Relax-a-Cucha event aims to make knowledge ‘snack-sized’

Event tackles complex ideas in seven minutes and 12 slides

What: Relax-a-Cucha
Who: Eight expert presenters
When: Wednesday, March 4, from 5 to 7:30 pm
Where: Okanagan Regional Library, Kelowna Branch, 1380 Ellis Street

Making difficult concepts accessible and understandable for everyone is hard enough, but to do it in less than seven minutes is an especially unique challenge. That’s the idea behind Relax-a-Cucha, an event organized every two years by the Institute for Community Engaged Research (ICER) at UBC Okanagan.

This year’s theme is ‘literacies writ large’ and is organized in partnership with the Okanagan Regional Library and Project Literacy. It’s a partnership that’s a natural fit with the theme, says Christine Schreyer, associate professor of anthropology and acting director of ICER.

“Literacies are all about increasing understanding of complex issues and is so much more than just reading and writing,” says Schreyer. “The Relax-a-Cucha model of short presentations of seven minutes and 12 image-laden slides, is a more relaxed version of a Pecha Kucha—a fast-paced storytelling format—and lends itself really well to the idea of increasing understanding and making research accessible.”

Schreyer says there are a total of eight presentations with a diversity of topics, ranging from the language of emojis to the art of visiting Indigenous lands to the complexity of genders, each with a focus on increasing public literacy in those areas.

“This is an ideal event for anyone that’s interested in understanding lots of different ideas all in one, ‘snack-sized’ go,” says Schreyer.

The event is free and open to the public but seating is limited so registration is encouraged: www.eventbrite.ca/e/relax-a-cucha-2020-literacies-writ-large-tickets-94717016145

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in 2005 in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose territory the campus resides. As part of UBC—ranked among the world’s top 20 public universities—the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley.

To find out more, visit: ok.ubc.ca