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The online congress as the symbolism of a creative way to shift bad situations.
When the pandemic happened I had a feeling that the world congress may be cancelled. As time went by, my fears took place and I was so sad for the news. Three years before, in Tsukuba I made a promise to my classmates that in three years we would be in South Africa presenting our own study. So time went by and we started gaining experiences and activities for our workshop and the commission stated that our work was eligible for the 2020 congress. When we knew the congress was cancelled our hopes were destroyed and we felt so sad and frustrated. My friends decided to take back the fee in order to save for the next congress.
For me, as a scholarship winner, I decided to attend the online congress and beside the skeptical that was in me, when the starting ceremony happenend I felt the same warmth I felt three years before, in Japan. It was in that moment I understood that beside the location and the non-presence, it would have been the same exact thing! Of course the first day was a bit of a disaster and I couldn’t see any presentation due to technical difficulties. Anyway everything was fixed up and everything was back to normal in the second day. I had the chance to share my screen with my family and close friends and let them see the beauty, connection and raw force of this profession. This was a personal achievement because for the first time I had the chance to let them see how it feels to be in a worldwide community made of real people and real professionals.
As my title said, I really think this online congress is the perfect demonstration of how Art therapies work. Sometimes bad things happens and our life may change its course but no matter how, with creativity, and a little of adaptation, we may shift that unlucky situation into a new exciting experience.
