Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, Her Excellency Amb. Hjayceelyn Quintana highlighted that the ‘Bangkota’, the country’s official pavilion in the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai, will be a global platform to accurately depict the great movement of the earliest inhabitants of the archipelago who, unbeknownst to many, had embarked on a journey from Luzon to various parts of the world around 4,000 years ago.
Quintana lauded the convergence of Philippine art community stalwarts and globally recognized Filipino artists, designers, architects to use their creativity—through visually-stunning works of art—as a lens to allow the world to discern the vast, updated archaeological information about the origin of the Filipino people. Many of these artists and designers have left a mark in the contemporary art scene in the UAE and the larger Middle East.
“This is the first time a completely new Filipino narrative will debut before an international audience, so it will be a new experience not just for the international visitors but also for the Filipinos as well. It is definitely something to look forward to,” said Amb. Quintana.
She added: “As the World Expo is the greatest representation of an interconnected world, Bangkóta is a strong statement of our belongingness and solidarity with the international community to project unity and harmony in the face of global challenges.”
The Philippines is among 192 countries participating at the World Expo and the construction of ‘Bangkota’ mirrors what the Filipino people’s imagination and ingenuity can achieve, according to the ambassador.
“The UAE is a global hub that warmly welcomes talented, dynamic, hard-working Filipinos to flourish and thrive. In the World Expo in Dubai, we will show our Bangkóta as the country’s own self-built pavilion that will truly capture the spirit of the modern Philippines and the modern Filipino. It is the product of the collective vision and creativity of many people who will utterly amaze the visitors to this global event. So I hope they won’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime experience that will make them proud as Filipinos,” said Quintana.
No other expat in the UAE can help promote the Philippine pavilion better than the nearly one million strong overseas Filipino community in the country. In this respect, Quintana aspires that, through the help of the Filipino community in the UAE, the ‘Bangkota’ would be one of the most-visited pavilions throughout the entire Expo 2020 show.
“The Bangkóta needs the overseas Filipinos in UAE to act as ambassadors of goodwill, making sure they themselves visit the PH national pavilion, as well as help in drawing international spectators to visit Bangkóta by promoting it to people of other nationalities. Together, let’s make Bangkóta land in the top 10 of the most visited pavilions in the entire Expo,” she underscored.
The Philippine Ambassador to the UAE also lauded the team behind the ‘Bangkota’ pavilion who have embodied the ‘Bayanihan’ spirit to ensure that the pavilion is on track of its turnover date. She also proudly shared that other builders nearby the site were also impressed with the pavilion’s unique architectural aesthetics.
“The builders have expressed to me how proud they were to be part of this unique pavilion. It continuously elicits curiosity in other builders at the Expo site from an architectural standpoint. We are grateful to our team in Dubai for joining us in the Bangkóta journey, being true to the design concept and spirit of the pavilion – from the blueprint to finally seeing the vision took shape and ready to welcome the world,” said Quintana.
