Brief The Special Education ( SPED ) Learning Festival is a biennial event held in Singapore and organised by the Ministry of Education ’ s Special Education branch . As well as engaging special educators in a day of professional development and knowledge-sharing , the event is open to the public – and particularly to industry professionals and parents of special needs children . For 2021 , the online programme catered to educators on its first day and parents / public on the second . Global event management agency Pico provided end-to-end management of the event .

Insight The 2021 edition of the Festival was an online community engagement comprising a SPED Learning Festival for SPED educators and practitioners and a Parents ’ Learning Festival for parents and invited guests .

With these different objectives in mind , Pico designed two dedicated platforms . The platform for SPED educators and practitioners would offer resources and facilitate sharing sessions , and also recognised the educators ’ work in delivering quality education through effective programmes and practices . Meanwhile , the Parents ’ Learning Festival platform would connect and support users with a series of workshops and sessions . Both platforms were designed to ensure access and usability for all , including those with special needs .

Solution Pico ’ s design theme was inspired by the

event ’ s origami logo . Signifying creativity and innovation in the SPED sector , the logo features a child to represent students and an aeroplane symbolising a leap into the future .

The logo was also adapted for WhatsApp stickers used to create awareness of the event , particularly among the SPED fraternity . Available via Telegram app as well as WhatsApp , the stickers were shared via EDM and among registered users . Their key messages were designed for relevance beyond the event itself .

Both event platforms were designed with an accessibility widget known as Universal Accessibility ( Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2 or WCAG 2 Level A / AA ). It included captioning , text enlargement , alt text , dyslexia friendly functions , mobile-responsive and keyboard-friendly interface , ensuring that all users could navigate , engage in the Festival programme :

• For attendees with mobility issues , the platform was fully navigable via keyboard . The mobile-friendly interface also allowed attendees to navigate using touchscreen tablets .

• For visually impaired attendees , the platform text size was adjustable , and the content was accessible to screen reader software .

• For attendees with hearing loss , pre-recorded videos were captioned , and livestreams had sign language interpretation wherever possible .

Upon accessing the website homepage , users were presented with a schedule of their personally selected sessions . Sign-up for sessions was available to users upon registration and until event

Above : Pico managed 46 concurrent live and pre-recorded sessions across the two-day event

day , subject to availability . Participants engaged in two-way exchanges during the sessions using the platform ’ s live chat functions . Pico managed a total of 46 concurrent live and pre-recorded sessions across the two-day event .

The ‘ exhibition ’ tab provided a comprehensive guide and resources on SPED schools and organisations providing support for SPED students . Under the ‘ showcase ’ tab , users could find out more about students ’ living skills and view their artworks .

Results A total of 3,065 SPED educators and 1,194 parents attended the event virtually , concluding the event successfully for the SPED stakeholders .

Testimonial “ We thank the Pico team for its smooth execution of the Learning Festival . The planning was long , starting in 2019 and postponed repeatedly due to uncertainty caused by Covid-19 . Pico journeyed with us with professionalism and patience . Their experience and expertise were especially reassuring .” – Wong Geok Mei , senior inspector , Special Education Branch , Ministry of Education

What : SPED Learning Festival 2021

Where : Singapore

When : 12-13 November 2021