Project description:

Angola chose as the theme for its Pavilion – CONNECT WITH TRADITION TO INNOVATE – FROM TRADITION TO INNOVATION – integrated in the sub-theme OPORTUNITY.

The exhibition will be a journey through Angola – its people, culture and innovation – and aims to showcase the country’s potential, as well as the efforts it is making towards sustainable development.

The basis and inspiration for the architecture and narrative exhibition of the Pavilion is Sona Geometry (sand drawings). Through the theme of the Pavilion – “Connect with Tradition to Innovate”, it is intended to pay homage to an ancient tradition of knowledge sharing, as well as using it as a starting point for our journey, visiting the traditional and local knowledge in innovative ways, and using this knowledge base to (re)think local and global problems.

Being sand drawings, innovative numerical systems, we intend to ally this concept to the binary system, with the basic digital unit 0 and 1, which consists of a system of calculations and communication in the digital age.

The Pavilion is divided into two zones: the O and 1, or the Dot and the Matrix. The first space – O or Dot – is a MEETING space: a welcome zone to the pavilion and an introduction to the journey we propose to visitors. The second space – 1 or Matrix – corresponds to the exhibition area, a CONNECTION place with the various themes presented: the main exhibition space, interactive and immersive, divided into 5 exhibition areas: ” The Culture of Educating” (Education), “Empowerment and Evolution” (Employment), “Exploring New Opportunities” (New Industries), “Shaping Our Tomorrow” (Financial Capital and Governance), and “The Key of the Future” (show).

The visit begins with an outdoor experience (MEETING) through elements that will carry the visitor to the theme of the Pavilion, representative of Angola’s identity and its International Expos experience.

Thereafter, the visitors will be led to an indoor experience (CONNECTION) that will converge in an unique space, conceptually innovative, technologically advanced and aesthetically avant-garde, which will provide visitors with a multisensory experience.

Each of the experiences will complement the other, thus allowing for a global vision of contemporary Angola and the commitment to a better future.

The Pavilion has an Angolan food restaurant, a shop for Made in Angola products, a stage for daily shows and a gallery for temporary exhibitions.