Written by Liao Qihong

Photographed by Xu Jiechen

At the invitation of the Shanghai World Expo Human Resources Development Centre, Germany-based MKL Group launched a series of lectures on the "Planning and Organizing of Large-scale Activities" in Shanghai in April. Ms. Maria-Katharina Lorberg, founder and CEO of MKL Group, was one of the guest speakers at the training program. She spoke with our correspondent on the organization of large exhibitions.

Organize the events with passion

"Without passion, there will be no imagination, and without imagination, there will be no success; exhibitions are events that pool talents to share their imaginations," Ms. Lorberg emphasised this time and again in her lecture and the interview with us.

She said that one of the reasons for Germany's international success as a country of exhibition is that the relevant exhibition organizers are all those full of passion, which grants them limitless innovative ideas, making their organization of various events more creative. They have been achieving more and more success on the back of passion-driven innovation. Germany is not a country with rich natural resources, and their best assets are their experiences and passion for exhibitions.

Passionate designer and organizer

Ms. Lorberg said that passionate designers and organizers are indispensable for the hosting of a splendid, successful and memorable World Expo, adding that it is of great importance to create as quick as possible the right ambience for the desirable performance of organizers and designers and to set up relevant platforms as these passionate teams need some time to get to know each other. It is necessary to instil knowledge of the World Expo into these passionate organizers and designers, making them be imbued with fervid zeal for the World Expo, which also means that they should agree to the World Expo brand, marketing strategy, promotion of tourism, urban development philosophy and the formulated Expo objectives.

Training of professional teams

Ms. Lorberg said:"Good training programs are one of the important and effective approaches to the expansion of professional teams and the enhancement of their comprehensive qualities."

With respect to the "Planning and Organizing of Large-scale Activities" training program launched by the Shanghai World Expo Human Resources Development centre, Ms. Lorberg proposed several good suggestions, saying that "the centre, as the organization that develops and executes the training programs for the Shanghai World Expo human resources system in order to meet the talent requirement for the 2010 Expo, has taken the necessary initiative to add event design, and organization into its training programs. It will provide a platform for the cultivation of high-calibre talents for designing and organizing large-scale events in Shanghai."

"I think that the Shanghai World Expo Human Resources Development Centre should base itself upon the essential elements in event management and combine experience with passion in its training programs. On the front of strategy, it should take into account the fact that different countries have different interpretations of cultures while integrating the features of China and Shanghai into its programs," said Ms Lorberg, adding that "training programs should be based upon experience. Of course, the training of fundamental skills is necessary, but the training of passion and practical knowledge should be the core."