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Neurodiversity Project: Phase 1

"The World in Our Minds: Neurodiversity Exhibition 2023"

Taking place on Sunday, September 17, and Monday, September 18 (a holiday)!

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To Members of the Press

Thank you very much for your continued support.

B Lab (Director: Nanako Ishido) is launching the “Neurodiversity Project” to promote the concept of “neurodiversity” in Japan—the idea that the human brain and nervous system are highly diverse, with each individual possessing unique characteristics, and that these differences should be leveraged as strengths.

This project involves the participation of various leading Japanese universities, research institutes, and companies, all of which are working together to advance the project.

As the first initiative of the Neurodiversity Project, we will host the exhibition “The World in Our Minds—Neurodiversity Exhibition 2023” as part of the event “Change tomorrow” (Dates: Sunday, September 17, and Monday, September 18, 2023, a national holiday).

This exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to discover, through hands-on experiences, the diversity of our senses. It also conveys the message that technology can compensate for and enhance these individual differences, and that by adapting existing environments, we can realize a neurodiverse society where everyone can reach their full potential. Through this, we aim to build a neurodiverse society.

We understand that you are very busy, but we would greatly appreciate it if you could consider widely publicizing this through your company’s media channels.

■About the Neurodiversity Project

B Lab is launching the Neurodiversity Project with the goal of building a society where each individual can make the most of their unique “strengths” wherever they are.

There are many people in society who struggle to cope with life.

I just can't seem to get along with people, I can't seem to find my place in society, and I'm suffering because I have nowhere to belong.

It has become clear that this is due to the diversity of the brain.

Furthermore, when people are unable to fully demonstrate their “strengths” and face difficulties in various situations, their personal characteristics are often perceived as the problem.

Our brains are incredibly diverse. Each of us has our own unique characteristics.

This is called neurodiversity.

Because of these unique characteristics, there are people who find it difficult to navigate modern society.

However, we believe that the “difficulty in living” people experience arises from the interaction between individual characteristics and the environment.

By respecting individual characteristics and creating the right environment, we can transform what were once seen as “weaknesses” or “difficulties in life” into “strengths” and “ease of living.”

As the first initiative of the Neurodiversity Project, we have decided to hold an exhibition titled “The World in Our Minds: Neurodiversity Exhibition 2023.”

The exhibition “The World in Our Minds” offers visitors the opportunity to learn, through everyday experiences, how challenges and vulnerabilities can be transformed into strengths and a better quality of life through technological and environmental changes.

Neurodiversity Project Special Website:
https://neuro-diversity.world/

*Press Release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000001.000126992.html

■The World in Our Minds: Neurodiversity Exhibition 2023

Dates: September 17 (Sun) and 18 (Mon, Holiday), 2023
Times: September 17 (Sun) 1:00 PM–6:00 PM,September 18 (Mon, Holiday) 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Location: Tokyo Port City Takeshiba Office Tower, 1-7-1 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo; Waters Takeshiba, 1-10-30 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Admission: Free
Other:Held as part of “Change tomorrow – An Exciting Future Just Ahead –”
https://www.change-tomorrow-takeshiba.com/

■Project Members

・Kazunori Asada (Chairman of the Board, Howdy Co., Ltd.; Chairman of the Board, ViXion Co., Ltd.) ・Ryoichi
Ando (Director, Superhuman Sports Project; President and CEO, AXEREAL Co., Ltd.; Super Visiting Professor, Professional University for Information Management and Innovation)・Nanako
Ishido (Director, B Lab / Professor, Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University)
・Joichi Ito (President, Chiba Institute of Technology / Representative Director, Neurodiversity, Inc.)・Masahiko
Inami (Special Advisor to the President, The University of Tokyo / Professor, Division of Somatic Informatics, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology)
・Kago Inukai (Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Meiji Gakuin University; Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) “Creation of a Digital Corporeality Economics”)・Takashi
Inba (Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University; Member of the Graduate School of Policy and Media Studies)
・Junichi Ushiba (Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University / President and CEO, LIFESCAPES, Inc.)
・Michiko Otake (Team Leader, Cognitive and Behavioral Support Technologies Team, RIKEN / Project Manager, Goal 3, Moon Shot Research and Development Program)
・Roei Kato (President and CEO, Sensory Sensitivity Research Institute, Crystal Road Co., Ltd.)・Ryota
Kanai (CEO, Araya Co., Ltd.)・Shigeru
Kitazawa(Director, Center for Brain-Information-Communication Convergence, Future ICT Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology)
・Seiji Kumagai (Associate Professor, Institute for the Future of Humanity and Society, Kyoto University / Program Director, Goal 9, Moonshot R&D Initiative)
・Shinichiro Kumagai(Associate Professor, User-Centered Research Division, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo)
・Yoshiyuki Yamakai (Professor, School of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba / President and CEO, CYBERDYNE, Inc. / Program Director, “Human-Collaborative Robotics,” Phase 3 of the Strategic Basic Research Program (SIP), Cabinet Office)
・Yoshihiro Tanaka (Professor, Haptics Laboratory, Graduate School of Nagoya Institute of Technology / Fellow, Inamori Institute for Science and Technology)
・Shie Nagai (Specially Appointed Professor, International Research Institute for Neurointelligence, The University of Tokyo)・Takushi
Narumi (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo)
・Keisuke Hosokawa (Producer, “Project Alien,” NHK)・Chihiro
Hosoda (Associate Professor, Department of Human and Social Information Science, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University / Associate Professor, Division of Brain Science, Institute of Aging Research, Tohoku University / Project Manager, Goal 9, Moonshot R&D Initiative)
・Tatsuya Honda(Project Leader, Ontenna Project, Social Technology and Social Implementation Promotion Office, Converging Technology Laboratories, Fujitsu Limited)
・Rizuki Matsumoto (Representative Director, Neurodiversity Inc.)
・Kota Minamizawa (Professor, Keio Media Design Research Institute, Keio University / Project Manager, Goal 1, Moonshot Research and Development Initiative)・Tomoyuki
Miyazaki (Professor, Center for Research and Industry-Academia Collaboration, Yokohama City University / Project Leader, Minds1020Lab ~COI-NEXT “Meta-Care City Co-creation Hub for Resolving Youth Issues and Achieving High Well-being”~)
・Kazuya Yanagihara (Creative Director, MTRL by Loftwork)・Kentaro
Yoshifuji (Co-founder, Representative Director, and CVO, Orii Institute, Inc.)・Arashi
Wada (Professor, Cognitive Design Laboratory, Ritsumeikan University)・Junji
Watanabe (Senior Special Researcher, NTT Communication Science Laboratories)
(Titles omitted Listed in Japanese alphabetical order)

■Overview of B Lab

"B Lab," an acronym derived from "Beyond," "Borderless," and "Breakthrough," is a participatory platform that—though it bears the name of a research institute—connects universities, research institutes, communities, and talent around the world to fuse the unique skills and insights of many people, thereby creating new technologies, services, content, businesses, and societies.

While the scope is broad—encompassing technology development, solving social issues, and creating new services—the common thread is social implementation and the idea of creating things together. Fathers, mothers, aunts, and children—everyone is a researcher. Become a “Lifelong Seeker” and carry a second researcher business card.

We aim to build a new society where everyone—including users—can connect through a social, open, and participatory platform; match challenges, ideas, technology, funding, skills, and people; and work together to create an exciting future, ranging from small-scale to large-scale innovations.

<Related Link> https://www.blaboratory.org/

■Inquiries Regarding This Press Release

B Lab Secretariat, E-mail: info@blaboratory.org