20 slides. 20 seconds each. An infinite number of topics.
This is the format for Pecha Kucha, a presentation style created in 2003 by two Tokyo architects. The idea has since expanded to 446 cities around the world.
Victorians Amanda Smith and Aleya Samji picked up the concept in 2010, and now present four Pecha Kucha nights per year at the Victoria Event Centre.
Talks at Victoria Pecha Kucha events have included topics as diverse as the screen-printing process, new photography techniques, and homes made of shipping containers.
Each night consists of 12 talks. Presenters are diverse in age and background and can talk about anything.
“It can be about an innovative idea or a philosophy of some kind, or someone with a wacky point of view,” says Pecha Kucha co-organizer Amanda Smith.
“When it works, it’s a wide mix of stuff. Speakers follow up on stuff that’s been said earlier in the night,” adds co-organizer Aleya Samji. “It’s kind of like a mixtape.”
Jaryd Zinkewich, a 21-year-old Camosun business student, was a presenter at Pecha Kucha #4, where he talked about “generational knowledge transfer” with financial services professional Janis LaCouvée.
“I found presenting really stimulating,” says Zinkewich. “There are a lot of people here pushing the envelope. It was cool to be treated as an equal, where it’s your ideas that put you forward, not your age. There are no barriers. It’s all about good ideas.”
Mike Vardy will be presenting a talk comparing productivity to dieting at Pecha Kucha #7. Coming from an improv background, Vardy has found the 20 x 20 format challenging yet appealing.
“It’s a theatrical presentation,” he says. “People will see when a proper presentation is married with technology, how great it can be.”
Pecha Kucha means “chit-chat” in Japanese, and audience members and presenters are encouraged to do just that.
“It’s about bringing people together to watch and learn,” says Smith. “It’s a place to come for a massive dose of inspiration, where we’re bringing a lot of different communities together for one night in one room.”
Pecha Kucha #7
October 6
Victoria Event Centre
pecha-kucha.org/night/victoria