A slow-moving immersive natural encounter at Al Wasl Plaza.

Fireflies

Expressions Projection Show at Al Wasl : The Sea

Inside Expo_New

Architecture II: Al Wasl Plaza

Exhibitor logo

EXHIBITOR Magazine's World Expo Awards

EXHIBITOR Magazine Announces World Expo Award Winners

Al Wasl Plaza

Al Wasl 

Notice the Expo logo at the centre of Al Wasl Plaza's oculus.

Al Wasl Dome 3

Experience a towering structure under which the Leaning Tower of Pisa could fit.

Al Wasl 4

Al Wasl Plaza Images

The Opening Ceremony: A Story of Hope

Expo 2020 Dubai, the first Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region in the 170 years of World Expo history, opened with a celebration of global togetherness and optimism. Spectacular storytelling, performances, fireworks, and immersive projections on the dome of Al Wasl, the heart of Expo 2020, all told a story of collaboration and hope for the future, echoing Expo 2020 Dubai's theme of "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". Global artists joining in the celebration included Andrea Bocelli, Ellie Goulding, Lang Lang and Mohammed Abdu.

Description 

General view of Al Wasl Plaza 

The first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, Expo 2020 opened with a celebration of global connection and hope for the future.

Jaw-dropping immersive projections beginning with the fiery birth of our planet.

A celebration of the majesty of nature, both underwater and on land.

Incredible local and international performers.

Image Gallery

Expo 2020 Dubai Opening Ceremony

Long ago, travellers referred to Dubai as Al Wasl, or “the connection” – a name that reflects the area’s heritage as a meeting point. This spirit of coming together takes shape in Al Wasl Plaza, Expo 2020’s spectacular centrepiece and gathering ground for celebration and wonder. 

Situated at the meeting point of Expo’s three thematic districts, Al Wasl Plaza's dome is tall enough to fit the Leaning Tower of Pisa beneath it. By night, she transforms into a 360-degree projection screen, blanketed by more than 250 state-of-the-art projectors. Al Wasl Plaza is a hub for visitors and the vibrant heart of our Expo.

UAE flag

Daily performances, national day ceremonies and more

Al Wasl Dome Projections

Immersive 360-degree domed projection screen

Al Wasl exterior

Lush garden spaces for relaxation and connection

Al Wasl features

Al Wasl Logo-01

Al Wasl Plaza 360

Al Wasl Plaza is 130 metres in diameter and more than 67 metres tall. Delicate-looking despite its titanic scale, her pattern is inspired by our Expo's logo, which is fully visible at the oculus.

and magical

Extraordinary

The life force of the Expo 2020 site, Al Wasl Plaza proudly carries the old name of Dubai.

The beating heart of Expo 2020

A series of immersive 360° videos of Al Wasl's projection shows that put you centre stage for each stunning performance. 

DUBAI, 12 October 2021. Underwater Harmony performance at Al Wasl, Expo 2020 Dubai. (Photo by Christopher Pike/Expo 2020 Dubai)


Underwater Harmony performance at Al Wasl

Al Wasl Plaza 360° Immersive Experiences

The Beating Heart of Expo 2020

The Beating Heart of Expo

A unique celebration of World Wildlife Day, with the top conservationists, scientists, and activists on the planet. This event spotlights Internaiontional projects and initiatives in the quest to preserve, protect, and save the endangered species and live in balance with nature. Meet teachers, students, and young conservation ‘rangers’ who are inspiring their communities to restore and conserve with fresh thinking and bold ideas. 

Nature Connects Us

World Wildlife Day

Bringing together conservationists, scientists, and activists to spotlight the quest to preserve, protect, and save the endangered species and live in balance with nature.

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

stamp 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.


Inspiring experiential journey through our shared sustainable future

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

LEED Platinum environmental features, including solar power and water recycling

Terra 

terra

Videos

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. 


terra 

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.

Terra Art Installations

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

Octavia's Playground

Timelapse of Terra 

Co-curated with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on World Wildlife Day, Expo 2020 Dubai advocates for living in harmony with nature, protecting biodiversity and saving our fast-dwindling wildlife from extinction. The core objective of the day is to engage visitors in initiatives around the World Wildlife Day celebrations to discover the importance of wildlife conservation and biodiversity for the sustainable development of our planet.

Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration

World Wildlife Day 2022

The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe are home to an extraordinary biodiversity. Its forests and ocean support unique species that live exclusively on these islands and people communities as well. The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe is aware of the urgency to protect its unique ecosystems and the need to find sustainable solutions (such as those that involve raw and processed food, medicines, timber and non-wood forest products) to support both people and biodiversity. The commitment of this country to protect one of the last biodiversity-rich places in the world is key and in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. This conference will show some examples of projects developed in the country, such as the sustainable use of agroforestry local products to combat food safety while reducing impact of preserved forests, and the conservation of endangered species through the involvement of people.

Dehydrated Fruits and Olive Oils

Sao Tome and Principe

A conference showcasing some of the projects developed in São Tomé and Príncipe to preserve the country's extraordinary biodiversity.

São Tomé and Príncipe: Dehydrated Fruits and Olive Oils

How do mountains make life possible? Why does the unique fragility of mountains need to be looked after and how do its people manage their livelihoods? This day-long event will be one of a kind, bringing together mountain practitioners, policymakers, scientists, the private sector, and grassroots actors to share local knowledge and best practices in enhancing the resilience of mountain communities, livelihoods, and ecosystems. Take away ideas on we can work in unison with other stakeholders for sustainable and climate resilient mountain development. Be an integral part of the change—because #MountainsMatter.

Voices from the Andes, Hindu Kush highlight efforts to preserve ecosystems.

©Edson Vandeira  - Peru Andean woman and child 

Knowledge and best practices in enhancing the safeguarding and resilience of mountain communities. 

CB Leave No One Behind Reaching for the Stars Sus Mountain Dev

Agenda_Sep30

Environmental journalist Bahar Dutt at the Reaching for the Stars Sustainable &amp; Climate Resilient Mountain Development talk Web Image m2999

Reaching for the Stars Sustainable &amp; Climate Resilient Mountain Development talk Web Image m3001

Environmental journalist Bahar Dutt at the Reaching for the Stars Sustainable &amp; Climate Resilient Mountain Development talk Web Image m2998

Climate and Biodiversity Week to spur the world into action to protect our planet

We stand at the brink of a crucial moment in time - a moment in which we must take decisive collective action to protect our planet, and the life it sustains, for future generations. It is an opportunity for us to take our place in history as the generation that stepped up to halt climate change, and transform human activity to operate within Earth's planetary boundaries. 

Expo 2020 Dubai's Climate & Biodiversity Week convenes government decision-makers, business leaders, youth advocates and our millions of visitors to address the greatest challenge of our time and generate solutions critical to the future of our civilisation and the health of our planet. 

What's your Promise to our Planet?

Climate and Biodiversity

How do we work together to better manage climate change and protect biodiversity? 

Climate & Biodiversity Week Programme

Insight Report from Climate and Biodiversity Week

Natural Resource and Biodiversity Conservation

Climate & Biodiversity Week

Explore the pavilion's materials which begin with the concept of circularity.

Italy Pavilion

stamp Italy

Italy Image Gallery

Italy’s voyage to Expo 2020 began long before opening day, when three custom-crafted boats set sail from Venice, Genoa and Naples. Nearly 10,000 kilometres later, the vessels arrived in Dubai and were hoisted up on steel pillars to form the roof of the Italy Pavilion, a striking showcase of culture, science and the nautical arts.

Inside the pavilion, beyond a dramatic veil of LED strands, stylish exhibits await. See a five-metre-tall 3D-printed replica of Michelangelo’s legendary David statue, learn about algae at a cluster of naturally multicoloured pools or gaze up and contemplate the fanciful hanging gardens embedded in the boats’ hulls.


Italy logo

The Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 is a dramatic, open structure reminiscent of a giant carnival tent, with a swooping canopy and a layer of 20-metre-tall white strands surrounding its interior like a veil. A set of high steel pillars support its imaginative roof, which is formed from the hulls of three boats.  

Italy 2

tent

A carnival 

Mountain Partnership logo

Mountain Partnership 

AKDN Logo

Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)

QU DONGYU

Qu Dongyu

Anita Paul

Director, Community Initiatives, Pan Himalayan Grassroots Development Foundation

Prof. Anna Giorgio is a professor of applied environmental botany at the University of Milan, where she also directs the interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Management and Sustainable Development of Mountain Areas. Additionally, she is the coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in ‘Conservation and Sustainable Development of Mountain Areas’ at the Università Della Montagna/University of the Mountain (UNIMONT) of the University of Milan, located in Edolo, a small mountain municipality in the hearth of the Italian alps. Since 2016, she is the Leader of Action Group 1 of the EU-Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP).  Since 2020, she is board member of EUROMONTANA, Brussels-based organisation promoting cooperation for European mountain regions.  

Anna Giorgi

Director, UNIMONT Mountain University; Italian Mountain Lab alliance Coordinator


Anna Giorgio

Mr. Apoorva Oza is the Chief Executive Officer of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India). He’s a mechanical engineer by training with a diploma in rural management from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA). He also holds degrees on strategic change from Cranford University, United Kingdom, and Cornell University, USA. He was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AKRSP (India) in 2001. Besides his work with AKRSPI, Mr. Oza is actively involved in founding and supporting NGOs and NGO networks as well as influencing government policies. He is also interested in supporting initiatives which address the human resource needs of rural India. 

 


Apoorva Oza

Global  Programme Team, Aga Khan Foundation

Ms. Bahar Dutt is an award-winning environment journalist who has reported some of the biggest stories of our times over the last two decades. She currently teaches as an Associate Professor at Shiv Nadar University and manages multimedia projects for the United Nations Development Fund, India, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Ms. Dutt has also worked as an Environment Editor with India’s leading English news channel, CNN-IBN, and her reportage has helped move environment reportage from an obtuse segment on television to the prime-time news space. She is the author of two books, ‘Green Wars – Dispatches from a Vanishing World’ by Harper Collins and ‘Rewilding in India’ by Oxford University Press. 

Bahar Dutt

Born in Cusco, Peru, Mr. Constantino Aucca Chutas is a biologist who graduated from the University of San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC). Since 2000, he has been the president of Association Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) and of Accion Andina. He has also been the Conservation Advisor of the Global Forest Generation since 2018. In 1989, Mr. Chutas worked as an assistant to Dr. Jon Fieldsa of Copenhagen Zoological Museum and Natural History at the University of Copenhagen and has implemented national and global conservation projects. He is a member of field expeditions with the Smithsonian Institute, amongst other institutions. He is also an honorary researcher at the University of Plymouth, United Kingdom and associate researcher at the Museo De Historia Natural (UNMSM) in Lima, Peru. 

Constantino Aucca

President of Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN)


Mr. David Davies is currently working as the Chief Executive Officer of Aguity, where he has helped lift low-income farmers out of poverty. For his work, he was named by Future Agro Challenge (FAC) as Global Agripreneur of the Year 2018. The work by Mr. Davies and AgUnity has also been globally recognized by the likes of IFC World Bank, Mastercard Foundation, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Oxford University and more. Previously, David has been the Founder and CEO of several successful FinTech, SaaS, and mobile start-ups. He is applying his experience and AgUnity’s technology to a new project with AgriUT – a not-for-profit Foundation that is powered by a digital utility token ecosystem.

David Davies

Based in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, Ms. Dilshodbegim Khisravova has been volunteering since she was in high school. She has been volunteering with a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for four years now and is currently the team leader of a CERT in Khorog, a town in the Pamirs. CERTs are volunteer groups which capitalise on the local volunteers’ knowledge of the terrain, language and culture and train them to be the first responders in the event of a disaster. As a volunteer, she has provided first aid to local communities during different emergencies, and she is experienced in Camp Management and in developing systems for Camp Coordination. She believes that serving as a volunteer is important to view and understand Jamat (society) in different perspectives.

Dilsodbegim Khisravova

Volunteer, Community Emergency Response Teams, Tajikistan


Dilsodbegim Khisravova	

Dr. Fausto Jori is currently working as the Chief Executive Officer of EcorNaturaSì, the largest specialized Italian distributor of biodynamic and organic products, which services over 500 shops and  has over 300 farms engaged in production. He set up Vitulia Biocontadini Mediterranei, a biodynamic agricultural-social cooperative in Calabria, Italy and was Director and Head of Global Innovation at Reply S.p.A, which specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. Prior to this, Dr. Jori founded a consulting, innovation and strategy company for large organizations. He also serves as the president of two social promotion associations. 

Fausto Jori

Mr. Giorgio Grussu works in Rome as a Project Coordinator for the Mountain Partnership Secretariat at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) since 2012, dealing with sustainable development, climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation in fragile ecosystems such as mountains and islands. He is the coordinator of the Mountain Partnership Products initiative, selected by the Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Best Practice Programme as one of 25 Best Practices out of 1175 from around the world. Before joining the FAO, Mr. Grussu worked as an advisor on environmental issues with the Italian Development Cooperation, and for several years as a project manager with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with the UN Environment Programme, and non-government organisations.

Giorgio Grussu

Coordinator,	Mountain Partnership Products Initiative


Mr. Hadi Husani has been leading humanitarian and development agencies in Central and South Asia, largely with the Social Development Institutions of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) for 20 years. With degrees in Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology as well as a professional background in management consulting and the private sector, he has consistently sought effective solutions to any challenges. Mr. Husani served as the Chief of Mission and Executive Officer for Focus Humanitarian Assistance in Tajikistan and in the United States. He led Aga Khan Planning and Building Services in Pakistan as its CEO. He also supported educational initiatives for the Aga Khan Education Services in Tajikistan and Afghanistan and is currently the CEO for the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat in Central Asia. 

Hadi Husani

Hadi	Husani	

Climber, filmmaker, photographer, and activist, Mr. Jake Norton has spent most of his life in the high mountains and remote regions of the world. From helping discover George Mallory’s remains on Mount Everest to following the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton across South Georgia Island, unearthing 3500 years old human remains in cliffside caves high in the Himalayas to following the Ganges River 1600 miles from source to sea, and reaching the summit of Everest three times, Mr. Norton has been blessed in his 47 years to traverse the globe and share his stories far and wide. He has filmed, directed, and produced three award-winning documentaries, and works as a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Mountain Partnership, advocating globally on behalf of mountain communities and ecosystems. 

Jake Norton

Climber, filmmaker and philanthropist, Mountain Partnership Goodwill Ambassador

Born in Gilgit Baltistan, Mr. Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan hails from a political family and began his political career in 2009, contesting in his first election as an independent candidate. He joined the political party “Pakistan Tehreek Insaf” in 2018 and was appointed as the party president in 2019. He was successful in the Gilgit Baltistan elections in 2020 and was subsequently elected as Chief Minister of Gilgit Baltistan. He has been engaged in socio-economic development of the region. He is invested in the sustainable development of the area for which he has introduced concepts such as eco-tourism through village development plans and is currently leading an integrated development plan for the people of Gilgit Baltistan. 

Khalid Khurshid

Chief Minister, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan


Ms. Kira Intrator leads urban and rural planning and innovation for the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), supporting teams in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Syria, and Tajikistan. Her work focuses on creating and refining innovative digital tools, methods and practices that exponentially scale impact on urban planning and development. Her projects include designing an award-winning, post-disaster Interactive Voice Response prototype for emergency relief with Google’s Civic Response team, creating an AI data capture design to enhance real-time urban demographic data collection, and piloting a satellite and open data ‘Habitat Assessment’ tool for urban planning in Central Asia. She has also raised $18million in VC-style growth capital to train and place underserved young adults in jobs in IT and investment operations.

Kira Intrator

Lead, Habitat Planning and Innovation,	Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH)


Atty. Maria Anthonette Velasco Allones is an educator, OD practitioner, leadership coach and lawyer with extensive professional experience in public sector strategic and reform management. She has been serving as the Chief Operating Officer of the Tourism Promotions Board since February 2020. She has also served as Assistant Secretary for Personnel at the Department of National Defense, and also as Assistant Secretary at the Department of Labor and Employment. She is a member of the core faculty of the Ateneo School of Government and serves as a subject matter expert for the Career Executive Service Board’s leadership development program. Atty. Allones earned the distinction to be the first and only recipient of the prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award for HRD in government service in the Philippines. 

Maria Velasco Allones

Chief Operating Officer, Tourism Promotion Board - Philippines


Maria Anthonette C. Velasco Allones

Born in Torino, Italy, Mr. Mario Cerutti has been working in Lavazza since 1986, where he is currently the Chief Institutional Relations and Sustainability Officer and Secretary of the Lavazza Foundation. He also serves as President of the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, as President of Italian Coffee Committee – the association of large Italian coffee companies and as Chairman of the Coffee & Climate Steering Committee. Additionally, he is a board member of the International Coffee Partners and World Coffee Reasearch (WCR). From 2004 to 2007 and again from 2017 to 2020, he was President of the European Coffee Federation (ECF). Mr. Cerutti  studied Business Administration at the University of Torino in Italy and has an MBA in International Finance from the University of Dallas in the United States.

Mario Cerutti

Chief Institutional Relations and Sustainability Officer, Lavazza


Mario Cerutti	

Mr. Massimo Baggi took office as the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kingdom of Morocco in 2016 and has been the Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain since 2019. He served as the assistant director of the Institute of Economic Research at the University of Italian Switzerland in 1991.  He was also an advisor in charge of economic affairs at the Swiss Embassy in Delhi before taking up the same position at the Swiss Embassy in Moscow. Back in Switzerland, he was then head of the Asia and Pacific Division at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) until 2010, and was also the Consul General of Switzerland in Milan until the end of the World Expo in 2015.

Massimo Baggi

Ambassador of Switzerland to the UAE and Bharain, Government of Switzerland


Massimo	Baggi	

Mr. Maurizio Martina is Special Adviser to the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization at the level of Assistant Director-General. From 2018 until joining FAO in January 2021, he served as Member of the Italian Parliament in the House of Representatives. Prior to this, he was Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of the Italian Government (2014 – 2018), held responsibilities in the Committee of Coordination for the Universal Exposition of Milan (2015), was Undersecretary of State for Agriculture of the Italian Government (2013-2014) and was elected Councilor of the Lombardy Region (2010-2013). He also served as Secretary of the Democratic Party (2018). 

Maurizio Martina

Ms. Mira Rai is a Nepalese ultra trail-runner and sky runner and specializes in ultra distance mountain races. She is part of the Salomon Trail Running Team and has participated in many international competitions and has won numerous awards for the same. She recently became the Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations Mountain Partnership and is committed to work to achieve sustainable environment in the world’s mountain regions. Ms. Rai was the winner of the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2017 and the Asia Game Changer Award in 2018. She mentors young female runners, organizing trail races, and promotes the sport in Nepal through the Mira Rai Initiative, a non-profit organization committed to supporting trail-running and the trail-running community in Nepal.

Mira Rai

Goodwill Ambassador,	Mountain Partnership


Mira	Rai	

Mr. Onno Rühl is currently working as the first General Manager of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH). He has held positions in the World Bank, as Country Director for Nigeria, and more recently as Country Director for India. Rϋhl joined the Bank in 1993 as country officer for Moldova and Armenia. He also held various positions within the World Bank in East and Central Asia as well as Africa. Mr. Rühl has also held the position of lead private and financial sector development specialist in the Africa and Europe and Central Asia regions. Prior to working in the bank, he was with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. He has a longstanding reputation for driving organisational change, building partnerships, as well as experience in emergency response and natural disaster reconstruction. 

Onno Ruhl

General Manager, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat


After receiving his degree as an environmental engineer from Turin’s Polytechnic in Italy, Mr. Paolo Di Croce started his career in Slow Food in 1999, serving as the General Secretary of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity from 2003 to 2007, which defends the biodiversity of our foods and gastronomic traditions from the world over, promotes sustainable agriculture, respect for the environment, for cultural identities, and for the wellbeing of animals. He also served as the General Secretary of Slow Food International since the Puebla Congress, and was reappointed for a second and third term in 2012 and 2017. 

Paolo di Croce

Secretary General, Slow Food International


Ms. Rosalaura Romeo is currently working as a Programme Officer at the Mountain Partnership Secretariat of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Her key areas of expertise include sustainable mountain development, agricultural research, forestry research, as well as international processes and advocacy. Ms. Romeo has published studies on the vulnerability of mountain people to food insecurity for the Mountain Partnership, and is also author of publications titled ‘Mountain Farming Systems – Seeds for the Future’ and ‘Mountain Farming is Family Farming’. She has an MSc in Agriculture from the University of Tuscia in Italy and has studied Integrated Watershed Management from the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Rosalaura Romeo

Programme Officer, Mountain Partnership Secretariat 


Rosalaura Romeo	

Prof. Roy C. Sidle is works as the Director of the Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) and Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Central Asia (UCA) in Khorog, Tajikistan. He has forty-nine years of research, teaching, outreach and leadership experience in hydrology, environmental science, sustainability, and natural resources management; and much of his research has focused on mountain ecosystems across the world. As measures of his scientific contributions and success, Professor Sidle was elected as a Fellow in American Geophysical Union in 2010 and received the International Award from the Japan Society of Hydrology and Water Resources in 2014. He holds a PhD in Soil Science/Hydrology from the Pennsylvania State University and MSc and BSc degrees from the University of Arizona. 

Roy Sidle

Professor and Director, Mountain Society Research Institute (MSRI), University of Central Asia


Ms. Sandra Carvão is Chief of Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness at the World Tourism Organization. Before that, she was Chief of Communications and Publications for 8 years until May 2018 where she was responsible for UNWTO’s strategic positioning. Prior to this post, Sandra was Deputy Chief at UNWTO’s Market Trends, Competitiveness and Trade in Tourism Services Department. During this period, Ms. Carvao coordinated the Tourism Resilience Committee created by UNWTO to address the impacts of the global economic crisis 2008-2009 on tourism. She has a degree in International Relations, Economics Branch, by the Instituto de Ciências Sociais e Políticas/Universidade Técnica de Lisboa and a postgraduate degree in Marketing by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Sandra Carvao

Chief of Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness,	UNWTO


Ms. Sonia Salas Dominguez is an Agroindustrial Engineer, Magister and Dr.  Scienciae in Food Industries, specialist in rural development, food and technology; rural agro industry; participatory processes of planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects related to strategic planning and managerial leadership. She has 22 years of experience in the field of research and promotion of rural development through rural agribusiness, and recovery of ancestral knowledge and Andean-Amazonian biodiversity with extensive experience in the Sierra and Selva coast of Peru, the countries of the Inter-Amazon treaty and the Andean and Latin American countries. A former Research Associate at the International Potato Center (CIP) and a board member of the World Mountain Forum, she is currently also a member of the FAO Mountain Alliance. 

Sonia Salas Dominguez

President,	Rural Agroindustry Network of Peru (Redar Peru)


Sonia Salas Dominguez	

Mr. Stefano Sala is currently working as a Project Officer at Ge.S.Di.Mont. Research Centre, an interdisciplinary research centre for sustainable development of mountain areas at the Università Della Montagna/University of the Mountain within the University of Milan in Italy. He is experienced in working on interdisciplinary research projects for the development of mountain areas, with a specific focus on governance issues and policies for sustainable mountain development and tourism. Mr. Sala has also been supporting the coordination of the EU-Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) Action Group 1 to develop an effective research and innovation ecosystem with the objective of promoting coherent R&I policies at the regional, national and transnational level. 

Stefano Sala

Ms. Stella Jean is a renowned fashion designer and is recognized as the first black Italian designer. She built a sustainable development platform entitled Laboratorio delle Nazioni, which focuses on a standard of sustainability and multiculturalism, using fashion as a tool for cooperative international development. In 2021, Ms. Jean co-founded a work group comprised of Afro-Italian professionals: WAMI - We Are Made in Italy, in conjunction with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. In 2014, Ms. Jean attended as a speaker on the ‘Power of Empowered Women’ at the Palace of United Nations and presented her garments created in collaboration with the United Nations ethical fashion program at the World Trade Organization. She was highlighted by the NY Times as the most convincing of all the New Gen designers in Milan.

Stella Jean

Ms. Tea Hoxha is a twenty-one-year-old student of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Padua. In addition to cultivating her passion for art and humanities, Ms. Hoxha has been actively participating in a variety of events and initiatives such as cultural exchanges and collaborations with the FA as well as UN simulations and hackathons. These experiences have helped her enhance her creativity, public-speaking, and organization skills. Over time, her interests in politics and the world-dynamics have increasingly consolidated and today she is part of various associations to create and promote social and cultural activities both on local and international levels. 

Tea Hoxha

Ms. Tsechu Dolma is the founder of Mountain Resiliency Project, a social enterprise dedicated to strengthening mountain communities in South Asia. Leveraging her education and experience, Ms. Dolma returned to the refugee camps she grew up in to fight for a sustainable future in the high mountains of Asia. Her track record has been recognized by the Asia Society Young Leaders, Forbes 30 under 30 in social entrepreneurship, and Brower Youth Award. Ms. Dolma has led several projects with the US State Department, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Trained at Oxford University and Columbia University, she is a Skoll Scholar, Fulbright Hillary Clinton Public Policy Fellow, Udall Scholar, and Echoing Green Fellow.

Tsechu Dolma

Fulbright Hillary Clinton Public Policy, Fellow; Founder of the Mountain Resiliency Project, Nepal 
