In a matter of seconds, thousands of lives and dreams were destroyed in Haiti on January 12, 2010. Following the tragedy, aid came from many quarters, in all shapes and forms. On Saturday, February 20 from 4-6pm The Wolfsonian–Florida International University will join the PechaKucha global community and the Miami Chapter of Architecture for Humanity (AFH) to assist in the rebuilding of Haiti by taking part in a continuous 24-hour edition of PechaKucha Night.
PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo on February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and showcase their work in public. It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.
Kicking off the series of events at the SuperDeluxe in Tokyo, where PechaKucha was first conceived seven years ago, the presentation wave will travel eastward, with cities presenting one after the other. Crossing all times zones and cultures, the events will be streamed live online and then finish in Tokyo the following day. Presentations are already being prepared, some intended to offer hope and encouragement through stories of past disaster relief projects; others as simple inspiration by showing the power of creative thinking. All of the 2,000 presentations generated from the one-day event—in what could be the world’s biggest single-day globally distributed conference—will be posted on the PechaKucha website, where visitors will also be able to make monetary donations to the project. In organizing this event, PechaKucha intends to not only raise funds through pledges from host cities and contributions from individuals, but also illustrate the power of innovative minds, creative passion, and most of all, sharing ideas for change and sustainability.
The event, which takes place at The Wolfsonian, is co-presented with PechaKucha Miami and AFH. There is a minimum ten dollar donation per person requested and all proceeds will go to AFH’s Earthquake Reconstruction in Haiti project. AFH operates globally, and was instrumental in getting projects built after the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. The design costs for the new buildings in Haiti have been already covered so all donations will go directly toward the construction of much needed schools, health clinics and community structures.
For more information about the event, contact Lydia Lopez at lydia@thewolf.fiu.edu, 305.535.2644, or visit http://www.pecha-kucha.org/pechakucha-for-haiti
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