The processor of the proposal for the Czech participation in Expo 2025 will be Ondřej Soška

Prague – The processor of the conceptual design for the Czech participation at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka will be manager Ondřej Soška. He won the selection process announced at the end of March by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Soška will now be tasked with developing the design in detail, which the head of diplomacy Jan Lipavský will subsequently present to the government. The MFA stated this on its website today. Previously, the office informed that the concept, along with the budget proposal for the Czech participation, will be presented to the cabinet by Lipavský by the end of May.

The exhibition will take place between April and October 2025, with its main theme being "creating the future society for our lives." Soška told ČTK today that he wants to present the Czech Republic as a modern place for education, business, and investment. The national pavilion will be designed as a celebration of Czech talent, creativity, and empathy.

According to Soška, Expo 2025 will be significantly different from the world exhibitions in Milan or Dubai, which were primarily visited by attendees from Western countries. In the case of Osaka, the organizers expect that more than 85 percent of the estimated 28 million visitors will be Japanese. Most of the remaining visitors will be from the Asia-Pacific region, he noted.

Soška based his concept on the values and themes that the Japanese have long admired about the Czechs – namely architecture, culture, and art. "These are then followed by the areas that we ourselves want to present in Japan. Their common denominator is talent and creativity," he further stated. He was inspired by experiences from visiting world exhibitions in Milan and Dubai, as well as from his study stay in Tokyo. "There I gained valuable insight into Japanese culture, historical contexts, and their way of thinking," he added.

Soška has more than 15 years of experience in creating corporate strategies, establishing business relationships in international markets, and leading multicultural teams. For example, from 2011 to 2015, he managed the largest foreign branch of the luxury lighting and crystal installations manufacturer Preciosa Lighting.

In 2015, he established the consulting company Salficon in Dubai to support business development in the Middle East and Africa. He sold it to a local business partner before his return to the Czech Republic in 2019. In 2014, he co-founded an association of Czech companies, entrepreneurs, and managers operating in the Middle East, the Czech Business Council in Dubai.

Soška was selected in the selection process by an evaluation committee composed of representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, industry and trade, defense, culture, local development, and agriculture, representatives of the Government Office, business representatives, and experts from the public.

Expo will return to Osaka after 55 years. At that time, the Czechoslovak pavilion designed by architects Viktor Rudiš, Vladimír Palka, and Aleš Jenček was visited by approximately 11 million people according to the MFA. The presentation was based on the works of poets Jan Skácel and Jiří Kolář.