世博会是全球最大的主题展,主办者、参展者的动机是交流、推介特定的理念。因此,每一届世博所传播的理念,必须符合当时的国际社会背景和各国流行思潮,所选择的主题也必须反映国际社会共同关注的问题。1999年5月,上海市政府在提出申办2010年世博会设想的同时,就开始部署、研究世博的主题及其表述,并把这列入申办工作的重点之一。 The World Expo is the world’s largest theme exhibition. The motivation for the organizers and exhibitors is to communicate and promote specific concepts. Therefore, the concept disseminated at each Expo must be consistent with the prevailing international social context and international trends of thought. The topics chosen must also reflect the issues of common concern of the international community. In May 1999, the Shanghai municipal government began deploying and researching the theme and expression of the World Expo while proposing its bid to host the 2010 World Expo, and included this as one of the priorities of the bid.