In 2025, The Netherlands will participate at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan. Historically, the World Expo is used to place your own country on a pedestal, to show ways in which your country excels. But with the global challenges of today, we believe we need to look beyond our own borders more than ever. That’s why, at this World Expo, The Netherlands creates Common Ground: an open meeting space where people from all over the world can share ideas and work together towards a sustainable future. 

This idea of Common Ground is inspired by the rich shared history of The Netherlands and Japan. For centuries, both countries have put aside their differences to work together, to unite their energy, expertise and ideas. This is something we can learn from to move towards a more sustainable and resilient future: ‘a new dawn’.

To introduce our concept and the design of the Dutch pavilion, we presented a film made in collaboration with artist Rogier van der Zwaag at the simultaneous global PR kick-off event in The Netherlands and Japan. This poetic, hopeful film shows how meeting each other on Common Ground can help us create this future of possibilities, this new dawn. The glowing sphere that shines its light onto its environment, shares the shape of the Common Ground logo and the design of the pavilion. 

Kesselskramer developed the overall theme, the narrative, the identity, which altogether also served as the foundation for the design of the pavilion. The teaser film for the concept and design of the pavilion has already gained a lot of attention in the Japanese media. In the years leading up to the World Expo 2025, the campaign for Common Ground will grow bigger and bigger.