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After the World Expo in Dubai Where Next for Monaco?

The Great World Expo in Dubai has hardly receded in our minds. No sooner have we had the experience… as if it were yesterday… than we are shaken into realizing the next one is upon us. Not quite… the five yearly cycle means 2025 is the date for the next big event, the theme for which is: 

Designing the future society for our lives and where? It’s going to be in Japan… in Osaka from April 13th to October 13th, 2025 to be exact. 

The talk is that Monaco’s Pavilion in Japan … actually it will be on the island of Yumeshima where the 2025 Expo will receive delegations and visitors from countries all over the world to the newly built facility… it will be a new city of sorts. The Principality has a plot of 1,000 square meters, where it is going to build a building of 400 square meters and lay out a garden of 600 square meters. 

The rumour is it will be very “vegetal”. That conjures up images of the iconic African Garden near the Casino. Could anything be more delightful? Well we will have to wait for more details. No doubt the design will take a very different but equally interesting course. We’ll probably have to wait for the first quarter of next year to find out more. 

Tempus Fugit (time flies) so there are already teams on the ground planning the management of Monaco’s Pavillon. Will they include the 50 or more young people who did such an outstanding job in Dubai. We’ll have to wait and hear from Albert Croisi … maybe he is selecting a whole new group of enthusiastic youngsters. Look to the second half of this year to find out. What an opportunity for them. 

Monegasque Poets

You might wonder why poetry might be so important to the Monegasque endeavour in Japan. You’ll notice on social networks a flurry of activity in response for a call for photo-shoots of 30 seconds of Monegasques of all ages reading poetry. 

Throughout history, poetry, and particularly one version called haiku has played an important role in Japan. These short poems capture the view of many Japanese people on nature, philosophy, art, and emotion.

So when in Japan do as the Japanese do! In Monaco’s Pavilion, high profile will be the best (as many as 15) of these video-shoots of Monegasque poets. 

If you are to be one of these star poets and plan to do your video with a Japanese style poem, here’s a little heads-up. 

The word “haiku” comes from the longer Japanese phrase, “haikai no ku,” meaning “light verse.”

The haiku is a Japanese poetic form that consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. The haiku became a separate form of poetry in the 17th century.

And what is the most famous Japanese haiku? There are many and they include ‘In the moonlight’ by Yosa Buson, ‘The Old Pond’ by Matsuo Basho, and ‘After Killing a Spider’ by Masaoka Shiki. You get the drift. Maybe a Monegasque version will get on the Top Ten list of haiku in Japan and have thousands of visitors to admire their poems in the Principality’s Pavilion.

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