Food sustainability and the importance of nature and creativity in Aberdeen are just some of the topics that will be highlighted at the next PechaKucha Night.
The PechaKucha Night, which is organised by the University of Aberdeen, will take place tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Belmont Filmhouse and is part of the One World Week programme of events taking place in Aberdeen.
Devised in Tokyo, the PechaKucha presentations give participants 20 images with 20 seconds to discuss each one. Over 600 cities across the globe now host the nights.
A wide range of topics will be discussed on the night. An overview of our perceptions of the world by researchers from the University of Aberdeen will be just one of the subjects under the spotlight at the event. Dr Kay Richie, Research Fellow in Psychology will present how our brain perceives the world around us, and how it can be tricked with visual illusions.
Dr Yashka Smith from the Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre, will discuss the role of nature and greenspace in our lives. Dr Gareth Norton, lecturer in biological sciences, will present his current work on the impact of accumulation of elements such as arsenic in crop plants. Dr Caitlin Cottrill, lecturer in Geography and Environment, will discuss privacy in our digital world. Dr Will Tuladhar-Douglas, senior lecturer in religious studies, will present images of cultural sacred sites and biocultural diversity. Keith Radcliffe will discuss the newly established Creative Aberdeen project and Rebecca Dunn will present how the Student Association is committed to sustainability.
Dr Heather Doran of the University’s Public Engagement with Research Unit said: “Pecha Kucha is Japanese for 'chit chat. The concept of these nights was originally devised by two architects, Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, and the first event was held in 2003 in Toyko as a way for young designers to meet, network and show their work in public.
“The University of Aberdeen is proud to bring the official PechaKucha Night to the city, and we are looking forward to our remaining three events, which will feature a mix of speakers from the worlds of photography, art, research, music and much more.”
Future PechaKucha nights will link to major initiatives and themes such as The Being Human Festival in November, where presenters will show images under the theme ‘Terrors, gods and magic in the North’ and the December event will fall under the theme of ‘Our Visual Culture’ .
All events are free to attend and take place at The Belmont filmhouse from 7pm.
Full details of the programme can be found at www.engagingaberdeen.co.uk and at the series Facebook page