Autism experts from around the world are expected to arrive Tuesday in Jerusalem to exchange updated research about the condition at the International ICare4Autism Conference.

The two-day conference, “Autism: A Global Perspective” will be held at Jerusalem’s International Conference Center (Binyanei Ha’Uma) on Wednesday and Thursday.

Opening remarks to kick off the program will be delivered by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, followed by Mrs. Marta Linares de Martinelli, First Lady of the Republic of Panama.

Greetings will also be delivered by Dr. Shekhar Saxena, director of the World Health Organization’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Switzerland, and Mrs. Dalit Stauber, director general of Israel’s Ministry of Education.

There will be a special performance by the Autistic Boys’ Choir at the ORT School in Kiryat Bialik as well.

“We have entered a new age of autism, characterized on the one hand by unprecedented incidence, and on the other by advanced research, earlier diagnosis and progressively more effective intervention,” explained Dr. Joshua Weinstein, CEO and founder of the Icare4Autism organization.

“The evidence is clear – autism and hope are no longer mutually exclusive, but the need for action has never been more urgent.”

Also speaking at the conference will be Dame Stephanie Shirley, who as a child was rescued from Germany as a child through the Kindertransport and escaped to the UK to eventually become the country’s first Ambassador of Philanthropy. Dame Shirley’s son, who was autistic, died at the age of 35