CIÊNCIA VIVA MAKES ITS MARK AT EXPO DUBAI 2020

How will water shape our future? The role of science centres in engaging the public on water issues was the theme of the networking session promoted by Ciência Viva in collaboration with the Pavilion of Portugal at EXPO DUBAI 2020.

After the opening remarks by Manuel Couto Miranda, Pavilion of Portugal's Director, the meeting was presented by Rosalia Vargas, President of the Board of Ciência Viva, and Pedro Russo, from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, and member of the Board of Ciência Viva. The guest speakers were Abdulaziz Alhegelan, Executive Director of Mishkat, Saudi Arabia Interactive Center, and President of the Network of Science Centres of North Africa and Middle East (NAMES), with the talk "Education and Public Engagement with Water Topics", Reem Sabry, Head of Design and Fabrication Section of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - Planetarium Science Center, in Egypt, and Muataz Ali Atieh, Program Coordinator of  Chemical and Water Desalination Engineering Program from the University of Sarjah, who talked about "Water education" at University of Sarjah.

The meeting, focused on solving problems related to water supply in developing countries and education on this theme, was one of the highlights of Ciência Viva's participation at EXPO DUBAI 2020.

Watch the networking session in full

In addition to the meeting, which was broadcast live worldwide, Ciência Viva took to Dubai a small version of the interactive exhibition Water - An unfiltered exhibition , developed by Ciência Viva and the Pavilion of Knowledge, to be part of the Water Week (March 13-20), promoted by the Pavilion of Portugal. A series of hands-on activities organised by the Pavilion of Knowledge team invited visitors to commit to the future of water.

Global inequalities in access to water and the need to value this resource in the present in order to ensure the future of all are central themes of EXPO DUBAI 2020.

Comprising three dozen interactive modules and an area of more than 600 m2, Water - An unfiltered exhibition gives voice to the basic right to drinking water. In a positive and captivating tone, but in a clear call for commitment, it invites visitors on a journey through the multiple angles of water availability and use, and explores how science and technology, knowledge and imagination are decisive for a water future.

In Portugal, the exhibition is on show at the Pavilhão do Conhecimento, in Lisbon, until September 2022.