After the national anthem and flag raising ceremony,Ivan Scalfarottospoke of the connection between theMilan Charterand Laotian culture: “the Charter expresses values regarding the balance between mankind and the planet, and between the individuals who comprise human communities, and Laos certainly provides an excellent example of this balance. The great historian Braudel, in his analysis in “The World Today”, reads the history of the last thousand years through the histories of wheat and rice, and Laos has such a profound bond with rice that it uses the same word for “rice” and “food”.” Scalfarotto also underlined the importance ofWE-Women for Expo, the Expo Milano 2015 project – in collaboration with the Ministry of Exterior and of International Cooperation and with the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation – which for the first time places Women at the center of a Universal Exposition. Scalfarotto reminded listeners of the fundamental role of women in the fields of sustainability and food, and particularly in Laos, where women play a crucial role in the rice production system.
Siaosavath Savengsuksaemphasized that “Expo Milano 2015’s main theme ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ is of fundamental importance to all the inhabitants of the Earth, including the people of Laos. The Government of Laos has worked hard to comply with the Millennium Development Goals, and the reduction of poverty is a high priority urgent problem for our country. Self-sufficiency and increased product diversity is one of our government’s policies for ensuring fair food supplies in Laos. Reducing environmental pollution is another priority, in order to achieve healthier food and sustainable production.”
A day for festivities, with music, dance and food
After the institutional ceremony, the authorities walked to the Laos Pavilion as part of aparade of singers, musicians and dancers in traditional costume. The celebrative entertainment continued inside the Pavilion in a whirl of colors, music and gastronomic delights which combined to make for a truly special day. Among the instruments used in Laotian traditional music is the “Khene”, a kind of mouth organ using 16 or 18 pieces of bamboo which produce notes both through breathing out and breathing in: this permits an extraordinary continuity of sound. Visitors tasted a wide variety of the country’s gastronomic riches, including papaya salad, rice sausages, rice, lemongrass tea, coconut and rice salad, and rice desserts.
