Technology Experience Event to Broaden the World for Children with Disabilities to be Held on August 6

NPO Florence (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Midori Akasaka) and Techno Tools Co., Ltd. (Inagi-shi, Tokyo, President: Shintaro Shimada) will hold the technology experience event "Inclusive Tech Festa 2026 ~Let's Play! Let's Create! Let's Connect!~" for children with motor impairments and their families on August 6, 2026 (Thu).

Approximately 60 families, including children with disabilities and those requiring medical care who often have limited opportunities for various experiences, are scheduled to participate. Through experiences with games, creation, and communication prepared at the venue, we aim to deliver the moment when children themselves find something they "want to try!" and it becomes "I can do it!" with the power of technology.

Furthermore, the event is designed so that siblings, who often end up being mere attendants, can also enjoy it together. While creating summer vacation memories as a family, we will realize an inclusive space where everyone can play together, regardless of disability.

*Photo shows the scene from the 2025 event.

Event Overview

Event Name: "Inclusive Tech Festa 2026 ~Let's Play! Let's Create! Let's Connect!~"

Date and Time: August 6, 2026 (Thu) Session 1: 13:00~ / Session 2: 16:30~ (Separate sessions)

Venue: Osaki Bright Core Hall (3F, Osaki Bright Core, 5-5-15 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo / 5-minute walk from Osaki Station on JR and Rinkai Lines)

Participants: Primarily children with motor impairments and their families, total 60 groups *1

Siblings without disabilities can also enjoy as "participants" rather than just attendants.

Private rooms and rest areas are available for those who require medical care, ensuring a comfortable stay.

*1 Participant recruitment has closed.

Background of the Event

With the advancement of technology, there are increasing cases where individuals with severe physical disabilities can broaden their social participation, including employment, by utilizing eye-tracking input and various switches *2. However, opportunities to receive support in selecting and using equipment tailored to each individual from occupational therapists are still limited for the daily application of such "inclusive technologies" (hereinafter referred to as "inclusive tech") *3.

*2 Reference: "Work and Environment for People with Severe Disabilities ~Social Participation Utilizing Technology~" by Fumihito Ito, published in the August 2024 issue of "New Normalization," as posted on the Disability Welfare and Health Information System (DINF) by the Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers.

*3 Approximately 30% of participants in last year's event did not use ICT tools in their daily lives. Additionally, 5 out of 18 free-response comments on the post-event survey praised the "generous support with an occupational therapist assigned to each individual."

Florence and Techno Tools, focusing on the potential of inclusive tech to broaden children's worlds, have held the experience event "Para e-Sports Festa" in 2024 and 2025. In this event, commercially available games popular with children (e-sports) were positioned as an entry point to familiarize themselves with technology. The experience of being able to "play as a player" in games that they usually only "watch others play" becomes a significant catalyst for children to proactively engage with technology.

In fact, according to the participant survey from last year's event, 88.9% (8/9 children) responded that inclusive tech would likely "increase what they can do," and 100% (9/9 children) said they "want to use it at home." Furthermore, 94.4% (17/18 families) responded that it would "broaden their child's potential" and they "want to incorporate it at home," indicating that many people recognized its potential.

On the other hand, voices were also heard from participating families expressing a desire to challenge a wider range of activities, such as "wanting to know uses beyond games," "wanting to write characters and draw," and "wanting to create and sell works, or play music."

Based on these voices, this year's event expands the scope of experiences. We are also updating the event so that siblings, who usually tend to be attendants, can enjoy it together as participants.

Three Features of "Inclusive Tech Festa 2026"

1 Participant numbers double from last year! Technology experiences delivered to a total of 60 families

To provide more families with opportunities to become familiar with inclusive tech, the scale has been expanded from 30 families last year to 60 families this year (30 families per session). The number of applications exceeding the recruitment capacity indicates the high demand for technology experiences among families with children with disabilities.

2 From games to creation and daily life! Connecting technology use to everyday life

The scope has been broadened beyond just games to include experiences useful in daily life, such as drawing and playing musical instruments using tablets, creating things with 3D printers, and operating home appliances. On the day, occupational therapists will be available to provide individual support, proposing technologies and usage methods suitable for each child. Consultations will also be available with leading experts in assistive technology utilization, including Eiichi Tanaka (National Hospital Organization Hokkaido Medical Center), Daisaku Kobayashi (President, Ashitec Oko Co., Ltd.), and Akihiro Suzuki (developer of special needs education apps). Furthermore, a talk session with "seniors" who utilize inclusive tech in their daily lives and have connected it to employment is planned. This will provide experiences that expand the imagination for everyday use.

3 Siblings included! An inclusive space to enjoy together, not just as attendants

We are implementing measures to ensure siblings can enjoy the event not just as attendants. They can participate in experiences as individuals, just like other participants, and cooperative play in games is possible by assigning functions of common controllers, such as the "A button" and "D-pad," to special switches. Challenges in competitive and cooperative play will also be held on stage using a large screen. We aim to create an inclusive space where everyone can "play and engage together," regardless of disability.

List of Partner Companies and Organizations (in Japanese alphabetical order)

Co-Organizers: NPO Florence (Secretariat) / Techno Tools Co., Ltd.

Partners: Kao Corporation / Kao Heart Pocket Club / DAIKO XTECH Inc. / Oracle Japan Inc. / PagerDuty Inc.

Sponsor: The Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Blue Bird Foundation

Support: Kanagawa Occupational Therapy Association / Suntory Holdings Limited / Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. / Tokyo Occupational Therapy Association / Japan Assistive Technology Association

Planning Advisor: Ashitec Oko Co., Ltd.

Planning and Production: JCG Corporation

Exhibitors: NPO ICT Rehabilitation Research Group / Ashitec Oko Co., Ltd. / Akki Tech Support / OGIMO Tech Development Office / Chikusuikani Co., Ltd. / National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology / Minna no Game Lab

About NPO Florence

"Changing Japan for the sake of children."

Florence is the largest certified NPO in Japan, dedicated to solving issues and creating value in the child and parenting domain.

Established in 2004 as Japan's first home-visit, mutual-aid based sick child care service, Florence operates a diverse range of childcare services to address issues such as child abuse, child poverty, insufficient support for families with children with disabilities, and parental isolation. Additionally, they conduct welfare services and support activities nationwide, including "Child Home Visit Meal Delivery," "Parent-Child Support Chat," "Pregnancy Counseling," and "Infant Adoption," as well as policy advocacy.

NPO Florence: https://florence.or.jp/

About Techno Tools Co., Ltd.

With the concept of "Accessing True Potential," since its founding in 1994, Techno Tools has supported the self-realization and social participation of individuals with motor impairments and visual impairments in various aspects of work, study, and play through the development, import, and sale of input devices and arm supports that assist PC and smartphone operations, as well as the development of braille document creation software.

In recent years, they have also been involved in operation support for video games, overseeing the development and sale of Nintendo Switch's official controller for people with disabilities, "Flex Controller." While challenging various possibilities, they pursue rich encounters and experiences that extend beyond "tools."

Techno Tools Co., Ltd.: http://www.ttools.co.jp/