Pecha Kucha Night For Humanity’s Haiti Reconstruction Efforts

by Elias Shams
First thing first. Pecha Kucha is pronounced “pe-chak-cha”. It is the onomatopoeic Japanese word for the sound of conversation.

The Pecha Kucha event, is an awesome and pretty unique international movement that organizes forums in cities around the world for designers and other creative people to present and show their work in all media, including the visual arts, architecture, design, music, fashion, film and literature in an exhilarating kaleidoscope of inspirations, ideas and work.

Pecha Kucha Night originally was devised in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Tokyo’s Klein-Dytham Architecture (KDa), as a way to attract people to Super Deluxe, their experimental event space in Roppongi. Pecha Kucha Night events consist of around a dozen presentations, each presenter having 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds. Each presenter has just 6 minutes 40 seconds to explain their ideas before the next presenter takes the stage. Conceived as a venue through which young designers could meet, show their work, exchange ideas, and network, the format keeps presentations concise, fast-paced and entertaining.

In 2004 Pecha Kucha began running in a few cities in Europe, and has since spread virally since has become a worldwide phenomenon, now running in more than 260 cities in almost every corner of the globe including our beloved Awesome Washington, DC. Here is a related video you may watch:

Pecha Kucha DC which is called Capitol Pecha Kucha, was organized and launched in early 2007 by two stunning looking sisters Rouzita and Bita Vahhabaghai creator of the architectural, interior and graphic design service company,  ita-design based in DC.  Having known the sisters past few years or so, I have no doubt every straight guy not in Architectural design space attending the event, are there just to see Rouzita and Bita .  I don’t blame them

Anyway, you do not want to miss the next event which is held in Austrian Embassy for Humanity’s Haiti reconstruction efforts.

Some of the featured speakers for the evening include:

. Lola Poisson-Joseph, Founder of Children & Families Global Development Fund, Wife of the Ambassador of Haiti
. Bruce Macphail, Clowns without Borders
. Karina Gomes, Al Jazeera
. Skyler Badenoch, buildOn
. Josef Fuentes, Architecture for Humanity

You may want to check out the message from Architecture for Humanity founder Cameron Sinclar that should give everyone a better idea of what the “Global Pecha Kucha Day for Haiti” event really means, what’s at stake, and how you can participate.

Date & Time: Friday February 19th at 7:30 p.m
Location: Austrian Embassy
3524 International Court NW
Washington, DC 20008 map
Tel: (202) 895-6700

Space is limited. So, I suggest you purchase your ticket ASAP