Magazine

Nature´s Wisdom in an Ever Quickening World

The tremendous impact of technology, which every day makes the lives of billions of people around the world easier, is reflected in virtually all aspects of human activity. This technological boom, which began with the invention of the steam engine, changed in the mid-twentieth century with precipitous growth in many scientific fields. This in turn has led to change at a geometric rate.

One logical result of these developments (many of which it must be said are positive) is a certain distancing of individuals from the original human dimensions of existence and nature. Philosophers have even spoken about the increasing technological potential of humanity and the unchanging psychological makeup of people, who have no chance to adjust internally to the speed of changes produced by the sciences. It is clear that without some sort of reconciliation with nature and without a return to the roots of our biological existence, sustainable development for humanity will remain unachievable.

The Expo 2005 World Exposition in the Japanese prefecture of Aichi is attempting to reflect these facts with the maximum degree of urgency. The Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition, organizer of Expo 2005, has selected "Nature's Wisdom" as the central theme of the entire exposition. In order to allow this theme to be developed in the most appropriate fashion and at the same time support participation by the greatest number of the planet's countries, it was divided into three sub-themes: "Nature's Matrix," "The Art of Life" and "Development for Eco-communities. From the first stages of preparations, exhibiters have been directed to work using the main them and to select one of the sub-themes, which they would further develop in their pavilion.

Expo 2005 in Aichi represents a unique opportunity for countries from around the world to come together in the resolution of global ecological problems and unite their intellectual and creative strengths in the developing of solutions to the critical problems that no post-industrial society will be able to avoid. Expo 2005 Aichi has stepped into the new millennium as a World Exposition that is no longer simply an exhibition of human technological skill or a celebration of tourism, but rather as one that is a laboratory in which new, globally-applicable solutions and concepts for the future will be developed. For this reason, the organizers have also entitled Expo 2005 as the "Exposition of Global Harmony." Given that Japanese Buddhist and Shinto traditions are directly based on the concept of harmony as a fundamental principle, this is completely natural.

After careful consideration, the Czech Republic decided to select the sub-theme "The Art of Life," which appealed to us with its versatility and in which we saw the contribution of our homeland to discussions on the issue of

Nature's Wisdom

Cultural expression has always been one of the strong suits of the Czech Republic, or as the case may be Czechoslovakia. We understand "culture" as a collection of human activities relating to the world around us, activities that attempt to capture that world - whether we are speaking of music, the fine arts, literature or the culture of life as such. For this reason, we even conceive of culture and "The Art of Life" as referring to the culture of housing, gastronomy and (culturally cultivated) interpersonal relations.

For this reason, the main concept behind our exhibition in the Czech Pavilion is the interaction between people and their surroundings and their influence on each other. In the next issue of our quarterly magazine Expo 2005 Aichi, we will present to you in greater detail our plans for this interactive space as designed by leading Czech architects and artists and we hope that we will convince you of the uniqueness of the concept behind our exhibition.

Petr Štemberk

back

print