Inspired by Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” speech, the United Nations formed an advisory committee including representatives from Great Britain, India, the Soviet Union, France, the United States, Brazil, and Canada to create a global conference dedicated to exploring peaceful uses for atomic energy. Held in Geneva from August 8 to 20, 1955, the International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy was not only the most heavily attended event ever hosted by the United Nations, with 1,428 participants representing 38 governments, but also the largest gathering of international scientists in history. It was a pivotal moment, one that re-established connection between researchers who had mostly been unable to communicate since before the war. While the conference itself was closed to the general public (with the exception of some special-interest evening lectures), an accompanying exhibition was open to all audiences at the nearby Palais des Expositions. Both private companies and government agencies participated in the exhibition, which effectively served as soft propaganda. It highlighted industrial developments in the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Norway, Canada, the Soviet Union, the United States, Belgium, and Sweden that would allow the peaceful application of atomic energy. This poster was used to promote the exhibition rather than the conference, and would have been seen throughout Switzerland in the months leading up to the event. Its restrained design, relying primarily on typography, reflects the approach common to much modern advertising in Europe during the 1950s.
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