Pecha Kucha...say what?!

No, I'm not swearing in Japanese. Pecha Kucha is a creative “meet up” kinda event that’s turned into a global phenomenon (449 cities and counting) over the last couple of years since its inception in Japan in 2003.

A dear friend calls me up and goes, “Dude, Pecha Kucha Night is happening in Colombo!”, and I’m like, “Ooh, is that like a buffet theme night?” (cos, you know, I am thinking of food all the time, like ALL the time!) – but this time, I was so wrong. So I decided to prod deeper…

What?
Pecha Kucha means “chit chat” in Japanese (if you consider that swearing, you need to grow up!). It’s an event, usually held at night, hence “Pecha Kucha Night” (cos having it during the day and calling it “Pecha Kucha Day” is very uncool like – I think), and it brings together people who have a love, appreciation and drive for creativity.

The basic concept goes by something called a “20x20 presentation”. Anyone who’s got a creative idea, project, concept or anything creative for that matter could present it to the audience in 20 slides with 20 seconds spent on each slide (yeah, I did the math too, it’s a little less than 7 minutes). This way, ideas keep moving fast. Why? Because, according to www.pecha-kucha.org, the official organization managing these events, you “give a microphone and some images to an architect - or most creative people for that matter - and they'll go on forever!” – couldn’t agree more.

How?
Pecha Kucha events are propagated via a simple non-profit network with a loose central management to keep things clean, simple and authentic.

Five quick pointers on how it works:

• Potential organizers will strike a “handshake agreement” with pecha-kucha.org
• Only one organizer per city (so people don’t start competing and profiting from it!)
• Anyone can participate (from your 5 year old daughter to your ever enthusiastic grandma)
• Anything can be presented (the obvious boundaries exist – this is not a hippie gathering)
• Can be held almost anywhere that welcomes fun

Why?
Because a creative voice deserves to be heard, and a Pecha Kucha Night does exactly that – it lets even the most humble creative voice to be heard and appreciated in a dignified manner.

Pecha Kucha Night - Colombo
Yep, Pecha Kucha has hit Colombo – next event taking place on 23 October 2011 at the Warehouse Project in Maradana.  Browse over to www.pechakuchacolombo.com for the nitty-gritties (or if you're a Facebook junkie, here's your fix - facebook.com/PechaKuchaColombo).

Still think I’m swearing? Bite me!