Discovering the Female Trailblazers Ledging UAE's Narrative at Expo 2025 Osaka
The UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka stands as a testament to Emirati creative excellence, with two Emirati women, Mariam Al Memari and Shaikha Al Ketbi, leading the way.
Mariam Al Memari, the deputy commissioner general and pavilion director, oversees the pavilion's strategy, operations, and diplomatic vision. She believes that women in leadership bring a style rooted in care, agility, and collaboration.
On the other hand, Shaikha Al Ketbi, the deputy commissioner general and creative director, is responsible for the pavilion's creative direction and storytelling. Her creative and cultural vision brings emotional intelligence and a sense of serenity to the pavilion's design language.
The pavilion, designed by the Earth to Ether Collective, an Emirati-Japanese team of creatives, hosts conversations, exhibits, and immersive zones dedicated to topics like healthcare, sustainability, and space exploration. The all-female leadership of the UAE Pavilion is seen as aspirational, inspiring young Emirati women to see what's possible when imagination is matched with opportunity.
The pavilion's theme, 'Earth to Ether', symbolizes a movement from the grounded to the aspirational, mirroring the UAE’s own evolution. Sustainability in the pavilion is felt through filtered light, natural airflow, and textures beneath one's palm, rather than being shouted from the rooftops.
Al Memari and Al Ketbi resist regular binaries like tradition versus innovation, feminine versus universal, structure versus symbolism. They speak of "attunement"; of allowing spaces to breathe with memory and metaphor. The UAE Pavilion chooses to speak in hushed, deliberate tones, contrasting with the world of ever-louder messages.
The UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka is a vibrant expression of the UAE's identity and the ideals it wishes to present to the world. Architectural elements like datecrete (an innovation using recycled date-palm waste) and timber joinery that blend Emirati areesh (traditional form of Emirati architecture) with Japanese sensibilities can be found throughout the pavilion.
Their appointments to the UAE Pavilion are seen as an assertion that a nation's progressive chronicling has found new templates, designed and employed by women. Being at the forefront of such an initiative in an administrative role, especially on a stage as significant as Expo, is seen as a calling that they respond to with humility and determination.
In conclusion, the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka under the leadership of Mariam Al Memari and Shaikha Al Ketbi is a beacon of Emirati creativity, innovation, and sustainability. It serves as a living space of ideas, creativity, and shared values that highlight the UAE’s evolving national story to the world.
- The strategies, operations, and diplomatic vision of the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka are overseen by Mariam Al Memari, who believes that women in leadership bring a style rooted in care, agility, and collaboration.
- Shaikha Al Ketbi, on the other hand, is responsible for the pavilion's creative direction and storytelling, bringing emotional intelligence and a sense of serenity to the pavilion's design language.
- The UAE Pavilion hosts conversations, exhibits, and immersive zones dedicated to topics like healthcare, sustainability, and space exploration, serving as a space for ideas and shared values.
- The all-female leadership of the UAE Pavilion is seen as aspirational, inspiring young Emirati women to see what's possible when imagination is matched with opportunity, especially on a stage as significant as Expo 2025 Osaka.
