120 companies from Wallonia will be taking part in the World Expo in Milan, which opens its doors on 1 May. About sixty of them are involved in the construction, decoration and entertainment at the Belgian Pavilion, and the others will be making the trip as part of the week promoting Wallonia-Brussels, which will take place from 21 to 26 June on the Expo site.

The Expo Milano will run from 1 May to 31 October 2015. Six months during which the 130 participating countries will attempt to answer the question raised in the theme selected by the Italians: How to feed the planet in 2050?

Heralded as one of the five most beautiful pavilions of the Expo, and the one that most strictly respects the Expo’s theme, the Belgian Pavilion was designed by Namur-based architect and stage designer Patrick GENARD. His innovative, sustainable architecture, and indoor and outdoor layouts, all tie in with the central theme of meeting the global food challenge. Close to 10,000 visitors are expected each day.

Around sixty Walloon companies are involved in this project, in areas ranging from creation of the structure, stage design, finishing and furniture to restaurant supplies, and the retail and show cooking areas (cafés, chips and waffles).

Bolstered by the success of the Wallonia-Brussels Week organised in Shanghai in 2010, the Walloon Foreign Export and Investment Agency (AWEX), Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI) and Wallonia-Brussels Tourism (WBT) hope to repeat the experience on the site at Expo Milano. This integrated publicity campaign will run from 21 to 26 June, and will link aspects of economics, science, academia, tourism and culture, whilst (of course) focussing on the agro-food sector.

The following partners are associated with this campaign: FEVIA Wallonie (Federation of the Food Industry), the agro-industry competitiveness cluster of Wallonia Wagralim, the public agency Wallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode (WBDM), public agency Wallonie-Bruxelles Architecture (WBA), Essenscia (Belgian Federation for Chemistry and Life Sciences Industries) and the Provinces of Namur and Liège. 

Here is a summary of the events organised:

• Seminar and B2B on the subject  of healthy and nutritional food ingredients;
• Preparatory and promotional activities for the biennial RECIPROCITY Design, to be held in Liège next October, with the theme ‘Food and Design’;
• Seminar on the use of eco materials in architecture;
• Double seminar on the positioning of our scientists and academics in the context of projects of international organisations, and presentation of Walloon expertise for these projects (food, agricultural science, the environment, remote sensing, soil decontamination, physical planning, etc.). These events will take place in partnership with the French-speaking working group in charge of agri-food matters, FINNOVAR;
• A half-day promoting Wallonia-Brussels as a tourist destination to tourism professionals (target audiences: Trade and Media);
• Seminar on the use of innovative technologies from fine chemistry in food processing (cleaning enzymes, yeast, special packaging, recycling, etc.);
• Seminar promoting foreign investment in Wallonia, intended for Italian multinationals;
• Smart Cities seminar by the City and Province of Liège (with an emphasis on the theme of the Expo);
• B2B between small-scale breweries and major Italian importers – Links between Walloon beer and Italian cooking;
• Celebration of the 5 Walloon (team) winners of the ‘.be Creative’ design competition organised by Belgium, and specifically linked to the Expo;
• Show cooking: chocolate and alternative cuisine (dishes based on insects and wild plants).            

This Expo will be an opportunity for Wallonia to show what it does best in the area of innovations centred around the topic of agro-foods. It is therefore clearly intended for promotion and prospection purposes. This is even more important, when we consider that Italy is one of Wallonia’s main trading partners: 6^th most important in terms of export, 4^th for foreign investment (over the period 2000-2014) and 5^th in tourism.

More information on the Belgian Pavilion, its Walloon partners, and the full programme for the week, can be found in the press kit (PDF link).

Contact:

mc.duchene@awex.be

j.jadoul@awex.be

m.ledru@awex.be