diplomacy.

Today, I work as Assistant Director for Engagement at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, lead Expomuseum, and collaborate extensively with the Institute for the Study of International Expositions (ISIE). Drawing on this wealth of knowledge, I am currently writing a book on public diplomacy at World Expos and planning research projects for upcoming Expos 2025 Osaka, 2027 Belgrade, and 2030 Riyadh. With each new project, I am inspired to build bridges between cultures and contribute to the ongoing evolution of public diplomacy at World Expos.