Dubai: Colourful kites in the shape of butterflies soared in the skies above Expo 2020 Dubai on Sunday as Malaysia Pavilion sponsored the ‘My Butterfly Kite-Flying’ event at Al Forsan Park at Expo.
“Children and adults alike were able to play with the kites at the kite-flying event, with 250 varieties of kites given out for them to take home. There were also quizzes with great prizes that were up for grabs,” organisers from the Malaysia Pavilion told Gulf News.
Michelle Lau, the Malaysia Pavilion Director, said: “Making and flying kites was a popular pastime in Malaysia. However, its popularity declined with the advent of technology. Traditional kite craftsmen, though, can still be found in certain states like Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis.”
Moon kite
Lau added: “Known as ‘wau’ in Malay, kites are made with great skill and care so that they can soar high. These kites come in all shapes, sizes and colours, but the most well-known is the ‘wau bulan’ (moon kite), which is one of Malaysia’s national symbols.” Kite-flying has been a traditional pastime for children in Malaysia for centuries. Malaysia Pavilion is reviving this leisure activity through its monthly ‘My Butterfly Kite-Flying’ event, she said.
Message is sustainability
Lau pointed out that kite-flying at Expo 2 was not just for fun, but also to put forward the message of environmental sustainability. She explained: “The original butterfly-effect concept comes from the chaos theory, made popular by mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz. According to the theory, a small action in one place can create a bigger impact elsewhere and Malaysia, through its participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, aims to set an example to promote and inspire sustainable actions.”
Creating awareness
Lau added: “Our pavilion is proud to be a Net Zero Carbon pavilion, as an example of our sustainability commitments to Expo 2020 Dubai. We want to imprint the importance of sustainability on the minds of our visitors and event participants. The butterfly kite-flying event is a terrific opportunity for us to create awareness on the #MyButterflyEffect brand campaign and what each of us can do to contribute towards a better tomorrow. We hope that every time someone flies one of our beautiful butterfly kites, or sees a butterfly, it will remind them of how their actions will affect the future.”
