UAE pavilion at Milan promises visual feast

Visitors to the UAE pavilion at the Milan Expo are in for a visual and cultural treat when the World Fair opens in the Italian city on May 1. 
Salem Al Ameri, UAE Expo 2015 commissioner general, told the UAE daily The National yesterday that the pavilion would tell the country's story and how its people rose to the challenges of life with scarce resources. 
The director of the UAE Pavilion Project in Milan, Peter Vine, said he felt it was "the most impressive pavilion that the UAE has created at any of the seven expos that I have been involved in. It will tell an incredible story and create a lasting impression on our visitors". 
The building will take visitors through winding vertical dunes, past film and holographic installations that explain the UAE's involvement in the Expo's theme: Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. 
The pavilion will also feature a business hub, created by Dubai World Trade Centre that will allow local companies to directly engage with European customers and partners. UAE-based companies are likely to use the experience as a vital learning curve en route to Dubai Expo 2020. 
One of the films visitors will get to see is The Family Tree, which in a 10-minute journey through time and space depicts the lessons a young girl learns from her grandmother's generation. 
Other films and interactive installations are intended to break boundaries, giving visitors a sense of the nation's resilience in the face of a harsh desert reality. 
While arts, culture and history intertwine, the pavilion is a golden opportunity for business. "The Expo is an occasion to open new avenues and to avoid neglect of some sectors that have never met," said Fabrizio Sala, an Italian minister.