The Philippines adopts the coral reef, or ‘bangkota,’ as theme of Expo 2020 Dubai/
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) gave a sneak preview of the country’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai set from October 2020 to April 2021.
The Philippines has adopted “Bangkóta”—the ancient Tagalog word for coral reef—as its theme for the Expo.
The theme focuses on the country’s natural resources, and how the Filipinos are like the coral reefs: they thrive in colonies throughout the world.
Expo 2020 Dubai is the latest edition of the World Expo that started in London in 1851. Dubai’s 428-hectare expo grounds will showcase the pavilions of 190 countries, including the Philippines.
Some 25 million tourists are expected to visit the pavilions.
The Philippine pavilion will occupy a 3,000-sqm space with a 1,300-sqm enclosed area. It will be designed by Budji+Royal Architecture+Design and curated by Marian Roces. It will feature five exhibits, an artisanal café, and Go Lokal! stores.
The Philippine exhibit will be installed permanently in New Clark City, Tarlac, after the Expo.
“Our most important goal in participating at the Expo is to present a country brand that reflects our rich history and our values as caring, compassionate and creative people,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
Although the Expo is not a trade fair, Lopez said that the government’s allotted budget of less than P1 billion will be earned back through tourism, trade, services and investments, as the DTI will also organize an investment mission to maximize the opportunity.
He added that President
Duterte himself was receptive to the idea of joining the Expo because there are around 700,000 Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates.
Mr. Duterte has issued Administrative Order 17 assigning DTI to lead the Philippine Organizing Committee (POC) in Expo 2020 Dubai. The POC is also composed of the Departments of Tourism, Foreign Affairs, Budget, Labor, Science and Technology, and Information and Communications Technology.
Mesh as primary material
DTI Assistant Secretary Rosvi Gaetos said that Expo 2020 Dubai’s organizers think that the PH pavilion is “humble, honest, yet progressive.”
Architect Royal Pineda of Budji+Royal Architecture+Design said his group used mesh instead of concrete as primary material to depict the Philippines truthfully, rather than compete with the affluence of the other countries.
Roces curated five main exhibits—“4,000 Years Young,” “Modern Becomes Filipino,” “The Muslims of the Philippines,” “The Coraline People” and “Oceans Pacific”—to illustrate the country’s history and culture before the arrival of the Spaniards.
The exhibits seek to change the world’s mindset about the Philippines, and the Filipinos’ mindset about themselves.
The POC has set March 16, 2021, as Philippine National Day to mark the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival in the country. The event aims to change the old perspective that March 16, 1521, was the day Magellan discovered the Philippines; rather it was the day the country discovered Magellan.