Global Gathering

World Expos are global gatherings. A gathering can be as small as a group of friends or as big as an Expo, and what all gatherings have in common is that they are meeting places, ways of connecting and sharing ideas and stories. An Expo is a global gathering - a small version of the world, and a sample of all its variety. Each country’s pavilion shows a sample of its own places, life, people, and technology.

Every country puts itself on display at an Expo, offering visitors a glimpse of what life is like back home. Expo pavilions are an invitation to connect visitors to the people, land, waters, histories and dreams of your country. Deeper, more meaningful connections can be made when visitors actively participate and engage with your pavilion, and when they can connect directly with the stories of your country.

Including variety in the stories you tell celebrates your country and invites visitors to connect and learn more as part of the global gathering that is a World Expo. Expos are a gathering of many peoples and nations from all over the planet. Including a rich variety from your country contributes to this global gathering:

• People and communities

• Plants, animals, and other living beings

• Lands, seas, and stars

• Art and technologies

A visit to your pavilion may be the first glimpse visitors have of the variety that makes up your country. Alongside visits to dozens of other countries' pavilions, they can become truly aware of the vast variety of life on the planet.

How?

Displays don’t have to be technical or expensive. That connection could happen when real people from home are featured in exhibits. Beyond images and names, people from home can speak for themselves, sharing their own stories. This kind of representation of people from the home country offers visitors a way to connect in personal and moving ways, and to become aware of their concerns and their dreams. One of the most powerful things a pavilion can offer is to have people from home present on site in the pavilion during the Expo. You could also offer ways for visitors to connect to people at home in real time during the Expo, or by bringing back messages and insights afterwards.

Beyond human life, you can also share your country’s contribution to the amazing variety of life on Earth: the plants and animals, or microbes in soil and food, linking life as we see it everyday to the microscopic worlds we live with and depend on.

• Include images and stories that show many kinds of people, places, art, and technology. Check out these examples from Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai.

• Offer immersive experiences that appeal to all the senses.

• Invite visitors to participate in engaging activities.

• Choose from these resources in your design process to reflect on previous pavilions and to plan for the next Expo.