#GlobalPhilly19 highlights the city’s significant medical heritage, among many other things

As the birthplace of American democracy, Philadelphia celebrates its rich history on the global stage by highlighting the diversity of the community through the 2019 GlobalPhilly Expo.

Running from September 1 through October 15, the GlobalPhilly19 (GP19) Expo is hosted by Global Philadelphia Association (GPA) and features a wide variety of events for people of all ages. We believe that the GP19 Expo is a wonderful opportunity to put forth Philadelphia’s international assets because of how it showcases the activities and identities that have made us a World Heritage City and city of world heritages.

As part of our mission to make our world heritage feel more accessible to the Philadelphia community, we’ve divided the events featured in the GlobalPhilly Expo into various categories, including:

• Arts & Culture
• Business & Commerce
• Community Development
• Education K-12
• Family-Friendly
• Food
• Global Event
• Higher Education & Research
• History & Preservation
• International Relations
• Science, Sports
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Technology
• World Heritage

In particular, this year’s GlobalPhilly Expo revolves around the theme of Medical Heritage, a story often overlooked by our community. One in every six doctors in the United States is trained in Philadelphia. Many first vaccines, first operations, first bacterial discoveries took place in Philadelphia.

It’s about time that we as Philadelphians take pride in our medical accomplishments as an invaluable facet of our city’s legacy. In addition to promoting multiple events that embody this theme, we’ve chosen to highlight this history as well as the current work being done in the local medical field within our GlobalPhilly Expo Passport.

Serving as a guide to the GP19 Expo and all things Philadelphia, you can pick up your GlobalPhilly Expo Passport at key locations throughout the city, including hotels, coffee shops, the Philadelphia International Airport, and the Philadelphia Visitor’s Center.

Continuing with our mission this year of spotlighting our city’s role in upholding the health and prosperity of humanity, we’ve additionally chosen to highlight Philadelphia’s work to accomplish the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Proposed by the United Nations in 2015, the SDGs are a global call-to-action made in an effort to promote prosperity and protect the planet.

GPA has spearheaded our city’s efforts to take up the challenge through our world heritage work, in partnership with the Mural Arts Project and various local universities. At this year’s GlobalPhilly Expo, event attendees will have the opportunity to see this work for themselves through various higher education discussions and workshops as well as the unveiling of the SDG #5 Mural October 3.

GPA is  excited to help share its members’ work with the Philadelphia community through the GlobalPhilly Expo.

GPA itself consists of more than 200 internationally involved organizations, businesses, and individuals in Greater Philadelphia. It was created to assist – and to encourage greater interaction among – the many organizations and people who are engaged in international activity in the Greater Philadelphia Region, to promote the development of an international consciousness within the area, and to enhance Philadelphia’s global profile.

In addition to the GlobalPhilly Expo, we’ve launched multiple projects this year to help achieve this goal, including the National Historic Landmark Mapping Project, which has created a print and online database of Philadelphia’s 67 National Historic Landmarks, and the Spanish version of
our World Heritage Coloring Book, which will help children and educators to bring Philadelphia’s heritage into the classroom.

Join us in celebrating Philadelphia’s diversity and international excellence from September 1 through October 15 at the 2019 GlobalPhilly Expo!