Watch this fascinating conference on the archaeology of Algeria. It discusses the earliest evidence of stone artefacts and hominin-induced tool cutmarks dated 2.6 million years ago, meaning ancestral hominins inhabited the area earlier than thought before.

Ain Boucherit Conference

Algeria: Ain Boucherit Conference

A conference discussing the earliest evidence of stone artefacts and hominin-induced tool cutmarks in Algeria.

Inside Expo_New

Inside Expo: Sustainability I: The World’s Oldest Innovator

Inside Expo: Sustainability II: Harnessing the Sun

The Powerhouse Pavilions

Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion - Audio Guide

Terra

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Terra offers two different, immersive tracks that take visitors either Under the Forest or Under the Ocean in order to learn more about the beauty of the natural world. 

Under the Ocean Track - Terra

See the Expo Young Innovators exhibition, which brings to life the creativity of students across the UAE who worked on developing solutions to global challenges.

Expo Young Innovators Exhibition Terra 

Terra - Carousel

At Expo 2020, sustainability is an urgent, attainable reality, and Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion is the proof. Both immersive exhibition space and exemplar of environmental self-sufficiency, Terra is a pioneering piece of architecture that pushes the limits of renewable design.

The pavilion’s 130-metre-wide solar canopy – so vast that you could park 10 city buses head-to-tail atop it – converts sunshine into electricity for the exhibits below. Artfully funnelled natural light and local plant species, together with technologies that can reduce water consumption by 75 per cent, show the way to a sustainable future.


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Inspiring experiential journey through our shared sustainable future

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Two immersive paths to choose from: beneath a forest and beneath an ocean

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LEED Platinum environmental features, including solar power and water recycling

Terra 

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3151 Consumption Hall exhibition - Terra The Sustainability Pavilion

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3170 Under the Sea exhibition as part of Terra The Sustainability Pavilion

Image Gallery

Videos

The Making of Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Drone Footage: Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Hyperlapse: Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Interactive Tour: Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion

Terra is a super-sized marvel of forward-thinking design. The pavilion’s technology generates enough energy in a year to power a Nissan Leaf to drive halfway to Mars, while another system captures moisture from the air you breathe and turns it into drinkable water. Enter and take a fantastical journey through the wonders of nature, humanity’s challenges and the promise of our shared future. 


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of harmonious living

A model

The Sustainability Pavilion

Terra is home to five thought-provoking art installations from artists around the world, with each piece demonstrating a response to the issue of sustainability.

Directions

Terra Art Installations

Young visitors can explore a fantastical world inspired by Terra's very own octopus, Octavia.

Octavia

Octavia's Playground

Timelapse of Terra 

Algeria Cover

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Algeria Image gallery

During the Islamic Golden Age, the rihla was a popular Arabic literary form that chronicled not only a physical journey but a personal voyage toward spiritual discovery. The Algeria Pavilion brings this genre to Expo 2020 for a whole new generation to enjoy, offering a rihla-inspired tour through the North African nation’s heritage. The journey begins in the casbah-like plaza outside, leading visitors through a gateway to the future and into a multi-stage exhibition on Algeria’s cultural and environmental riches. Take in a high-definition film, explore the country’s desert sights and sounds, and conclude with a cup of Algerian mint tea.

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Inventive rihla, or journey, through Algeria’s rich heritage

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High-definition immersive film experience

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Historical architectural design inspired by a classic Algerian casbah

Algeria Features

Algeria pavilion

Algeria pavilion’s entrance evokes a grand gateway made up of two blockish bronze-coloured façades cut with a triangular geometric pattern. One of these façades sits slightly ahead of the other and overlaps it across the top, creating the three-dimensional gateway effect. 

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to the future

Gateway 

Algeria Pavilion

On the edge of the Empty Quarter, hidden and forgotten for thousands of years, lie the remains of an ancient trading post – a city that traded with the ancient kingdoms of Egypt, Mesopotamia and India, with foundries producing exquisitely designed ornaments and weaponry. A thriving oasis in the desert. A meeting place of cultures and ideas.

This documentary unveils the story of how the historical site was discovered by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and how the ring became the origin of the Expo 2020 Dubai logo.

Saruq Al Hadid: Dubai's Iron Age

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A documentary on the ancient international trade centre where the ring that inspired the Expo 2020 logo was found.

The Kamal is a simple celestial instrument, just a board and knotted string, that was used by Arab navigators from the 9th century. Sailors also used poetry as a mnemonic to record and pass on directions in the easily memorised ruttier form. In Australia and New Zealand, indigenous mapping of the sky remains alive through a new generation of astronomers. Bridging these systems of knowledge through literature and memory, we consider how the cultural imagination of the celestial has been constructed and understood, continuing to hold meaning as we imagine space futures.

Considering astronomy, past and present

Learn to Read the Stars

How the cultural imagination of the celestial has been constructed, continuing to hold meaning as we imagine space futures.

A newly commissioned poem that will be shared in a live poetry reading by Emirati poet, Nujoom Alghanem

Exciting presentations from leading practitioners in the field of both Astrophysics and Cultural Astromony from the UAE, Australia and New Zealand

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Capped by a digitally enhanced “cumulus cloud” that provides shade in the daytime and a canvas for dazzling light displays at night, the Australia Pavilion is a vibrant showcase for the kind of imagination Australians like to call “Blue Sky Dreaming”.

Inside and out, the focus here is on Australian innovation. From the ancient astronomy of the Aboriginal peoples, which you can learn about through an immersive projection show on the pavilion’s interior dome, to the sustainably produced timber that forms the pavilion’s hill-shaped exterior, there’s no shortage of blue-sky ideas here to explore.


Australia

With a crescent-shaped first level that resembles dusty hills and a cloud-like shade structure hanging overhead, the Australia Pavilion is designed to evoke a dramatic Outback landscape. 

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Outback landscape

A dramatic

Australia Pavilion

Inside Expo: The Next Great Frontier 

Space travel and exploration has captured imaginations for generations and the dream of space tourism is now closer to being a reality than ever. At the same time, with outer space remaining one of our few truly shared resources, peacefully managing this distant realm remains crucial. During this fascinating week, we highlight the latest innovations in space research and travel, while also providing a platform to discuss critical issues.

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How do we safely and productively explore new frontiers?

Insight Report from Space Week

Space Week

Space Theme Week Video

Kevin Jones is an arts consultant, writer, critic and educator. In 2019, he founded Juniper Mind, a consultancy that challenges artists, brands and institutions to think more critically. At Alserkal, he created a content strategy for the brand, which informs both the editorial direction for alserkal.online and seasonal programming. Consequently, he has become Commissioning Editor for alserkal. online, and provides curatorial guidance for Alserkal programming throughout the year. New York-born and Paris-bred, Kevin has lived in the Middle East for the past fourteen years, serving as UAE Desk Editor for the magazine ArtAsiaPacific, while contributing criticism both internationally (The Art Newspaper, Artforum, 
ArtReview and FlashArt International) and regionally. 


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Founder, Juniper Mind and Strategic Consultant, Alserkal

Kevin Jones 

Professor Rangi Matamua (Tūhoe) is a pioneering Māori scholar who has revolutionised understandings of Māori astronomy, and in particular Matariki. His research has been ground-breaking in terms of its contribution to mātauranga Māori; he has enlightened both national and international populations on the mātauranga of astronomy. He is renowned for his role communicating his research in an accessible and engaging way, and reaching both academic and non-academic audiences. Rangi is both the author of the bestselling book Matariki: The Star of the Year and presenter of the award winning te reo Māori web series Living by the Stars. He has challenged widespread misconceptions about Māori astronomy and has enhanced our understandings of a Māori world view of the stars. 

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Rangi Matamua

Dr. Mashhoor is a coordinator of the academic programs at Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology (SAASST). He has more than 45 publications in scientific journals. He has a method for analyzing close visual binary stars (Al-Wardat’s Method), and has a good international collaboration and recently is working on the data of Gaia. His Scientific and research interests include spectrophotometry of stars, interferometry of binary and multiple stars, atmospheric modelling of single and binary solar type and carbon stars, light curves of eclipsing X-ray binary stars, astronomical site selection and testing, and history of Astronomy.

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Dr. Mashhoor Ahmad Salameh

Dr. Duane Hamacher is Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy in the ASTRO3-D Centre of Excellence and the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne in Australia. His research focuses on astronomy in a cultural, social, historical, and heritage context. Dr. Hamacher is a president and founder of the Australian Association of Astronomy in Culture, Secretary of the International Society of Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture, member of the International Astronomical Union Working Group on Star Names, an associate editor of the Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, and a heritage expert for UNESCO.
Dr. Hamacher is passionate about communicating research with the public, as well as promoting First Nations students in this space. 

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Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy


Duane Hamacher

Nujoom Alghanem is an Emirati artist, poet, and multi award-winning film director. She was born in Dubai in 1962, has published eight poetry collections and produced around twenty films including short fiction, short documentaries, art films and seven feature length documentaries. Her films have won local, regional and international prizes. She is the founder of Nahar Productions, a film production company based in Dubai and a professional trainer and mentor in filmmaking, art and creative writing. In 1999, she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Media Production, from the School of Film, Griffith University in Australia. 
In 1996, she finished her Bachelor’s Degree in Video Production from Ohio University in the United States.

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Nujoom Alghanem

Cultures in Conversation I Never Be Lost: Learn To Read The Stars 

World Expos have always been meeting places for people across cultures and geographies; an opportunity to come together and celebrate human ingenuity and forge meaningful human connections. As the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, and with the participation of more than 192 countries, Expo 2020 Dubai looks to take this legacy even further. The Build Bridges track of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Programme for People and Planet features a tapestry of event series and experiences that celebrate our common humanity and the vital connections that can help us prosper together as a worldwide community.

Knowing One Another Better

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Build Bridges 

Build Bridges Icon

Winner of six Latin Grammys and one Grammy, Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs’ music embraces influences from Mexico to southern United States rhythms, crossing barriers between Folk, Jazz, Folkloric Blues, Indigena and Ranchera to Hip Hop.

Lila Downs Concert

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Enjoy a concert from Grammy award-winning Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs.

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Mexico 4

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Every winter, millions of migrating black and orange Monarch butterflies set the forests of Central Mexico ablaze with colour. The Mexico Pavilion takes this graceful creature and a rainbow of iconic Mexican flowers, as inspiration for a symbolic and vivid presentation of the country’s flourishing creativity and innovation. Explore rich multimedia displays that highlight how the act of pollination fosters exciting new growth in nature, gastronomy and business. Enjoy iconic Mexican art and performance and get a unique taste of authentic and boundary-pushing Mexican cuisine.


Ain Boucherit Conference

Participants