WORLD DYSLEXIA ASSEMBLY STOCKHOLM Jonas Borg
Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, and Princess Beatrice accompanied by her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, joined together at the Royal Palace in Stockholm to launch the first World Dyslexia Assembly in partnership with The Prince Couple’s Foundation. Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, and Princess Beatrice accompanied by her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, joined together at the Royal Palace in Stockholm to launch the first World Dyslexia Assembly in partnership with The Prince Couple’s Foundation.
In a deeply personal opening address, Prince Carl Philip shared that as a dyslexic himself, ‘I know the challenges people have to face. I have been fortunate to get proper help, but unfortunately not all children are that lucky.’ He went on to explain that this inspired him and his wife, Princess Sofia to launch their foundation, ‘to contribute to an inclusive society and support the uniqueness in every individual.’
WORLD DYSLEXIA ASSEMBLY STOCKHOLM Jonas Borg
Further sharing his own experience, Prince Carl Philip explained that ‘not long ago, a dyslexic may be considered lazy or stupid, but today we know better, we know dyslexia can be associated with creativity and problem solving skills.’
Addressing the small audience in the Palace’s stunning Book Hall, which houses some of the Swedish Royal family’s 100,000 volumes dating back from the early 1400’s, Prince Carl Philip said that this gathering marked, ‘the first step on a world tour to empower dyslexic thinking in every school and every work place.’
WORLD DYSLEXIA ASSEMBLY STOCKHOLM Jonas Borg
Princess Beatrice, taking part in an education panel that included Gavin Horgan, the headmaster of Millfield and Lina Axelsson Kihlblom, Swedish Minister for Schools, also shared her own dyslexic journey and reaffirmed her commitment to helping other dyslexics to get the support they need to flourish. ‘I began my journey aged seven, when the words on the page found themselves dancing off into the room.’ She received help at the Helen Arkell Centre, a dyslexic charity that she is now a Patron of. Showing a close interest in the education system, the Princess said that, ‘we need to help teachers as they’re the first line of defence.’
Recognising that 80 per cent of dyslexics are never spotted at school, Made By Dyslexia was founded by the inspirational Kate Griggs to increase awareness and change perceptions of dyslexia from a condition that makes reading, writing and spelling difficult, to one that’s seen as an advantage. The charity has commissioned research and found dyslexic strengths in areas including communication, visualisation and reasoning. The Made By Dyslexia website offers free teacher training in association with Microsoft and they aim to train every teacher in the world by 2030 to recognise children with the condition.
WORLD DYSLEXIA ASSEMBLY STOCKHOLM JONAS BORG
Later in the day, Prince Carl Philip was joined on stage by his wife, Princess Sofia and Kim Waller, Secretary General at the Prince Couple’s Foundation. Again he spoke with openness and honesty about his learning difference and his diagnosis aged ten. ‘We know detection is so important – it helps writing, reading and self esteem.’ He then confided, ‘I felt that I was not the same levels as my friends in my class. I felt my self esteem was not great.’
Her Royal Highness Princess Sofia then, with humour and evident tenderness for her husband, described her dyslexic journey which started by ‘falling madly in love’ with Prince Carl Philip ‘but not understanding how he’s thinking.’ So she googled the dyslexic mind to find out about her then boyfriend and shared her surprise, ‘oh gosh, they know him!’ she exclaimed. Calling her husband ‘brilliant’ she then shared that as a mum, ‘with the genetic factor we may have dyslexic children as well and I am now so comfortable, with no doubts, that my kids will live to their full potential.’
WORLD DYSLEXIA ASSEMBLY STOCKHOLM JONAS BORG
Concluding their cosy ‘fireside’ chat, Prince Carl Philip said, ‘hearing the thoughts and issues we’ve talked about today I feel very positive.’
The Assembly finished with a ceremonial handover to Eric Adams, The Mayor of New York, a dyslexic himself who plans to democratise support in the city and help create school systems where every dyslexic child thrives.