PechaKucha Cambridge keeps it quirky

“The atmosphere was great, the speakers were amazing, and the audience wonderfully encouraging and supportive, as always!” said PechaKucha Cambridge organiser Ann Hawkins following last week’s presentation event at CUC Winebar. “Our team of volunteers did a great job making sure everything worked and our hosts at CUC wine bar were helpful and hospitable. What more could anyone want?"

Presenters at the aimiable visual presentation format at the Cambridge University Centre venue were:

1. Martyn Sibley on his world-wide adventures in a wheelchair.

2. Alice Gadney on cartography and teaching children to make maps.

3. Brian Bennett on the positive impact of introducing bullock drawn ploughs to a Ugandan village.

4. Alex Stanlake on the enduring cheerful earnestness of Wallace and Gromit.

5. Caroline Ferguson on the positive powers of highly sensitive people.

6. Elaine Halligan on raising children who are labelled “different”.

7. Cambridge’s very own Dinky Doors artists on why they have been chosen to save the world.

Around 60 people soaked up the atmosphere at one of the fun format's freestyle fusion of speech and images in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total). The format, which keeps presentations concise and fast-paced, powers multiple-speaker events, began in Japan in 2003 as a way for designers to network. In 2004, a few cities in Europe began holding PKNs (pechaKucha Nights). As of 2016, PKNs were being held in more 900 cities worldwide.

So how about more of the same? Put May 15 in your diary if you want to attend one of the quirkiest events in Cambridge.

Find out more about this innovative style of presentation here.