Israel to Highlight Energy for 2010 World Expo in Shanghai

Model of the Israel pavilion that focuses on energy for upcoming World Expo in China.

Israel plans on building a special country-shaped pavilion for the 2010 World Exposition, scheduled to open on May 1 next year in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The six month “world’s fair” will be based on ways to improve the quality of life in the world’s urban environments. It’s appropriately entitled Better City, Better Life. The fair organizers hope to have an attendance of more the 70 million visitors during its long run.

The Israel pavilion is meant to become a “platform” for further cooperation between the two countries in the areas of agriculture, energy, and various forms of clean technology, according to Yaffa Ben Ari, Israel’s Deputy Commissioner General for the exposition.

Israel and China are already involved in a number of agricultural projects, some of which are dairy farming, irrigation, and seed germination and development techniques, which will be on display in the agricultural section of the pavilion.

Israel and Chinese cooperation in finding solutions for dealing with mass migration from agricultural to urban areas will also be featured, which goes along with the main theme of the exposition.

Ms. Ben Ari added that the design of the pavilion will also resemble traditional Chinese physical health symbols of yin and yang and tai chi,  both of which are very much featured in Chinese culture and are studied by people the world over in order to learn from “the wisdom of nature”.

Besides the agricultural section, which will be called the Whispering Garden, Israel’s unique pavilion will also feature a Hall of Light, featuring the country’s innovative and technological achievements on a 15 meter high screen. Among the many technological innovations being featured will be those in the areas of clean energy and technology, including solar energy.

The centerpiece of the Israeli pavilion will be the Hall of Innovation, in which a special audio-visual show will allow visitors to “talk” with Israeli children, scientists, doctors and inventors via hundreds of screens. These people will introduce themselves and share their hopes for a better future for mankind through various forms of beneficial technology including medical, energy, water purification and desalination, and other forms of beneficial technology.

Although it not yet clear which exhibits of Israeli companies will be featured at the pavilion, it is most likely that those with innovations in the fields of alternative and renewable energy will be featured there. Israeli companies have progressed considerably in these areas in the past few years, as in 2006, only three years ago, just 100 Israeli companies were involved in these areas; and only one Israeli company, Ormat Industries,  was considered to be a global leader.

The Israeli government has allocated a budget of $6 million towards the building and staffing of the pavilion, which will be the first time that Israel has built its own pavilion for an international exposition. World Expo 2010 is said to be planned to be one of the largest world expositions ever staged, since the Great Exposition of Industries of All Nations, also known as the Crystal Palace Exposition . Let’s hope to see representation from the entire Middle East.

Photo via www.chinaview.com