Master’s student Lauren Ramsay is bringing Pecha Kucha to the University of Guelph as a United Way fundraiser. The Japanese social event is based on short visual and oral presentations – 20 slides timed for 20 seconds each – on any topic of interest to the presenter. 

Ramsay’s Pecha Kucha night will be hosted by the Brass Taps Nov. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. 

The audience will hear from U of G president Alastair Summerlee; Central Student Association academic and university affairs commissioner Julia Forster; international development grad Martin Straathof, now an advancement intern in the Department of Alumni Affairs and Development; wildlife biology grad Hilary Lyttle, who volunteers with the campus rehabilitation program for injured birds called Wild Ontario; and Sarah Chown, an educator with the AIDS Committee of Guelph and Wellington County. 

Typical of Pecha Kucha event, Ramsay says the speakers will surprise their audience with some obscure and off-the-wall topics that they are passionate about. She completed a Guelph BA in 2012 in international economic and business development and is now completing graduate work in the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Ramsay says the Brass Taps will donate proceeds from a drink special; direct donations to the United Way will also be accepted. The University’s United Way campaign has more than $100,000 to go to meet its $590,000 goal by the end of December.

To follow campaign progress and view a list of other upcoming United Way events, visit the U of G campaign website: https://www.uoguelph.ca/unitedway/.