Shanghai’s inspiration

RHONDA SPIVAK

Twenty-year-old Maxim Berent, an architecture student at the University of Manitoba, is traveling to China this month to see the Israel pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

Berent is chairperson of the cultural committee for the Israeli pavilion at Winnipeg’s Folklorama, one of the largest and longest-running multicultural events of its kind in the world. Folklorama takes place each year over two weeks in August and features more than 40 cultural pavilions. The Jewish community has traditionally hosted the Shalom Square pavilion at the Asper Campus, featuring entertainment, displays and the food of Israel.

“The big reason why I am going to China for two and a half weeks is because Expo 2010 is the largest in the event’s history, since Expo began in 1852. But, the most important thing is that, for the first time ever, Israel will be putting on an Israel pavilion at Expo, designed to showcase its accomplishments in science, technology, medicine, architecture, and so on.

“Israel has just invested six million dollars to build its temporary pavilion,” Berent added. The overall cost of Israel’s participation in Expo 2010 is $40 million.

It is expected that the Israel pavilion at Expo 2010 will host three and half million people over the five months of the fair. Berent is looking forward to gaining some inspiration for the Israel pavilion at Folklorama this year.

“I will return to Winnipeg full of ideas on how to make our Israel pavilion ... better than ever. Our Israel pavilion, which is already the largest pavilion of Folklorama, will be phenomenal.”

Berent, whose trip to Expo is being supported by private donors in the Jewish community, was born in Ukraine, raised in Israel, and moved to Canada five years ago. Just elected as the new president of the Jewish Students Association/Hillel at U of M, he also was actively involved in putting on last month’s expanded community-wide Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration.

When asked how he became interested in making the trip to Expo 2010, Berent said, “Since I am involved in planning the Israel pavilion for Folklorama, I am always trying to educate myself about opportunities to learn how to showcase Israel. I think it is important that people hear not only about the conflict, but about all of the amazing developments that are taking place in Israel that can improve people’s lives. I came across the plans for the Expo and saw that Israel was participating for the first time and thought that I could benefit from this experience.”

Berent also said that the inspiration he gains from going to Shanghai may also help him plan for Israel Days on Campus, a program put on each year by JSA/Hillel.

“All of this is about letting people know that there is much more to Israel beyond the conflict. There is a lot about Israel’s advancements that people do not know,” he said.

The theme of Expo 2010 is “Innovation for Better Life” and, as a student of architecture, Berent said, he is very interested in seeing the design of the Israel pavilion, which was done by leading Tel Aviv architect Haim Dotan, whose mother, incidentally, was born in Shanghai.

The design of the pavilion looks like two clasped hands. The 2,000-square-metre structure also represents the dialogue between humanity and nature, the earth and the sky, and symbolizes the link between past and future.

“When I am in China, I will also spend Shabbos with Chabad in Shanghai [and] I will be staying very near to where the Expo grounds are, so that I will be able to get the most out of the event,” Berent said.

Berent also enjoys photography and will be looking forward to photographing some of the innovative things he discovers on his trip. “I hopefully will be able to transport some great ideas back to Winnipeg which will benefit the Jewish community in all sorts of ways.”

Berent said he hopes that Israel’s presence at Expo 2010 will lead to improved business relations with China. For example, recently, China’s Zhejiang Sanhua signed an agreement to invest $10.5 million in solar thermal systems developer Helio Focus, marking the first direct investment by a Chinese company in an Israeli firm.

Tamar Barr, program director at Winnipeg’s Rady Jewish Community Centre, who is also involved in organizing the Israel pavilion at Folklorama, said, “Maxim is very creative and we are really looking forward to learning about the ideas he brings back from Shanghai.”

Rhonda Spivak is a freelance writer and editor of the Winnipeg Jewish Review.

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