Our Members include three West African organisations (ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS) and seven OECD member countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States). The European Union is a strategic partner and contributes to the financing of our programme of work. As Observers, the African Union and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency; the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development; and the Network of Farmers’ organisations and Agricultural Producers of West Africa (ROPPA) are closely associated with the SWAC. > find out +
SWAC Members & Partners at Expo Milano 2015
Participant countries and international organisations that are Members or Partners of the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) took Expo visitors on a wealth of journeys and experiences to convey their views and perspectives on the theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.
Members and Partners' pavilions
Among the 145 participating countries, the following SWAC Members and Partners had a permanent exhibition space or pavilion at Expo Milano 2015:
Austria
Breathe. Austria is the Expo's theme for this country. Its pavilion produces oxygen for 1800 people per hour. Austria highlights its cultural identity, societal perspectives and economic performance: its innovative power and research capacity as well as its responsible use of agricultural resources.
Belgium
The Belgian Pavilion displays the theme '"Conviviality has a sustainable future". It presents an innovative laboratory providing alternative solutions to food challenges and showcases Belgian excellence in research and development on food and energy.
European Union
The European Union Pavilion is placed under the theme "Growing Europe’s future together for a better world". It includes a multimedia special effects theatre and an interactive educational and entertainment area to explore EU policies and actions, achievements and challenges. Centrally located next to the Lake Arena and opposite to the Italian Pavilion, the EU Conference Room will host more than 200 policy and scientific conferences and official meetings, including our Sahel and West Africa Week (SWAW). Among other things, the EU will promote discussions about how to feed the world healthily and sustainably.
France
The France Pavilion focuses on the theme: "How can we produce and supply food in a different way?”. Four pillars guide the French responses to the global food challenge: 1) Promote a sustainable food model; 2) Produce more and better; 3) Transfer and innovation; 4) Pleasure and health. Recalling that the global food challenge concerns first of all cities (>70% of the population will be urban by 2050), France highlights the urgent need to develop and deploy new technologies for a sustainable "agricultural of tomorrow". It also focuses on addressing the consequences of climate change.
Luxembourg
The Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), will organize a photo exhibition and a debate on malnutrition in slums on Wednesday 22nd July in the Belgium Pavilion at Expo Milano. The exhibit, called Urban Survivors will invite visitors to reflect on the food availability and food safety in urban contexts and the debate will address the problem of severe acute malnutrition in a slum context in South Asia, in particular the difficulties of using ready-to-use therapeutic food in such contexts.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands Pavilion is conceived as a "Dutch Festival" with the slogan: "Share, Grow, Live" (Share = food-related issues are local as well as global; Grow = food should be considered from a social and economic point of view; and Live = such an awareness must inspire action and enable the well-being of all). The exhibitions show the future of fruits and vegetables, new ways of producing food and the relationship between food and technology. The Dutch Court is located externally at the Milanese Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci". It hosts expert meetings, seminars and an exhibition about Dutch innovations.
Switzerland
The Switzerland Pavilion, the "Confooderatio Helvetica", with its four outstanding towers, invites reflection on the scarcity of food resources in the world and the concept of responsible consumption. What can be done to secure an adequate supply of safe and healthy food for the world’s population? is one of the guiding questions that will be addressed through a wide range of events, lectures and debates.
The USA Pavilion's theme is "American Food 2.0: United to Feed the Planet". The exhibitions aim to create a global conversation on topics including food security and policy, international relations, science and technology, nutrition and health and culinary culture. "How will we feed the more than nine billion people expected to inhabit the earth by the year 2050? How will America contribute to the solution?"
