By Emma Stokes, WCPT President
It’s hard to believe it’s all over. The WCPT Congress 2015 in
Singapore was the culmination of four years’ planning and consideration
and what a success it was. Thank you to the 3,500 physical therapists
from around the world who took part.
The last few weeks have left me with so much to think about. First,
there was the WCPT General Meeting that preceded the congress. It brings
together all WCPT’s member organisations, and each time I attend I love
it more. This year WCPT admitted new organisations from Albania, Benin,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Congo, Mongolia, Montenegro, Niger, Saint Lucia
and Togo. There was also the small matter of an election for WCPT
President and Vice President. Even though there was only one candidate
for each position, I have to admit to being nervous as I left the room
and awaited the outcome.
Then there were the WCPT Awards – and how wonderful it was to be able
to celebrate such achievement in the profession at a special dinner.
As for the congress itself, I am always overwhelmed by the number of
physical therapists who attend from all around the world and the sense
of global professional unity that arises. One highlight for me was the
opening ceremony, where the scale and joy of congress is at its most
obvious. The colour, dancing, the excitement were super and I was so
pleased to see the dragon at the end because I have loved the congress
dragon motif.
Other personal highlights were my involvement in an excellent focused
symposium on advocacy, meetings with WCPT Future – our new network for
students and early career physical therapists – and the social media
networking sessions where we encouraged the profession to be more active
in social media. All of these are areas which I hope to develop further
during my presidency.
A session that stood out for me was the WCPT Futures Forum where five
motivational speakers shared their vision for the future of physical
therapy. What I loved about the event, which was attended by 130
physical therapists, was the variety of ideas and thoughts that will
inform our vision for the profession as we move forward.
But the session also gave me a very personal perspective. One of the
speeches was made by Stefan Jutterdal, President of Fysioterapeuterna,
the Swedish Physiotherapy Association. Stefan referred to the fictional
Swedish book character Pippi Longstocking and how physical therapists
should adopt some of her characteristics – responsibility, courage and
imagination. Later, I received a special gift from the Swedish
Association, a Pippi Longstocking doll, along with the wish that I too
will be responsible, courageous and imaginative.
I can only say that I will. The gift, and all the warm wishes of
support I received in Singapore, meant a great deal to me. It was great
to have my partner, John, and my parents at the congress to see what
the global physical therapy community is like when we are together. You
did not disappoint me: you embraced my family into your warmth and sense
of celebration. I am proud to be a physiotherapist and part of the
global community.
________________________
Nota do Editor:
Texto do "Blog da Presidente" transcrito para os seguidores e visitantes do Blog 14-F FISIOTERAPIA, na versão original em inglês, publicada pela Confederação Mundial de Fisioterapia WCPT em 22 de maio de 2015 no site http://www.wcpt.org/blog/Presidents-blog-May15
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