Nearly 100 cities around the world have taken part in a global PechaKucha event to raise funds for the reconstruction of Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Starting in Christchurch and Tokyo and going all the way to Quito, Ecuador, the events in 96 cities saw hundreds of architects brainstorm ideas in the same strict 20x20 format: sharing 20 slides for 20 seconds each.

The event’s organisers, Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein, of Tokyo-based Klein Dytham Architecture, launched PechaKucha — Japanese for chatter — in 2003 and held a similar fundraising event for Haiti last year.

Participants in this weekend’s event were asked to come up with ideas under four themes: inspire, Japan, the issues and recovery.

Dytham said: “The PechaKucha community has been an inspiration to Japan — and to us all. The stream has been truly non-stop, with overlapping presentations for more than 15 hours. And we’re not done yet: Inspire Japan events will continue through May.”

The events were broadcast live on Ustream.tv alongside a lively Twitter debate with the hashtag #InspireJapan.

All the presentations will be turned into an e-book and a “database of positive inspiration” for Japan.

All funds raised will go to support the charities Architecture for Humanity and ArchiAid.

To donate or read more visit http://global-day.pecha-kucha.org