Back in the office at Equisto in Rotterdam, I received very important email links from one of the collegues of the Dutch Dyslexia Association ‘Woortblind’.

But let me first say that I am very glad to have met most of you and looking forward to meeting the Swedish and Tsjechian participants.

Thanks to Carlo and his collegues and thans to Willy we had a wonderful time in Sicily. A lot of bi-lateral and multi-lateral talks, chats and meetings.

Very inspiring! Thank you all. 

Now for these links. We as Dutch ‘dyslexia lobbyists’ participated in this declaration with a lot of signatures.

We have lobbied via political channels. And this weekend – I heard – the quorum is reached for gettting this issue into the parliament.

So far 406 members of the European parliament signed the declaration.

I am sure some of you have been working on this also.

If you read the links, please consider that we have to take immediate action now and let the MEPs know that we exist, that we are gratefull for there encouragement, that our project started, that this group of Dys-people need even more action, support and budet and that we all are willing to do whatever is necessary.

So this is my proposal to  you all and specially to our coordanator Willy Aerts.

 See

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/066-11636-288-10-42-911-20071012STO11623-2007-15-10-2007/default_en.htm

and also:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/014-11463-283-10-41-902-20071010IPR11462-10-10-2007-2007-false/default_en.htm

Also availabel in your own language.

And also klick the links below the text !!

 Note 1:

In the text I very much miss the adults and employees with one of more of these dys’es.  

Note 2:

Since The European Parliament is about to agree on this statement, there will be also a European agreement on the ‘about-percentage’ of the group of people, young and old, that is challenged by by one or more of the dys’es (including dysphasia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder and dyslexia.).So we don’t have to discuss this matter any more and certainly we don’t have to do research in every country to things already known and agreed on.

Dear participants in the dys-learn project,

This is a recent story from England about a dyslectic boy (15!) with success in business.

Maybe something for your magazines. We will certainly publish it in Holland.

This gives me a great feeling and inspiration to go on with my own business here. And I hope it will inspire others.

Greetings

Hans van de Velde

Equisto

+31653236875

See text below and internet sources.

Don't think a formal education is the only way to achieve something. Don't think that dyslexia means you can't run a business or do what you want to do. Don't be put off. Louis: "Some people might think my occupation is a peculiar choice for a teenager, but I am pursuing my dream - just like David Beckham did, and nobody thought there was anything unusual about his chosen career." Don't settle for second best in terms of packaging. If you don't like it, don't use it.

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/07/10/ybstart110.xml

http://www.expressandstar.com/2007/10/22/sweet-success-for-louis-15/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/7059552.stm

Starting out

By Jamie Oliver

Last Updated: 1:50am BST 11/07/2007

At 15, Louis signs a deal with Waitrose

Think teenagers, think binge-drinking, illiterates? Think again. Because there's a new teenager in town - and he's on a chocolate-coated mission. Despite an IQ of 132, Louis Barnett dropped out of school because of his dyslexia. The standard school set up just didn't suit him and his needs.

So, aged 11, and with the help of a home tutor and his parents, Mary and Philip, Louis set about a vocational-based, home-study programme. Now 15, he is on his way to fulfilling his dream - of becoming a top chocolatier - and he's just signed a deal with supermarket Waitrose.

"It was slightly bizarre," admits Waitrose chocolate buyer Greg Sehringer. "One day a package arrived in reception addressed to the confectionary buyer. It spent a day or so in the post-room before finding its way to me, but as soon as I saw the product I thought it was great. So we arranged to meet Louis and he arrived here a few days later - with his parents. We didn't expect that." But don't think this is a case of pushy parents. Sehringer says Louis did the talking, and a very bright, eloquent, committed lad he was too.

The product Louis sent Waitrose was a box made of chocolate. "As part of my cooking classes, one day I made cakes," Louis says. "I moved on to chocolate, enjoyed it and that Christmas all our family and friends asked if I could do some chocolates for them to send as presents. But we looked into packaging and found it was more expensive than the chocolate inside. So I thought, 'why not make a chocolate box to put the chocolates in?'" He was 13.

He then achieved a qualification in chocolate making at the prestigious Zurich-based Callebaut Academy, borrowed £500 from his nan and grandad to buy a special chocolate-temperature-regulating machine and Louis was off and running. The company's name, Chokolit, was chosen because Louis writes phonetically and this is how the word appears.

Louis says: "We chose to go to Waitrose first because the chocolate I make is high quality. So my dad drove me to their head office in Bracknell and we left a sample there. People told us we would have to wait three or four weeks for a response but I got a call two days later."

From the meeting that followed, Greg Sehringer and his team at Waitrose advised Louis and family about packaging, hygiene, various rules and regulations and copyright/patent issues.

"There are a lot of things that need to be done before a product can be stocked," say Sehringer, "and we were happy to give advice on some of the finer points. It's the sort of thing we see every day. But once all that was done we did a taster in seven of our shops and we've gone from there. Ultimately, we decided to sell his chocolate boxes simply because of their quality.

"To look at and taste, you would think it had been made by a chocolatier with decades of experience. His concept of the edible chocolate box is genuinely innovative and ultimately something that we know our customers will want to buy this Christmas." Chokolit is now also in discussions with Fortnum and Mason as well as other supermarkets.

Louis says he is "not brilliant with numbers, I'm the creative side", but he and the family have had outside help in terms of setting up and running the business and with marketing/packaging issues. And the business is on an upward curve.

"We started on the kitchen table, then moved to the garage and now we've had to move into a production unit," Louis says. "Next year we'll have to move again."

For the time being, Louis says they are concentrating on the UK and Ireland market, but expanding to Europe is also on his horizon. As for dealing with the press interest and becoming a chocolate maker to the rich and famous, Louis is undaunted. "What we've done so far is monumental," he says, "but I don't want to lose control of the business and we've already talked about and declined venture capital investment."

Do's and Don'ts

Do be aware of supermarket timescales - they plan for Christmas in January. Talk to other people in the same sector for advice and contacts. From going to food fairs across England, Louis and his family built strong relationships with other small food producers, and from them have been put on to packaging designers and others who have helped.

Don't think a formal education is the only way to achieve something. Don't think that dyslexia means you can't run a business or do what you want to do. Don't be put off. Louis: "Some people might think my occupation is a peculiar choice for a teenager, but I am pursuing my dream - just like David Beckham did, and nobody thought there was anything unusual about his chosen career." Don't settle for second best in terms of packaging. If you don't like it, don't use it.