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Stressing the importance of its participation in international events and exhibitions to introduce to the world the deeply-rooted civilization of Bahrain, the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA) president, H.E. Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa held a press conference on 4 April 2015, at Bahrain Fort Museum on Bahrain's participation in the international exhibition Expo Milano 2015. The press conference was held in the presence of H.E Shaikha Mai, Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA) president and Bahrain Milano Expo 2015 pavilion commissioner general, the Italian ambassador to Bahrain Alberto Vecchi, architect Mohammad Al-Khozai, Capital Governorate Board of Trustees’ CEO, together with members of Governorate Board of Trustees, such as Mrs. Iman Qahtani and Mrs. Aziza Kamal. H.E declared that start of the countdown until the pavilion of the kingdom of Bahrain at the Expo Milano 2015, ‘Archaeologies of Green’ will be inaugurated on 1 May 2015 under the theme ‘Feeding the Planet’. The pavilion will highlight Bahrain's agricultural and cultural heritage stemming from Bahrain's 5000-year history.

H.E Shaikha Mai stressed the importance of Bahrain’s participation in Expo Milano 2015 to highlight its rich cultural and agricultural heritage, saying “Here today we announce our participation at Milan Expo 2015. We choose this place, Bahrain Fort (Qala’at al Bahrain), given its significance as the first UNESCO World Heritage List site.” H.E expressed her gratitude and appreciation to the Italian ambassador for his strenuous efforts to follow-up in helping the pavilion succeed and for his keenness in reflecting the bright and glamorous image of Bahrain to the world. H.E added that the pavilion will feature various programmes, including henna decoration, Arab coffee, designing baskets, making wooden boxes, folk music, and Bahraini cuisine, while displaying agricultural artifacts dating back to the Dilmun civilisation.

H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa pointed out that choosing Bahrain’s pavilion, ‘Archaeologies of Green’, was conceived as a continuous landscape of fruit gardens and that each contain a dominant fruit tree that is native to Bahrain. It is a poetic interpretation of the cultural agrarian heritage of the country, which stems from the 4000 years ancient civilization of Dilmun, aiming to consolidate its cultural experience through openness to the world.

The Italian ambassador, for his part, lauded the kingdom's achievements regarding its participation in Expo Milano 2015, citing Bahrain’s pavilion as the first one whose construction has been completed amongst 50 other national pavilions from around the world. The Italian ambassador said that he was looking forward to carrying out many cultural projects in the future in cooperation with BACA. H.E Ambassador Vecchi described the event as “a great opportunity for Bahrain to showcase its culture, agriculture and heritage on a global scale”.

The press conference presented the latest developments and details regarding Bahrain’s participation and the pavilion at Milano Expo 2015. Distinctive fruit gardens containing trees that will be fruit-bearing at different moments throughout the six-month duration of the exhibition, archeological artifacts that celebrate the millennia long tradition of agriculture, and many cultural events will be organized alongside the event are just some of the sights and activities lined up. In this regard, Commissioner General Deputy Architect Ms. Noura Al-Sayeh said, “Bahrain will be a bright star in this world show, Expo Milano 2015, and we expect a strong and effective contribution by our ambassadors and representatives through the rich programme of events we planned for this important occasion.”

The Bahrain pavilion entitled ‘Archaeologies of Green’ is designed to raise awareness of Bahrain’s singular agricultural culture and heritage as well as the importance of sustainable development practices. Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA) will show the world fruit gardens that each contain a dominant fruit tree that is native to Bahrain. In addition, Bahrain will be the only country to showcase traditional practice in nutrition and local food in line with the Bahrain pavilion’s objectives to raise awareness of the kingdom’s rich heritage from its agricultural history. Thus, Bahrain pavilion ambassadors will share a favorite recipe, and its associated memory, for inclusion within a cookbook, which will be sold both in Milan and Bahrain as part of the programme of activities undertaken for the Bahrain pavilion.

‘Archaeologies of Green’, the Bahrain pavilion at the Expo Milano 2015, will feature a number of educational and stimulating events throughout the six-month duration of the Expo. Launching on our Expo-dedicated National Day event, on 4th September until 8th September, Bahrain pavilion visitors will be treated to an enriching experience of the country’s hospitality and local culture. Local traditions, such as basket weaving, will offer live demonstrations of one of the country’s most important crafts and will introduce guests to the timeless tradition of basket making using palm tree frond. Fashion shows of traditional Bahraini clothes by Hind Matar will attract many lovers of traditional fashions. The thoub and its distinct embroidery will shed light on the shaping of local identity throughout the ages. With design motifs often derived from nature and the surrounding environment, including plants and architecture, the thoub is an elaborate traditional garment. Bahraini style henna application and decoration will also be the focus of henna artists’ presentations at the Bahrain pavilion.

In parallel with ‘Archaeologies of Green’ pavilion, a series of closed spaces that contain in turn a reception area, exhibition spaces, and a café serving and selling local Bahraini food will be monitored by Bahraini chef Mrs. Naris Qanbar. Indeed, a number of Italian cooks are being trained to prepare a list of menus to be offered to visitors to the pavilion who can also buy the cookbook on offer.

On 4th September 2014 Bahrain’s genuine coffee will be enjoyed by the pavilion’ visitors along with a live demonstration of one of the country’s most important crafts introduced to guests through the timeless tradition of basket making using palm tree frond. Used across many local industries, Bahrain’s baskets come in many sizes, shapes and purposes. In addition, while sipping coffee, a distinguished musical performance of the Fjijiri tradition by the Qalali Group will be connecting audiences to Bahrain’s pearling heritage. This musical tradition passed down through the years was, according to folklore, learned through a unique experience with supernatural forces.

In parallel with the Global Coffee Forum at EXPO Milano to be held between 28th September and 3rd October, local craftsmen in the Bahrain pavilion will explain the sustainable development of traditional cottage-building industry crafts. Indeed, the manual crafts associated with the palm tree are the best examples of how the Bahraini artisans have exploited the local environment and harnessed them to manufacture the tools they need in their daily life activities and affairs.

Bahrain Milan Expo 2015 special volunteers program has selected 24 candidates out of 200 who voiced their desire to participate in this event. The selected volunteers will go through intensive training workshops supervised by the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA) in cooperation with Economic Development Board. At the end of this training sessions, volunteers will travel to Milan in a groups of 6 with a rotation of one month stay for each group.

The press conference also presented Bahrain’s Expo Milan 2015 pavilion’s ambassadors, who are Alia Al- Moayyad, Khaled Al- Muharraqi, Narees Qanbar, Rim Al-Moalla and Ahmed Taleb. They represent a wide variety of industries and aspects of the Bahraini elite; urban architecture, design and environment protection, which are related to the main theme of Expo, which is ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’.

Built out of white prefabricated concrete panels, the pavilion will be moved to Bahrain at the end of the Expo and once rebuilt will serve as a botanical garden. The prefabricated components of the buildings, visible through the seams that connect them to one another, loosely refer to the inherent and distinguished forms of the archaeology of Bahrain.

Themed ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ the Expo Milano 2015, which is a non-profit commercial worldwide exhibition, revolves around nutrition and sustainability, highlighting the importance of protecting the planet’s natural resources. The various national pavilions shed light on the diverse cultural characters of countries around the world, allowing visitors to sample traditional foods and learn more about the cultural attributes and agrarian heritages of different nations. Open from May 1 to October 31 with 184 days of events, the Expo 2015 will host over 140 participants (144 countries and 3 international organizations) in an area covering one million square meters to accommodate over 20 million visitors expected.