Pecha Kuchas Turn Theatrical at CIVITAS Forum 2012
After the popularity of pecha kucha presentations during last year's CIVITAS Forum conference, we have seen many more pecha kucha presentations at this year's Forum. One of the presenters, Jerome Simpson, tells his story about the pecha kucha experience below.
" The fear and trepidation was palpable as presenters, including myself (pictured), queued up to make their pitch. Sitting was ‘forbidden’ and so shaking hands (and knees) gripped scripts as if it were a matter of life and death. Many dared not venture a centimetre from the bar table, which helped presenters conceal more than just their notes. For some the stage fright was too great even before taking the microphone, but all CIVITAS Plus Collaborative Projects eventually took the floor at least twice, alongside 12 ‘external’ presenters. Pecha Kucha is a novel and increasingly popular means of sharing information. It seeks to avoid ‘death by powerpoint’ by omitting text and tables; limiting each slide to a mere 20 seconds on-screen; and keeping presentations to no more than 20 slides (or six minutes and 40 seconds). These conditions create not only vivid entertainment for the audience but also a terribly challenging one for speakers – which explains why so many relied on their notes to help them through. In a number of instances presentations looked like they had been shoe-horned into the austere format while their delivery was perhaps hindered rather than helped by the at times unforgiving moderator, Pascal van den Noort. Nevertheless, the success of Pecha Kucha at the CIVITAS Forum in 2011 resulted in a 66 percent increase in subscription in 2012, where 25 presentations were on show altogether across five sessions. At the conference’s close, the dazzling moderator, looking like a Beach Boy in his Hawaiian shirt, called for the format to be introduced in all of next year’s Forum Conference’s technical sessions. Food for thought. Among those examples considered to be ‘best in class’ was the sublimely free-flowing New Yorker, Shin-pei Tsay speaking on ‘Transforming urban mobility’ besides Angry Andy (alias Wim Schuddinck) from Ghent, Belgium who left us hard of hearing in return for our attention to his novel techniques in ‘Mobility awareness raising’! The ‘130 year old’ furrier and salesman who presented his historical study ‘Mobility in Leipzig - Yesterday and Today’ can also be seen in action here. Congratulations to all on their presentations which can be found here ! A gallery of Forum photos, including a number of Pecha Kucha presenters adorned by the traditional Basque-style beret can be seen here." - Jerome Simpson
Author: Simpson Jerome
