Pecha Kucha Beijing "guardians": Sebastian  Linack, Nicky Meng, Miriam Deller and  Florian Pucher. Right: One of the Pecha Kucha events in Beijing. Photos: courtesy of Pecha  Kucha Beijing

By Vera Penêda

It isn't a satanic ritual or a weird drug, but Pecha Kucha might give you the kick you need to become wiser in a blink of an eye and while you're having fun. Pecha Kucha twisted PowerPoint as we knew it, life boringly squared in corporate style, into arty, beat-the-clock performances to save us all from interminable lectures.

Almost illustrious artists, whizzes and dilettantes are set to dazzle the Beijing crowd with creativity and intellect the next two Saturdays in two Pecha Kucha shows. On the 21st at the Original Design Circle in Sanlitun Village, and at the CNEX Salon Café on the 28th, don't miss the brightest minds' show.

Fast for fun

Give a microphone to an expert or a creative mind and prepare for a nap induced by boredom. Give them Pecha Kucha airtime, and they'll have to find out the best way to dazzle you swiftly, in no more than a well-timed 20 slide shows in exactly six minutes and 40 seconds. In three words: "It's fast, fun and free," Miriam Deller told the Global Times, tireless Pecha Kucha organizer.

"The idea is to bring creative people together to an informal gathering to have fun while sharing their ideas, works and thoughts, but the concept was created to prevent an audience from falling asleep or enduring painful lectures," Deller explained. Anybody that accepts the challenge to present his or her wisdom in a 20x20 format – 20 slides each presented in 20 seconds, is welcome to join the event," she added.

The clock is ticking as the slides forward automatically and the presenter talks along to the images. No 'next slide' or 'go back one please' allowed, and after six minutes and 40 seconds the speaker has to hush. This might seem a tight deadline, but short and focused talks will keep the audience alert to enjoy the fast insight session delivered by a well-rounded sample of presenters.

This is Pecha Kucha's creative prescription to transform any tedious and frivolous presentation into a party meeting of unlike-minded people. "People can present what they're passionate about, from their creative works to their latest holidays' snaps. The challenge is to be concise and interesting," said Deller, because that's how unexpected talents and ideas come up.

"Pecha Kucha is a mirror of the current development in the creative scene in Beijing," said Sebastian Linack, the German architect who brought the creative virus to Beijing. From architects to designers, DJs to chefs, interns and CEO's, even a 5-year-old genius or a retired show singer aged 60 can grab six minutes and 40 seconds of pure stardom in a Pecha Kucha night.

Every brilliant idea ranging from an ad campaign to a dessert recipe, a quirky passion or a conspiracy theory can be Pecha Kucha material. The platform is "a cross-cultural exhibition of the hidden talents and the top creative achievements," said Linack. "We receive an average of 50 applications every month," said Nicky Meng, who's also with the organization.

The Pecha Kucha speaker is "selected according to the topic of the event and singularity of their work, but sometimes it is really difficult to select the panel of presenters, we get a lot of interesting proposals," Meng added.

Xiao Yong, who designed the Olympic medals and Chas Pope, engineer for Arup involved in the construction of the CCTV building, have both been Pecha Kucha speakers.

Multidisciplinary and dynamic, Pecha Kucha Nights are also bilingual events and the panel of presenters is usually made up of 50 percent Chinese minds and 50 percent foreign thinkers.

The next session on November 21 will reflect the topic of "Originality", and a week later, on the 28, Pecha Kucha will follow the lead of the Greening the Beige festival (see tomorrow's edition of the Global Times) with a session entitled "Re-Energize Beijing."

(Pain) free wisdom

While the brilliant minds on stage grab their share of fame, the curious folks in the audience feel the side effects of the Pecha Kucha instantaneously. "This is a two-way communication flux. It's about reaching others, exchanging ideas, networking and having fun," Deller said.

The Pecha Kucha pledge is to make us all wiser than we already are by promoting the encounter between cross-cultural inspiration and drinks. Between the "8 mind-blowing lectures," revelers and presenters can enjoy good music, chit chat about this, make a toast, chit chat about that, slip a name card (for business or pleasure) and chit-chat a bit more.

"Pecha Kucha is a non-profit discussion platform. Content is its priority, not profit. All events are free of charge," stressed Meng. "There are a lot of logistics behind the event and we managed to pull it off with a lot of synergies and a few very good supporters," Deller said. Stronger sponsorship would help "to add value to the presentations, to grow as a network and maybe organize it more often," Deller and Meng said. Five times a year is the current Pecha Kucha prescription for Beijing.

Beijing's Pecha Kucha

Beijing made it onto the Pecha Kucha map when Sebastian Linack came to Beijing in 2005 and decided to bring the platform to town together with a friend. "I'd never been to one of these events but a friend of mine attended in Shanghai and told me about it," Linack said. "At the time I thought that especially in architecture, the platform would be good to discover hidden gems in Beijing by giving people a chance to present their work," he added.

Pecha Kucha was inaugurated in Beijing in December 2006, when there were only 25 other cities with the platform. Although a unique global format, Pecha Kucha is slightly different from city to city, due to the local speakers' proposals. "We weren't expecting an audience of 120 people at the first event at Kokomo bar in Sanlitun. It was great!" said Linack, adding that each event currently attracts about 500 people.

Sebastian Linack, Florian Pucher and Miriam Deller, both from Austria, and Nicky Meng from China, are Beijing's Pecha Kucha guardians.

The Beijing team has no doubt that the city is a cradle for great ideas and talented communicators ignited by its fast pace of transformation. Pecha Kucha was held 13 times so far and it's here to stay. "We'll definitely keep the format 20x20 to present fresh ideas. We are bilingual and crosscultural, so we hope to encourage a mix of local and international creative development, always keeping the high quality level of speakers and presentations in mind," Linack concluded.

Now that you know the Pecha Kucha ritual, show up for the party or enroll to be on stage. Check out www.pkbj.org for speaker profiles and more details on each Pecha Kucha Night.

verapeneda@globaltimes.com.cn

The Chitchat Virus: from Japan to the world

Pecha Kucha is a Japanese term that roughly translates as chit-chat, noisy chatter or the sound of conversation. From its very first session in Japan in 2003, Pecha Kucha spread like a virus.

The Tokyo based architecture firm Klein Dytham Architects (KDA), formed by Mark Dytham, from the UK and, Astrid Klein, Italian, originally started Pecha Kucha Night in their nightclub Supperclub. After it proved to be a perfect recipe for a good night out as well as a great way of meeting new people, ideas, co-workers or jobs the format was picked up all over the world.

From London to Taipei, San Francisco to Lisbon, Caracas to Tel Aviv, Shanghai and Beijing have gladly surrendered to Pecha Kucha Nights, which are currently held in more than 248 cities worldwide.

Often compared to similar events such as TED (Ideas Worth Spreading), Talk 20 or Ignite, but Pecha Kucha creators have said that their format was the first ever to put a limit on the number of images, number of seconds  and the all important auto forward, as well as one of the first to apply ï‚"bottom upï‚" concept, under which anybody can enroll to be a presenter.

Presenters at Pecha Kucha Night

Jia Li, Interior Designer/ Li He Space Design

Joseph Oliver Eco-entertainment/ Bashcreations

Zhang Xiaoyi Architect/ Crystal Design

Eugene Leung Architect/ Zaha Hadid Architects

Ellen Pearlman Critic/Yuanfen Gallery & Brooklynrail

Liu Feng Designer/ Peng Creative Workshop

Wu Changqing Designer/ Paper Doll

Kent Wong Designer / Avec Design