Expo 2020 Dubai launches the Opportunity Pavilion ahead of opening

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Expo 2020 Dubai recently unveiled the inspiring visitor experience for Mission Possible – the Opportunity Pavilion. The interactive exhibition journey will addresses the most fundamental global challenges of the time and is designed to shed light on what can be achieved when individuals and communities work together.

As the pavilion that brings the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to life, Mission Possible will also be the home of the United Nations’ physical presence at the World Expo, featured through a dedicated space, the UN Hub. The Mission Possible experience welcomes visitors with three parallel ‘tracks’ that focus on water, food and energy –resources that were chosen as they are basic human needs, and form part of the SDGs – illustrating how unlocking opportunity at a local level can be used for the greater global good.

Visitors are ‘guided’ through the tracks by three individuals whose innovative projects were implemented with minimal resources, yet had a life-changing impact. Firstly Abel Cruz from Peru will address water shortages through fog nets that harvest fog and turn it into water, while UAE National Mariam Al Juneibi, a sustainable organic farmer who promotes sustainable farming and healthy eating practices, will encourage people to grow their own vegetables.

Finally, Fatma Juma Haji, a master trainer who teaches other women to install solar panels, will guide to create sustainable energy in Zanzibar, where less than four per cent of the population has access to electricity. The community members of each ‘guide’ share how their lives have been improved far beyond access to water, food and energy, demonstrating the interdependency of different SDGs, and how meeting basic human requirements unlocks other opportunities.

The thought-provoking experience concludes with the Pledge Room, an upside-down space entered ‘through the clouds’, where visitors are asked to commit to a course of action that will make a difference in their own and their community’s lives. Their pledges are transported to the ‘garden’ – a representation situated on the ceiling of the room.

Building on the interactive visitor journey, the UN Hub will provide a dynamic set of programmes throughout the six months of Expo 2020 that will inform, inspire and engage visitors to take impactful action towards a thriving future for people and planet by contributing to the SDGs. Meanwhile, Mission Possible hosts Expo 2020’s Global Best Practice Programme, which spotlights simple but effective initiatives linked to the SDGs that can be adapted, replicated or scaled for enhanced global impact.

The Best Practice Area showcases the 50 projects supported under the Programme, echoing the same message as Mission Possible: it is collective action that leads to a better world. Reem Al Hashimy, Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, said in a statement that the pavilion will serve as a beacon of hope and source of inspiration for all visitors, reminding them that no matter where they come from and regardless of age or gender, they have the power to make a difference and now is the time to do so.

Designed by AGi Architects, Mission Possible – the Opportunity Pavilion was conceived as a large plaza to reflect its aim of providing a platform for social and cross-cultural engagement. Floating 32 metres above the ground, the pavilion’s canopy represents clouds, which are in constant transformation, and the dreams that we all aspire to achieve, while a terracotta ‘carpet’ covers the ground and the pavilion’s facade, representing Earth and inviting visitors to share their experiences. The pavilion’s exhibition has been designed by ALEC Fit Out and ICARIA Atelier.

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