Asia Pacific Dyslexia Festival to be held in Yokohama in 2016

Yokohama will host an event to promote a better understanding of people withreading and writing disabilities in June next year as a prelude to the 2020World Dyslexia Forum to be held in Japan, the Yokohama Convention and VisitorsBureau (YCVB) said Thursday.

The Asia Pacific Dyslexia Festival (APDF), scheduled to be held at the WorkpiaYokohama and Kanagawa Kenmin Hall with the theme "Diversity and Identity - Ideal School," is the first such world conference pre-event.

Expected participants in the conference include dyslexic people from the AsiaPacific region and education experts.

Regarding the selection of Yokohama as the host city, Eiko Todo, the APDFexecutive committee chair, underscored its location and accessibility. "It iseasily accessible from Haneda airport and its accessibility is comparable tothat of the heart of Tokyo," Todo said. "Also, it is very convenient becauseplaces for sightseeing, meals, conferences, and exhibitions, etc. are alllocated within walking distance," she said.

Programs

• Presentation on education for dyslexic persons in the Asia Pacific region
• Presentation on teaching English as a common language and on an ideal schoolby experts and dyslexic person(s)
• Performances (dance, music, talks, movie) by people with dyslexia
• Exhibitions of works (photographs, furniture, architecture, etc.) by dyslexicpeople
• Exhibitions on Assistive Technology (AT)/Information and CommunicationTechnology (ICT) devices
• Workshops

Number of participants: 500

Participants:

• NGOs and dyslexics from ASEAN, Australia, China, Hawaii, India, Russia
• Representatives from countries in the Asia Pacific
• Teachers, parents and local educational authorities
• Foreign students especially in education from the Asia Pacific
• General public

Yokohama is known for its ties with the field of learning disabilities as ithosted the Japan Academy of Learning Disabilities conference, attended by about3,400 participants, at Pacifico Yokohama in October 2013.

"I hope similar pre-events will be held in countries like Singapore, China,India, Australia, and Russia because they will make the 2020 World Forum evenbetter," Todo said.