On the occasion of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, the Italian Cultural Institute of Tokyo is organising a series of events linking Myanmar, Italy and Japan. The theme of this year’s Day is “Mental Health a Universal Human Right”. To mark the occasion, an exhibition of paintings by people with mental disabilities will be opened, films on the theme will be shown and a symposium on mental health, in particular on artistic expression as a community activity for people with mental disabilities, will be organised.
The aim of the project is to emphasise the importance of the social participation of people with disabilities. This project enables visitors to glimpse the potential of artistic activities as one of the ways in which people with disabilities participate in society through expressive activities such as painting and theatre.
After the opening of the painting exhibition, the day’s programme includes the screening of the docufilms Cuore Broken Bird (Myanmar) and Bambini e Bellezza (Italy). Finally, Yvonne Donegani (former Director of the Bologna Department of Mental Health) will address the theme: “Mental health is a universal right”.
