Expo 2020 Dubai opens new visitor centre for students

A new visitor centre has been opened to students at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai.

It offers Dubai school students various interactive activities, allowing them to visualise what the event in 2020 will look like.

Students can take a virtual ‘flying’ tour through a seven-metre-wide curved screen, which showcases what the 180 participating countries have to offer in terms of their themes and designs for the upcoming Expo.

The centre will also provide information about the legacy of World Expos and the innovations that have been revealed during the series’ 167-year history.

More than 1,000 students from across the UAE have already visited the educational centre during its soft opening.

Alya Al-Ali, director of the Expo School Programme: “Youth are at the heart of Expo 2020 Dubai, as we seek to inspire and empower young people by expanding their horizons.

“The visitor centre is designed to involve school students on the journey to Expo 2020, and is one of Expo’s many outreach initiatives to ensure that they carry forward a lasting legacy into the future.”

Earlier this month, the visitor centre hosted the first ‘Next Gen World Majilis’, an event which allowed school students from around the UAE to participate in discussions around the global development agenda.

The programme involved 17 students, aged 14-17 to discuss the future urban living situation and ideas which could improve the lives of future generations.

Also see: Drone video: Expo 2020 Dubai takes shape

Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

More than 200 participants, including 180 nations, corporations, multinational organisations and educational institutions, are expcted to take part in the event, which runs from October 20, 2020 until April 10, 2021.

The event is projected to record 25 million visits, with 70 per cent of visitors anticipated to come from outside the UAE – the largest proportion in the history of World Expos.