Lighting it up for Dyslexia
Please get behind us and help “Light It Up Aqua” for Dyslexia Awareness Week 2025.
Dyslexia Awareness Week 2025
Monday 6 October – Sunday 12 October
This October, landmarks across New Zealand, from the far north to the deep south, will shine in aqua blue for Dyslexia Awareness Month. The campaign, led by Mount Maunganui literacy tutor Heather Down, aims to spark conversations about inclusion and support for the 1 in 10 New Zealanders who live with dyslexia.
Heather Down, founder of Love Literacy Mount Maunganui, began the Light It Up Aqua campaign in 2023, starting with local sites in Tauranga. This year, the movement has expanded, with councils, schools, and passionate advocates within the literacy community joining forces to illuminate landmarks across the country.
Heather Down: “The cost of exclusion is high, but the power of inclusion changes lives. This campaign is about visibility, hope, and action for learners who are often left behind.”
Our aim is to:
Raise awareness about what dyslexia is and how it affects individuals
Show visible support to those with dyslexia and their whānau
Encourage inclusive education and workplaces through open conversation
Break down stigma and create a more informed, compassionate community
In 2024, locations such as New Brighton Pier (Christchurch), the Nelson Clock Tower, Whanganui Opera House, and Tauranga’s Wharf St joined us. Other proud participants included Bay Fitness (Collingwood), Tokirima School, Richmond Sundial Square, several schools in Whanganui, and Whanganui Pak’nSave. Mike Buchanan Plumbing even lit up its building in aqua and flew a Dyslexia Awareness flag for the entire month. These actions created a powerful show of unity across the motu.
For 2025, our passionate team of advocates from Love Literacy Mount Maunganui, Freedom Literacy, Pānui me te tuhi, Dot to Dot Literacy, Just Literacy, and Nicky Collins (RLit – Tawhero School) is working hard to expand the movement even further. We are also proudly supported by The DEB – Dyslexia Evidence Based.
North Island Activations:
Far North
- Whangarei Canopy Bridge (Whangarei)
Auckland
- The Cloud (Auckland)
Waikato / Bay of Plenty
- Thames-Coromandel Library (Thames)
- Wharf Street (Tauranga) (6th to 8th only)
- Gallagher Insurance – Tauranga
- Clock Tower in Jubilee Gardens (Cambridge)
- Clock Tower (Te Aroha)
Gisborne / Taupō
- Town Clock (Gisborne)
- Great Lakes Center (Taupō)
- Clock Tower (New Plymouth)
- Wanganui Opera House (Whanganui)
- Pak’nSave Whanganui (Digital Sign Sponsorship)
- Mike Buchanan Plumbing (Whanganui)
Manawatu / Wellington
- Albatross Fountain (Wellington)
- Digital Wall / Digital Billboard (Wellington Airport)
South Island Activations:
Tasman / Nelson
- Richmond Sundial Square (Richmond)
- Clock tower on Trafalgar Street (Nelson)
- The Breeze Radio Station, Fifeshire House (Nelson)
- The Nelson Giants (Digital Platforms)
- Sutor Art Gallery
- Nelson Provincial Museum
- Westland District Library in Hokitika
West Coast
- Reap House, Tudor Street (Hokitika)
- Regent Theatre (Hokitika)
- West Coast Disability Service (Sewell St, Hokitika)
Canterbury
- Digital billboard cnr Pages and Breezes Rd (Christchurch)
- Two digital billboards cnr Curletts and Blenheim St (Christchurch)
- Christchurch Airport, along with the control tower
-
Botanic Gardens (Christchurch)
-
Bridge of Remembrance (Christchurch)
-
Fan Fare (Christchurch)
-
New Brighton Pier (Christchurch)
-
Bowker Fountain (Christchurch)
-
Cpt Scott Plaza (Christchurch)
-
Vaka ‘A Hine (Christchurch)
- Oamaru Opera House (Weds 8th only) (Oamaru)