Next Thursday, Nov. 20 will be ‘Part Deux’ of Pecha Kucha organized by the Jasper Community Sustainability Plan.

Thankfully for those under 18, it is being held at Cassio’s Trattoria where all ages are welcome, instead of Downstream Bar where the last one was held.

For those still a little unsure, a Pecha Kucha is a slide show made up of 20 slides where each one lasts for 20 seconds.

Or, you can do as Graeme Kennedy and his teacher Adam Robb did and put together a slick seven-minute short film on how you think Jasper should look in the future.

The duo’s film was shown at the first Pecha Kucha on Nov. 5 and will be played again on Thursday. Robb and Kennedy said they were hoping to do some “touching up and fine tuning” with the film and were also hoping to include some new ideas from students. 

For those who aren’t so technologically savvy or creative, Robb suggests “a photo essay, where you just take photos of things you think could be improved, put it onto a power point or something where you can just click and stand up and talk through each of these photos.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

But how do you know what to discuss and what photos to display? Kennedy suggests people should look at what they like about Jasper, what they want to see “carry on or get bigger and think of how they can make it bigger.”

Alternatively, there’s the “backward design,” Robb said. “Where you start with the goal, what you do have in mind... what is the exact community you would want to live in? And then you have to see practical ways in which Jasper could get from where we are now to that point.”

Both Robb and Kennedy agree that being sweet and to the point is important. “Don’t ramble for forty minutes,” Kennedy said.

Robb believes there will be more students at the next Pecha Kucha, given the location and the interest in their short film. “I think we could have gotten a bunch to go [last time]. There’s a lot of very interested students on this topic,” Robb said.

Another teacher encouraging students to get involved with the Sustainability Plan is Kim Wallace, from École Desrochers. 

Wallace tried to get her students involved in the last sustainability workshop by bargaining two weeks worth of homework. Three of her students went along to the workshop on Wednesday Nov. 5.

“The environment and sustainability are important issues to me personally and unfortunately it’s not directly in the curriculum. I think any way that we can find to get our kids or our students involved in the community and involved in governance is important... Make them feel as though their opinion counts. A voice,” Wallace said. 

A voice is important when planning the future of a community. Robb points out that “if you don’t participate then don’t complain about what comes about, because this is your chance. They’re taking this seriously and it’s going to be implemented in our town plan. So, if you’re not going to say anything about it and you’re a major property owner in town, well then I guess you have to live with the rules that we come up with.”

For those keen to get out and participate there will be another workshop Tuesday Nov. 25 at the Activity Centre 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

For more information about the Community Sustainability Plan, visit http://jasperplan.wordpress.com.