Public Forums will be an important platform for Expo promotion and public participation in China. They will address topics that the general public can easily relate to and thus attract a wide range of participants. By initiating discussion on various aspects of city development, the Public Forums will give people an opportunity to learn about the Expo and be more actively involved in it.

Public Forums have been officially launched when the one-year countdown to Expo started. Most of them took place between May 2009 and April 2010.
 
Categories of Public Forums

Youth Forums, composed of a series of forums, have been held both in China and overseas. At the Youth Forums, young people of different ages, regions and educational backgrounds gathered to discuss the challenges that they were facing and their roles in making the city a better place to live. The series of youth forums have helped promote Shanghai World Expo worldwide before the Expo started in May 2010.

Youth Summit Forum, combined in part with the Summit Forum, was held in Shanghai. Young leaders from all over the world gathered in Shanghai to plan the future of cities and to discuss their role in global urban development.

Autonomous Regional, Provincial and Municipal Forums, held nationwide, were a series of forums through which all parts of China can participate in hosting the Expo. Each region selected one city (district) to host the public forum. Largely based on the “city” theme of the Expo, topics for each forum reflected local culture and originality.

Shanghai District Forums, held citywide, were a series of forums through which all districts of Shanghai can participate in hosting the Expo. With the general public being the main participants, Shanghai District Forums explored the “city” theme and discuss issues concerning every member of the districts.

Culture and Media Forum, with resources from various media and cultural institutions in Shanghai, will be a platform where the public can actively participate in. It will discuss issues specifically related to city culture, including the preservation of traditional culture in the process of urban development, the role and influence of mass media, and the connections between popular trends and creative industries.