PechaKucha, the presentation phenomenon that has sparked events in over 1,200 cities worldwide, returns to Orlando this year to celebrate its 10th anniversary and its 30th event, according to organizer and host Eddie Selover.

“The year 2020 has special significance for PechaKucha around the world,” Selover explained, “because our format is based on one simple rule for presentations—all of our talks have 20 slides and just 20 seconds per slide. And this an especially significant year here in Orlando, because our October event will be our 30th edition, and it will be held 10 years to the week from our very first event.”

“We started out in October 2010 at The Cameo theater on Colonial,” Selover said. “Our first night had 31 audience members, but it was a great event and we knew it would grow much bigger.” In fact, sellout crowds caused PechaKucha Night to move to ever-larger locations around Orlando before finding a permanent home at the Dr. Phillips Center in 2016.

Selover noted that PechaKucha Orlando will be celebrating 20x20 all year long, with events on March 14, July 11, and October 10. The March event will feature well-known names like Ron Ben-Zeev (founder of World Housing Solution), Shawn Seipler (CEO of Clean the World), Julie Wilder (founder of Dandelion Café), Daniel Britt (Pegasus Professor, UCF), and John & Angelique Luna (podcasters, Sex Positive Me).

“From the start, we’ve featured lineups of speakers from all walks of life in Central Florida—some famous and some not,” Selover said. But no matter the speaker, the presentations run automatically, and the challenge is to tell their stories in sync with their visuals—and briefly. “The 20x20 format has the effect of keeping the presentations moving at a rapid pace, and also keeping the audience alert and attentive as each slide ticks by.”

PechaKucha began in Tokyo, and this year, PechaKucha global will celebrate with a series of events held during the Tokyo 2020 Cultural Olympiad in August—something Selover plans to attend. “Our event is part of a global movement that’s about community, better communications, and our common stories. I’m looking forward to sharing Orlando’s story with our friends around the world when we celebrate PechaKucha’s continuing impact in Tokyo later this year.”