Expo City Dubai’s Terra pavilion has launched “Know Your Roots”, a new initiative inviting teenagers across the UAE to record family stories connected to plants, food traditions, remedies, and memories before they slowly disappear with time.
The initiative encourages students aged 14 and above to sit with older family members and record stories connected to plants and traditions that shaped their lives — whether in the UAE or back in their home countries.
The idea behind the project feels refreshingly personal. Students are being asked to interview parents, grandparents, and older relatives about plants that played a role in everyday family life.
Students are expected to record the conversations through short films or videos, which must later be uploaded by a parent or teacher before the submission deadline on 12 June 2026.
The project is not only about collecting videos for one campaign. Terra plans to turn these stories into part of a larger long-term archive connected to culture, sustainability, and environmental heritage.
Selected student entries will later be showcased during a special event at Terra, while approved submissions may also become part of future exhibitions, educational programmes, and digital storytelling platforms linked to the pavilion.
Officials say the initiative supports wider efforts to highlight culturally important plants and traditions that communities in the UAE continue to carry across generations.