Keynote speeches, art workshops, and consultation sessions directly between parents and experts took place at MGM COTAI for the first day of the free-admission Inclusion Conference & Festival, a key platform for neurodiversity, inclusive education, and mental health dialogue.
Yesterday’s first day of the conference, supported by integrated resort operator MGM, gathered over 300 participants ranging from healthcare practitioners to parents from Macau, elsewhere in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and other parts of the world.
Internationally known speakers at yesterday’s keynote sessions tackled topics from a functional medicine approach to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to designing communities of belonging.
The consultation and support sessions meanwhile saw over 100 in attendance, according to a statement provided after yesterday’s event. Other event highlights were the long-running “Creating Something Out of Nothing” inclusion programme where individuals with intellectual disabilities, artists, educators, and mental health professionals created artworks to be adapted into race-track visuals for the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix in November, the statement said.
Reflecting on the event, Inclusion Conference & Festival co-founder and organiser Stefan Kuehn told reporters yesterday that it all started with the golf tournament organised for those with special needs, recognising that more and more parents, caretakers and coaches had an increasingly urgent need to meet each other, and exchange ideas or experiences, fears, and challenges that they have.
“And then we realised the real tragedies are actually the parents behind”, most giving up their whole lives to be there for their child. “We realised there is a huge, huge demand of finding help”. He also noted that there are also challenges related to stigma, as well as communicating complex neurodiversity expertise from top professionals to parents in a clear, understandable way.
The conference is now in its 8th edition, while the golfing event is in its 11th. On its gradual development and increase in attendance, he said: “Five, six, seven years ago, it was very, very hard to convince the parents to come out here and basically meet people that are willing to help, to introduce themselves, their research, saying ‘hey, we are here, we are helping you’. They saw our real mission and we thought we should concentrate on the locals” as well as make a connection to Hong Kong, “which is much more advanced and so many international researchers and clinics are actually there.”
Answering follow-up questions by the Post after the interview, Kuehn said the organisers hope that they can receive more support from Macau, as well as “to be seen that we are here for the locals”, and for the local government to understand that the event has a lot to offer, being one event that “really promotes Macau all around the world.” In this regard, he noted examples of positive reception from event participants regarding their experience and media coverage. “This is amazing to see”, he said, hoping that the government can recognise the event and its positive outcomes and extend it “because it’s simply a different event. And it really promotes diversification because it has everything”.
The conference continues today at School of The Nations (SON) and hosted by Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Meanwhile, Macau Golf Masters, which will feature elite golfers with neurodiversity and physical disabilities from around the world, at the Macau International Golf (MIG) is slated to start tomorrow, featuring a record number of 201 participants.
Inclusion Conference & Festival co-founder and organiser Stefan Kuehn delivers a speech prior to the launch of yesterday’s activities at MGM COTAI.
Participants, guests and representatives pose for a group photo during yesterday’s “Creating Something Out of Nothing” activity. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
