Timo Santala has had so much experience in organising events that he is worth listening to. Here are some of Santala’s tips for events organisers:

• Ideas for events are never born out of or developed in a vacuum. All  cultural history is about borrowing, modifying and shaping.

• A successful event is often a matter of chance or plain accident. Still, the actual organising takes a lot of careful work and committed parties.

• It is good to think about who does what. The different strengths of different people can turn into something great even with a small budget and tight schedule.

• Trust that even one individual can make big things happen.

• Only organise events that you are really interested in and want to be involved in. Other people often enjoy the same things as you.

• Things work out best when you believe in them yourself. Your own enthusiastic example will attract others. You will need to put your own effort in the cause and be brave to get others interested in something they have never thought about before.

• Think about how to make the event bigger so more people can join in and enjoy it.

• Make it possible for people to do things they don’t normally do or dare to do. This will motivate them to get involved.

• You have to have the possibility to experiment and fail. That is how you learn and develop. That is how stories and enthusiasm spread.

• You should make participation easy. If it takes even the slightest bit of  effort, a lot of people will stay home.

Timo Santala has one more special tip for event planners at the university.

– The event has to be based on an idea that is meaningful and interesting for people, but its realisation does not need to be complicated. It all comes down to how many people hear about it and become interested, and whose friends get interested and take part. The catch in the whole thing is advertising the event. Social media should be more widely exploited at the University.