A local organization that’s part of a global movement is hosting a public event called “Hidden Heroes” tonight at the XFactory. The event will showcase area groups in a creative way as they come together to offer ideas for innovation and change. KSMU’s Theresa Bettmann has the details.
http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/pechakucha-night-springfield-celebrating-hidden-heroes_68533.mp3
PechaKucha is a concept that started in Japan ten years ago by a group of professionals who wanted to provide a face-to-face networking forum to share ideas. The name comes from the Japanese term for “chit chat.” The PechaKucha wave has spread over the last decade to more than 680 cities world-wide and has become a grassroots movement bringing many volunteers and organizations together.
Pam RuBert, an organizer for the Springfield chapter of PechaKucha, says they’re a not-for-profit volunteer organization. The group’s mission, both locally and globally, is working together to produce a system of networking events. RuBert says a unique part about these events is the 20 by 20 presentation format used by the speakers.
“We ask each presenter to show 20 images, and they have 20 seconds to talk about each image. So each presentation is only 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The neat thing about that though is you get to see between 8 to 10 very concise, entertaining presentations—sometimes about things you’ve never heard of before, or up-and-coming trends,” RuBert says.
RuBert says this is the group’s 11th event in Springfield. Tonight’s theme is “Hidden Heroes,” and the event will include a variety of topics like the future of urban streams, urban farming, art, mythology, wildlife preservation and international cultural exchanges.
“We have a really exciting, diverse group of people. And that’s what’s fun about it because you’re going to get boom, boom, boom, all of these interesting ideas. It’s stimulating because we have an intermission and people are invited to mingle before and afterwards. So what it does is it creates an opportunity to talk to these people and find out more about more about either their ideas or their programs,” says RuBert.
“Hidden Heroes” takes place tonight at 7 the Xfactory at 351 North Boonville in Springfield. It’s free and open to the public. Click herefor a link to more information.
