Outside In
Many people believe that I volunteered as a chef when I started with the Shanghai Expo, but that's not the case. I was working as a consultant for the Arts and Culture Department of the Africa Joint Pavilion when my talents were discovered.
An Expo is meant to be the ultimate showcase for different fields such as technology, culture, science, design, and, of course, art. In the case of Expo 2010 Shanghai there are a number of pavilions that stand out for their artistic side: China, Mexico, France and Italy. They all offer priceless pieces of artwork among their highlights. They show that having a theme of cities and improvement of quality of life includes art.
Netizens at Douban.com, a popular lifestyle portal among young people in China, keep a "floating" Expo journal. As one visitor completes his or her journal on visiting the Expo Garden, be it a diary, a poem, a photo or an illustration, he or she passes it to another visitor. The "floating" Expo journal has attracted hundreds of netizens who have visited the Expo Garden. A school teacher from Singapore wrote her tips for visiting the Expo Garden; a visitor from Malaysia wrote "tenmakasih" (Malay for thank you); a girl from Guangdong province left a postcard which reads: "Love in my heart" .
Signs are helpful for visitors when locating places in the Expo Garden. But if the signs are not designed in a logical way, they can be misleading or confusing.
Exhibiting my work at the Belgium-EU Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai is like a dream come true, as I am able to share my sustainable spirit with China.
Two months into the Expo 2010 Shanghai and many people are aware of the main highlights in Zone C of the Expo Garden.
The following is a contribution from Ashild Nakken, Director of the Norwegian Seafood Export Council in China, publishable by Xinhua subscribers.
The Expo is in full swing and I'm swinging with it. Swinging between pavilions of all kinds, shapes, sizes and designs.
For those without the time or determination to brave the long lines outside the top pavilions at the Expo 2010 Shanghai, there is still a great time to be had.
My personal belief is that a very important part of the Expo is learning about other cultures and peoples.
