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Stories of females leading the way in climate and biodiversity from the Arab and Islamic world.

WIA Climate Week Session Agenda 300921

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Inside Expo_New

Inside Expo: The Brave Women

Women's Pavilion - Audio Guide

Women's Pavilion 1

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Discover positive contributions demonstrating that when women thrive, humanity thrives.

1403 Women's Pavilion - Immersion Introduction Section

Explore solutions provided by women and their ripple effect to create a better world.

1406 Women's Pavilion - Solutions Case Study Section

Women's Pavilion Image gallery

Women make tremendous contributions to the world, yet many remain unknown or forgotten. The Women’s Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier at Expo 2020 challenges this imbalance by taking visitors on a journey through the remarkable achievements of women across the globe. Our showcase underscores the principle that “When women thrive, all of humanity thrives”.

The pavilion showcases the exceptional accomplishments of women, world-famous and unknown. Immerse yourself in the triumphs of women through history, discover the journeys women have taken to claim their equality and dive into the stories of the inspirational women shaping our future.


1404 Women s Pavilion - Achievements Section

Globe-spanning tour of women’s achievements and ongoing challenges

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Multisensory exhibition created by actor/artist Mélanie Laurent and Emirati artists

Highlight 3 WomenPavilion

Majlis-inspired social space for live conversations and events

Women's 

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Reflecting the UAE’s commitment to women’s empowerment and gender equality, the Women’s Pavilion serves as a catalyst for social transformation, both in Dubai and far beyond. By championing exceptional women, it aims to inspire dialogue, shatter gender misconceptions, and leave a lasting legacy of positive change for women worldwide.

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inspiring change

Championing women, 

Women's Pavilion 

Gulf News

Climate and Biodiversity Week to spur the world into action to protect our planet

We stand at the brink of a crucial moment in time - a moment in which we must take decisive collective action to protect our planet, and the life it sustains, for future generations. It is an opportunity for us to take our place in history as the generation that stepped up to halt climate change, and transform human activity to operate within Earth's planetary boundaries. 

Expo 2020 Dubai's Climate & Biodiversity Week convenes government decision-makers, business leaders, youth advocates and our millions of visitors to address the greatest challenge of our time and generate solutions critical to the future of our civilisation and the health of our planet. 

What's your Promise to our Planet?

Climate and Biodiversity

How do we work together to better manage climate change and protect biodiversity? 

C&B week PPP info extract

Climate & Biodiversity Week Programme

Learnings and insights from the World Majlis conversations on Climate and Biodiversity

World Majlis: Insights from Climate & Biodiversity Week

Insight Report from Climate and Biodiversity Week

Natural Resource and Biodiversity Conservation

Program for People and Planet - Empowerment Workshop 

Conservation for Hope at Climate and Biodiversity Week

Cultures in Conversation Climate Change in the Classroom Living Room Street and Beyond event at Terra the Auditorium

Eleni Giokos with Sabrin Rahman and Erik Becker at the World Green Economy Summit 2021

Panel Discussion - Climate and Biodiversity Day 2

Image Gallery

Climate & Biodiversity Week

Expo 2020 Dubai Climate & Biodiversity Week

Explore how better we could advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Arabia and Islamic region to protect our planet:
• How does the history of Arab world and the understanding of Islmaic values help the us understand climate adaptation? What is women’s value and role in the process? 
• What practices demonstrate the rich tradition of Arab and Muslim world instilling sustainability in every day life? And how do we preserve this knowledge?
• What more needs to be done to put women at the center of climate change and biodiversity conservation in the Arab region and the Islamic world? 
• What is the link among the teachings of the Islamic religion, cultural heritage and every day practices in the Arab and Muslic world, which led to the formal adaptation of “the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change” in 2015 to call on Muslims all over the world to combat climate change?

Thuraya is a member in World Commission on Protected areas, MEWA-EAGL and Marine Turtle Specialists Group in IUCN. Chair for the technical team for managing the project of transplanting 10 million wild trees in Oman and chair for technical team for developing Oman Environment Strategy 1st Coherent of National 
Leadership and Competitiveness program and Chair for West Asia Arabian Plant Specialist Group (SSC_ IUCN) She Joined the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs in 2000 as an environmental specialist .From 2005-2010 I was a director of Marine conservation department and from 2010-2015 Director of Biodiversity Department. From Mid-2015 until recently she is working as an assistance director general of nature conservation.

Man and Biosphere Reserves Council and Natural Expert in World Heritage Commission in UNESCO, Oman

Thuraya Said Al Sariri 

Dr. Lourdes F. Vega is a Member of Emirates Scientists Council, of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academy of Sciences and of the Academy of Mathematics, Physical Chemistry and Natural Sciences of Granada. In 2020 she received the Mohammed Bin Rashid (MBR) Medal for Scientific Distinguishment for her contributions in clean energy and sustainable products. She is also the President of the Association of Spanish Scientists and Researchers in the UAE. With more than 220 publications and 5 patents under exploitation, Prof. Vega is an internationally recognized expert in clean energy and sustainable products. The recipient of several international awards, she is listed top 2% most cited worldwide scientist in Chemical Engineering. One of her passions is to mentor young females to develop their full potential.

Professor in Chemical Engineering, Director of the Research & Innovation Center, Khalifa University

Lourdes Vega

Graduated from the Institute of Applied Technologies in Business Management, Ms. Idbourrous is the Director of the Union of Women's Cooperatives of the Arganeraie UCFA Tissaliwine. She is also the founder and president of the National Federation of Women in the Arganeraie Sector FNFARGANE. She has been the winner of the COP22 gender and climate award; she founded the first female cooperative by young girls graduated in the renewable thermal energy sector. She supports pre and post creation of new informal cooperatives towards the form and encouragement of young girls graduates and non-graduates for the transfer of technology and the preservation of ancestral know-how related to the production of argan.

Panelist Manager of the Arganeraie Women's Cooperatives Union UCFA, Tissaliwine

Jamila Idbourrous 

Degan is the Executive Director of Adeso, a development organization that is changing the way people think about and deliver aid in Africa. Degan has been leading the decolonization development movement and was the architect of the Grand Bargain commitment of 25% of funding to go directly to local organizations. Degan also co-founded the Network for Empowered Aid Response, a Global South civil society network trying to transform the current humanitarian and development system. Since 2020 she founded a consultancy firm, DA Global, and has worked with organizations like Sesame Workshop, British Red Cross  on issues around Decolonizing Aid and how to transform organizational strategies to be aligned with anti-colonial and anti-racist principles. Her methodology  have been featured in the New York Times, Al Jazeera, etc.


Executive Director of Adeso (formerly Horn Relief)


Degan Ali

Bouchra Baibanou, the first Moroccan to climb the seven summits. She is also the first Moroccan and North African women to climb Everest, the highest summit in the world 8848m. She is married and mother, engineer. She is the chief of women commission in the federation Royale Moroccan of ski and 
mountain sport. She is an inspirational and motivational speaker, inside and outside Morocco. She is also a life coach. She received many awards from the King of Morocco and from many organizations. She participated in many festivals in the world and TEDx. Bouchra is a positive role models for young women in Arabic country and especially in Morocco; she did many activities in Morocco to empower girls and help them to success in life through sport.

Bouchra Baibanou

Women of Arabia and Islam | Stories of Sustainability from the Muslim World 

World Expos have always been meeting places for people across cultures and geographies; an opportunity to come together and celebrate human ingenuity and forge meaningful human connections. As the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, and with the participation of more than 192 countries, Expo 2020 Dubai looks to take this legacy even further. The Build Bridges track of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Programme for People and Planet features a tapestry of event series and experiences that celebrate our common humanity and the vital connections that can help us prosper together as a worldwide community.

Knowing One Another Better

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Build Bridges 

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Ensuring equality and greater opportunities for women could be a deciding factor in our success at achieving a better future for people and the planet.

Fostering equal rights for women has been a priority for some time. In 1995, the declaration of the World Conference on Women in Beijing highlighted 12 key areas where urgent action was needed to ensure greater equality for both women and men. Today, our success or failure in that task will decide what our collective future looks like.

Studies of women in leadership positions show that they are more likely to make decisions that focus on social and environmental issues alongside the “bottom line”. That is not to say the bottom line suffers. A study in 2015 actually showed the economic gains produced by advancing women’s equality: as much as $12 trillion could be added to global GDP. With proven connections between women’s empowerment, and economic, social and environmental sustainability, how can we empower women to ensure a better future for all?

Leading the Charge Towards the Global Goals

Global Access

In collaboration with Hungary, this World Majlis convenes thought leaders, visionaries and changemakers to discuss how women empowerment can lead to positive social and environmental impacts.

Session Programme - Everyday (S)Heroes

Hungary 1

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There are more than 1,400 thermal springs in Hungary, in which Hungarians have soaked for health and relaxation for centuries. The Hungary Pavilion celebrates this rich tradition of thermal bathing with a deep dive into the country’s naturally steaming waters. Follow the glowing blue path to tour the hot springs’ geothermal origins, from the mystical cave bath at Miskolctapolca to the grand spas of Budapest. At the end of your journey, relax and reflect in the pavilion’s meditative inner dome, or take a sip of Hungary’s mineral and thermal waters at the Aqua Bar.

Experience an interactive journey on the theme of water without the use of water.

Meditative inner dome offering a moment of relaxation

Immersive tour of Hungary’s thermal waters and bathing culture

Hungary Features

Hungary

The Hungary pavilion is a wide, gently curved concrete cylinder featuring long, vertical planks of exposed wood. Approached from the front, two thick square columns of intricately woven wood frame the entryway and rise above the main building’s domed roof. The entrance plaza features a miniature forest of smart trees, built of the same wood and featuring digital screens and umbrella-like white roofs. In step with the organic design philosophy, these trees blend in seamlessly with the pavilion’s minimalist gardens.

Hungary 2 

with nature

Integration

Hungary Pavilion 

Her Excellency Katalin Annamária Bogyay (R4), Permanent Representative of Hungary, Antónia Mészáros (L1), Executive Director, UNICEF Hungary, Samar Alshorafa (L2), Founding CEO of She is Arab Vital Voices Grow Fellow 2021 Arab Power

Antónia Mészáros, Executive Director, UNICEF Hungary during the World Majlis - Everyday (S)heroes In Collaboration with Hungary at the Hungary Pavilion m35253

Cristina Gallach, Spanish journalist and former European Union and United Nations official during the World Majlis - Everyday (S)heroes In Collaboration with Hungary at the Hungary Pavilion m35271

Her Excellency Katalin Annamária Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary and Eithne Treanor, Conference Moderator during the World Majlis - Everyday (S)heroes In Collaboration with Hungary at the Hungary Pavilion m35256

Her Excellency Katalin Annamária Bogyay, Permanent Representative of Hungary speaks during the World Majlis - Everyday (S)heroes In Collaboration with Hungary at the Hungary Pavilion m35257

Her Excellency Lea Giménez, Minister of Finance of Paraguay during the World Majlis - Everyday (S)heroes In Collaboration with Hungary at the Hungary Pavilion m35261

Leena Al Olaimy, author, Dalai Lama Fellow, Expo 2020 Global Impact and founder and CEO of the Trillion Tree Fund during the World Majlis - Everyday (S)heroes In Collaboration with Hungary at the Hungary Pavilion m35260

Opportunity I: The Global Goals and Expo 2020

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are our global blueprint for a better world, a collective ambition for equal opportunities for all. During the week, Expo will showcase not just how far we have come, but also how we can join forces and unite to achieve this international roadmap. In addition, the Global Goals Week will shed light on best practices in last-mile delivery, livelihood and the women and girls agenda. 

A Global Stage for the SDGs

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What do we need to do together today for a better world in 2030?

Global Goals Week

World Majlis | Everyday (S)Heroes: Leading the Charge Towards the Global Goals

Explore a series of exciting conversations inspired by the theme of Expo 2020 Dubai. The World Majlis is a vibrant forum where diverse points of views are shared on important topics of our time. Each conversation brings together globally recognised thought-leaders who are invited for their exceptional contributions to the theme and their unique perspective on the topic. In each Majlis, students and members of the public are also welcome to contribute and engage.

World Majlis

Conversations on complex issues that bring together thought leaders, visionaries and changemakers.

Discover more about Design for Change, one of the largest global movements that empowers children to unleash their 'I CAN' Superpower. Schools take part, share and celebrate their innovative ideas with DFC Dubai, led by GEMS Modern Academy.

"I Can" Superpower

I can!

Schools take part, share and celebrate their innovative ideas, led by GEMS Modern Academy.

Inside Expo: Sustainability I: The World’s Oldest Innovator

Inside Expo: Sustainability II: Harnessing the Sun

The Powerhouse Pavilions

Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion - Audio Guide

Terra

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Terra - Carousel

At Expo 2020, sustainability is an urgent, attainable reality, and Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion is the proof. Both immersive exhibition space and exemplar of environmental self-sufficiency, Terra is a pioneering piece of architecture that pushes the limits of renewable design.

The pavilion’s 130-metre-wide solar canopy – so vast that you could park 10 city buses head-to-tail atop it – converts sunshine into electricity for the exhibits below. Artfully funnelled natural light and local plant species, together with technologies that can reduce water consumption by 75 per cent, show the way to a sustainable future.


Inspiring experiential journey through our shared sustainable future

Two immersive paths to choose from: beneath a forest and beneath an ocean

LEED Platinum environmental features, including solar power and water recycling

Terra 

terra

Videos

Terra is a super-sized marvel of forward-thinking design. The pavilion’s technology generates enough energy in a year to power a Nissan Leaf to drive halfway to Mars, while another system captures moisture from the air you breathe and turns it into drinkable water. Enter and take a fantastical journey through the wonders of nature, humanity’s challenges and the promise of our shared future. 


terra 

of harmonious living

A model

The Sustainability Pavilion

Terra is home to five thought-provoking art installations from artists around the world, with each piece demonstrating a response to the issue of sustainability.

Terra Art Installations

Young visitors can explore a fantastical world inspired by Terra's very own octopus, Octavia.

Octavia's Playground

Timelapse of Terra 

India 1

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India Image gallery


With its enormous population and diversity of ancient traditions, India is a place of incredible richness and complexity. The India Pavilion offers a new take on the country that goes beyond its famed culture and stunning landscapes to show a rising economic power that is very much open for business. The pavilion focuses on “New India”, an emerging global hub for innovation, inspiration and investment. Its wide variety of exhibits feature not just the food, tea and Bollywood entertainment that so many know and love, but also the country’s modern-day advancements in technology, aerospace, manufacturing and more.


India flag

The India pavilion is a four-level rectangular structure, covered on its upper three floors with rotating tiles in hues of red, orange, and white. 

This kinetic exterior surface also serves as a screen for projected images, such as the face of Mahatma Gandhi. The bottom level features a plate-glass façade. 

India 2 

India

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India Pavilion

"I Can" Superpower by GEMS

Women are frontrunners in climate awareness, a result of their energy-efficacy consumption patterns and daily habits; their carbon footprint is 20% smaller than that of men. The extended connection between the women and planet means that they possess specialized knowledge of various local and neglected species. Research shows that nations where women have higher political status tend to have lower CO2 emissions per capita, and yet women only comprise less than 30% of world’s climate and biodiversity researchers.

This event will spotlight ways in which we can ensure women’s participation and leadership in environmental governance. In addition, it will explore how we can record, distribute and celebrate women’s knowledge and contribution to biodiversity conservation.

Women are the “greener” gender and yet they are too often under-recognized.

Women’s Pavilion Programme | Women’s World Majlis: Mother Nature First Defenders: Women Leading the Fight to Save our Planet

Thought leaders and changemakers discuss how women are leading the fight to save our planet. 

WWM Climate Session Agenda 270921

WWM_C&B_Agenda_Sep30

Biodiversity Conservation through a Gender Perspective

Interactive Q&A with Global Thought Leaders

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Her Excellency Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany is the Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) since April 2018. Prior to this, she was Executive Director of Sustainability at Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, and the Director of the Zayed Future 
Energy Prize, the UAE’s annual global awards for renewable energy and sustainability. She also served as the Deputy Director General of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA).
She sits on several advisory boards and panels, including those of National Geographic, the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines, the Momentum for Change initiative of UNFCCC, and Sustainable Energy for All’s (SEforALL) Leadership Council, a group of global leaders with the mission to accelerate action on SDG7 and the Paris Climate Agreement.

Nawal Al Hosany

Permanent Representative of the UAE, International Renewable Energy 
Agency (IRENA), UAE 

H.E. Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany

Christiana Figueres is an internationally recognized leader on global climate change. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Assuming responsibility for the international climate change negotiations after the failed Copenhagen conference of 2009, she was determined to lead the process to a universally agreed regulatory framework. She directed the successful Conferences of the Parties in Cancun 2010, Durban 2011, Doha 2012, Warsaw 2013, and Lima 2014, and culminated her efforts in the historical Paris Agreement of 2015. She brought together governments, corporations and activists, financial institutions and communities of faith, think tanks and technology providers, NGOs and parliamentarians, to jointly deliver the unprecedented climate change agreement.

Christiana Figueres

H.E. Natasa Pilides was appointed Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry on July 10th 2020. Previously, on March 1st 2018 she had been appointed as the first Shipping Deputy Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, heading the strategic development and promotion of Cyprus as a world class, integrated, maritime cluster. From April 2016 to March 2018, Ms Pilides was Director General of the 
Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (Invest Cyprus), responsible for the design and implementation of Invest Cyprus’ strategy in investment promotion, investor support and facilitation of reform.

She graduated from Oxford University with a first-class honours degree, with distinction, in Modern Languages and Literature (French and Italian). 

Natasia Pilidou

Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Cyprus

H.E. Natasa Pilides

A lawyer by training, Alexandra specialized in human rights. She began her career at a law firm and then worked for Amnesty International in Germany and at organizations specializing in diversity, change management and sustainability. In 2012, she joined L’Oréal as Chief Sustainability Officer and launched L’Oréal’s first sustainability program, with a set of objectives to be achieved by the end of 2020. In 2017, Alexandra was appointed Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, becoming the Executive Vice President of the Foundation L’Oréal in addition to her role as head of the Sustainability Department. She became a member of L’Oréal’s Executive Committee two years later. In June 2020, L’Oréal launched its new sustainability program for 2030, L’Oréal for the Future.  

 

Alexandra Palt

Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, L'Oréal; Executive Vice President of Foundation L’Oréal


Dr. Reem Al Mealla is the Research Manager at the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT) and a marine biologist by profession. She is the first Bahraini woman field ecologist and holds a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Essex (UK) & a MSc in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation from Imperial College London (UK). She was awarded the Abel Imray Award (joint) from the University of Essex for the best outstanding research project of the year 2010 in an ecological based project and the M.E.I (Motivational. Empowering and Inspiring) Women's Award in 2017 by the University of Essex in celebration of International Women's Day. She specialises in coral reef ecology and has over 10 years of field research experience in tropical and sub-tropical environments.  

Reem Al-Mealla

Research Manager, Bahrain Institute for Pearls & Gemstones DANAT


Dr. Reem Al-Mealla

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka has become one of the leading conservationists and scientists working to save the critically endangered mountain gorillas of East Africa. She is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Conservation through Public Health (CTPH), a 18-year-old non-profit organization that promotes conservation by improving the quality of life of people and wildlife to enable them to coexist in and around protected areas in Africa. She also founded a social enterprise – Gorilla Conservation Coffee to support farmers living around gorilla habitats. 

She became a National Geographic Explorer in 2018 and is on the Women for Environment Leadership Council – Africa. She has recently been listed in the Avance Media 2021 100 most influential African women.

Gladys Kalema

Environmentalist and Founder, Conservation Through Public Health, Uganda

Dr. Gladys Kalema

McCloskey is the director of CASE, an industry-led sustainable energy research centre that bridges the gap between industry research needs and traditional academic research offerings. CASE provides access to research funding for industrial partners in Energy Systems, Bioenergy and Marine Renewables.

Sam McCloskey

Director, Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy, UK

Women’s World Majlis: Mother Nature's First Defenders: Women Leading the Fight to Save our Planet

Back in 2015, United Nations unveiled the Sustainable Development Goals as a means to work towards a better future. Expo 2020 Dubai’s purpose embodies the two main pillars of these goals: sustainability and opportunity. The global COVID-19 pandemic has further proved the urgency of this global agenda. As this mega-event takes place, Expo 2020 Dubai will become the center of commitment and action in ensuring that no one is left behind. The Leave No One Behind Track of Expo 2020 Dubai's Programme for People and Planet features a tapestry of event series that spotlight the importance of opportunity for all, gender equality and much more.

Women of Arabia and Islam | Stories of Sustainability from the Muslim World

Speaker of the day

Speaker

Thuraya Said Al Sariri

Speaker

Lourdes Vega

Speaker

Jamila Idbourrous

Speaker

Degan Ali

Speaker

Bouchra Baibanou

Speaker

Thuraya Said Al Sariri

Speaker

Lourdes Vega

Speaker

Jamila Idbourrous

Speaker

Degan Ali

Event Information

Climate & Biodiversity Week.

This event is part of the
Build Bridges .

Speaker of the day

Event Information

Climate & Biodiversity Week.

This event is part of theBuild Bridges .

This event is part of the
Build Bridges .