Feeding the planet, energy for life is the central theme of the forum, which includes topics such as food, water, and the environment.
The Universal Exhibition organized in Milan from May 1 to October 31 is, without a doubt, the largest organized event on food and nutrition.
For six months, Milan will become a global showcase in which 142 countries will show the best of their technologies to give a concrete response to a vital need: to be able to provide healthy, safe and sufficient food for all peoples, always with respect for the planet and its balance.
Expo Milan, a multinational meeting for the transmission of knowledge about “Food, biodiversity, sustainability, nutrition, future, science, technology and education”. An exhibition area of 1.1 million square meters where more than 20 million visitors are expected to visit.
Expo 2015 is the platform for the exchange of ideas and shared solutions on the subject of food, where the creativity of the countries will promote innovations for a sustainable future. Expo Milan offers the opportunity to know and taste the best dishes of the world and discover the excellence of the agri-food and the gastronomic tradition of each country. During the duration of the event, the city of Milan and all of Italy will be animated by artistic and musical events, conferences, workshops and exhibitions.
“Feeding the planet, energy for life” is the central theme of the Expo. This topic includes other issues such as food, water, the environment, well-being, mobility, sustainable development that is present every day in all the world’s agendas. We are in a contradictory world: on the one hand, there are still those who suffer from hunger (some 870 million undernourished people), and on the other hand there are those who die because of health problems related to poor diet and excess food, around of 2.8 million deaths from diseases related to obesity or overweight.
Each year about 1.3 million tons of food are lost.
Besides that, food is more than just a means of feeding the human race: over the centuries it has influenced history, the environment, industrial development, the economic and social development of taste and art.
Expo 2015 is a global reflection aimed at rethinking the future of humanity, in terms of linking life in the field of nature and in the context of the social sphere.
Each country will articulate the contents of its participation, defining a specific proposal.
Solidarity and cooperation, as well as cultural exchange, are the basis for the dissemination of knowledge within the framework of this universal exhibition.
The presence of Mexico in the Expo 2015
The Pabellón de México, project of the architect Francisco López Guerra, has been conceived in the manner of an integral environment, designed to offer visitors a fluid, accessible and meaningful experience of Mexican culture.
Representing a nation with a powerful creative continuity through history.
The experience of the Pavilion constitutes a cultural cluster, in dialogue with the themes of nutrition, vital energy and sustainability.
The theme of the Pavilion’s route is also defined by two axes: diversity (natural, ecological, biological and food, etc.) and legacy (traditional, modern and contemporary practices).
For this reason, the Pavilion has the theme “The seed for the new world: food, diversity and heritage.” Planned food and the sustainability of energy are crucial issues in the care of human life.
Mexico is one of the countries called megadiverse, because it is home to 200,000 species and of which more than 2,500 are protected by law. The Mexican gastronomic culture present in the pavilion is a symbol represented in a symbiosis between the tradition, the flavors, the smells, the textures of the ingredients and the endemic products that offer a mixture of ingredients, such as peppers, beans, herbs, avocado and vanilla. Therefore, its cuisine has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The cultural history of Mexico, in general, and its food cultures, in specific, confer to the country an immemorial tradition in constant dialogue with multiple perspectives of innovation.
Also the architectural design of the Pavilion, inspired by the Totomoxtle, represents the historical and cultural legacy of Mexican culture and food as a sustainable cycle of life.
The images, information, experiences and ideas contained inside convey the message about a diverse and modern country around the theme “innovation with tradition”.
Upon entering and leaving the Pavilion, the public is in front of two trees: a Magnolia living on the facade and a tree
symbolic sculptural movement, in the first area of the interior. The image of the tree reappears multiplied in one of the exhibition rooms.
Corn, Mexico’s emblematic crop, is also present in all its aspects: from the exterior design of the Pavilion to the heart of the building, where it is represented in its sacred aspect and as an image of collective, community and individual revitalization.
The collection of exhibited objects, the sequence of developed technological experiences and the spaces for the recreation and the coexistence of the visitors, compose a powerful story about the natural and cultural beauty of Mexico, from the experience and practice of food.
The Pavilion has a sensorial experience through the use of technology that will make the tour interactive and fun, promoting Mexican values and culture. In each and every one of the exhibition areas inside the Pavilion there is a cultural invocation, that is, a vision that combines the immemorial past with an acknowledgment of the present time.
He is also the host of conferences and workshops related to food security, sustainable production of food, nutrition and gastronomic demonstrations with the presence of renowned Mexican chefs.
There is also a business center focused on economic promotion and business internationalization of Mexican companies and the attraction of direct foreign investment to Mexico.
The restaurant Bésame Mucho offers a menu made up of 28 of the best chefs in our country and the gift shop gives the Pavilion guests the possibility of taking home a souvenir from Mexico.
* General Commissioner of the Mexican Pavilion
at the Expo Milan 2015.
