This weekend, PechaKucha is back in a town near you: Saturday, April 16, is Global PechaKucha Day. The theme, this time around, is to "Inspire Japan" in the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in recent history.

Japan has inspired designers for many generations, it is the reason we travelled to this country 20 years ago, and have since made it our home. Japan is where the "PechaKucha 20 images x 20 seconds" show-and-tell event format was born, and it has gone on to inspire designers to get together in 400 cities around the world, to share their creativity at more than 1000 events each year.

Japan has inspired us all, now is it our turn to "Inspire Japan."

Please join us on April 16 and be a part of Global PechaKucha Day - Inspire Japan. Let's all come together and show Japan that the creative world is thinking of them, that all is not lost, and that it is possible to stand up and rebuild, even in villages and towns which have been completely destroyed. With creativity and passion, anything is possible.

The popular event series for young designers is happening in nearly 100 cities worldwide this Saturday; head over to a location near you and show your support!

For those of you in New York, see you on Saturday (click through for details...):PechaKucha Day - Inspire Japan TOTO Gallery 25 Mercer St. New York, NY 10013 7 - 9pm

SPEAKERS Toru Hasegawa (Adjunct Assistant Professor, Columbia University GSAPP ) Clifford Pearson (Deputy Editor, Architectural Record) Yutaka Takiura (Advisor, Architecture for Humanity, Associate Professor, Pratt Institute) Mio Uchida (Hope for Japan, Founder) Kanako Iuchi (Disaster Management and Recovery Planning Expert) Paul Miller Aka DJ Spooky ... and more!