PechaKucha

Click on the screen to watch a version of my PechaKucha

When I moved back to the Dayton, Ohio, area my son Daniel introduced me to a group he had been enjoying for some time, PechaKucha 20 X 20.

There were 200 or so in attendance as 10 different people gave fast-moving presentations on a variety of topics that lasted just 6 minutes and 40 seconds. That 20 x 20 in the Pecha Kucha name means that the speaker has 20 seconds for each of 20 slides. It really keeps a speaker on target, providing just basic information, as I have learned.

The movement began in Tokyo a few years ago as a means to bring together a number of designers for the sharing of ideas and projects. At the three I have attended, artists, authors, photographers, hobbyists, architects, city planners, neighborhood activists, and more, have expanded my horizons and made me aware of how many creative persons there are in this area. There are reportedly 900 PekaKucha groups around the world, thanks to the dedicated work of a few leaders in each city who believe in the concept.

Here in Dayton the approximately two-hour evening begins with 5 presentations, then a beer/wine break (with lots of networking/conversations going on), and then 5 more presentations. With 10 very different presentations you will find most of interest, and even if one or two aren’t, they are soon over—and a new one is beginning. The event is held in a different location, part of the intention being to show off some of the interesting locations and landmarks in the city.

My turn to make a presentation came recently (June 9, 2016) at a gathering hosted in a gloriously decorated Catholic church. Of course, my topic dealt with movies, the title being “6 Social Justice Films for Your Bucket List.”

Weeks earlier I had naively intended to pare down my 700-plus list of such films to 10, and was startled to realize just how quickly 20 seconds comes—and goes.

My choice of highlighting only six films meant that I could use three slides per film and, thus, I could talk for one minute per movie. Not exactly time for a full-scale review, but enough, I hope, to tease the curiosity of the viewers so that they will go on and watch at  least one or two of the films.

 

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