NEWSLETTER Issue

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1 Message from the AWP Chair Dear All, Well it has been a very busy few months since the last newsletter. Most of you will be aware that Jonathon Kruger who has been the Secretariat support for AWP for the last few years has moved on to another job. I would like to thank Jonathon for all the work he did for the region. He had close relationships with Member Organizations and got to know many of you personally. He proved excellent support to the Executive Committee and was proactive around many of the issues we are trying to do in the region. I would also like to thank him personally for his support to me as Chair. We have sent formal letter to him thanking him for all his work. AWP/WCPT regional meeting Taichung Thank you for all the delegates who attended this meeting. We had representatives from 18 of our member organizations which was really pleasing. The following are the outcomes from the elections: Chair Gillian Webb (Australia) Vice Chair Usha Krishna-Geller (Fiji) Secretary Dinesh Verma (Singapore) Treasurer - Suh Fang Jeng (Taiwan) The meeting discussed the following issues: Changes to the regional rules: These were accepted most of them being minor changes to processes and time frames. The main item was regarding terms of office for the executive committee. These were changed from two to four years in line with WCPT. The regional members will be elected at the AWP meeting that is not held in conjunction with the WCPT General meeting except for the regional member and alternate regional member to the WCPT Executive Committee. They will be elected as usual at the meeting held at the time of the WCPT General Meeting. A discussion was held on how the region can move forward in the establishment of a Secretariat. The Executive Committee has been considering different ways to enable this and has been grateful for the support provided by the Australian Physiotherapy Association. It is important that we as a region have a Secretariat that will enable us to undertake some of the important work that our Member Organisations have expressed the need for, such as: assistance in developing standards of practice, accreditation processes for educational institutions, development of leadership and advocacy skills, workforce issues. The Executive committee will continue this work over the next period of time in order to be able to move the Region forward on these important topics. I would like to thank Dr Shin-Da Lee for his hard work on the committee over the past two years and know that we will continue to use is expertise as needed. I would also like to thank other members of the committee for their hard work as well on your behalf. AWP/ WCPT Conference I would like to thank the Taiwan Physical Therapy Association for the planning and running of the AWP/ Taiwan Physical Therapy Association Conference in Taichung. I think that everyone who was there would agree that it was a very stimulating and enjoyable conference. The Scientific program was excellent with lots of very interesting research being presented. The hospitality of the local physiotherapists and their teams was incredible. I am sure that like myself everyone had a really enjoyable and educational time. 1

2 Applications have been called for AWP /WCPT conference in We are keen to get Member Organisations to nominate for this. Following the very successful conference in Taiwan we hope it will grow bigger and better. A reminder to everyone to put the dates for the WCPT Congress in Singapore in their diaries: 1-4 May It is exciting that this Congress will be held in our region, which makes it easier for many people to get there. Please keep in touch with us and let us know what is happening in your countries. Let us know if there are things that you need help with and we can see what we can do to assist. Best wishes Gillian Webb Chair AWP region / WCPT Update from WCPT Executive Greetings to you all! It was wonderful to be able to celebrate World Physical Therapy Day on 8th September with so many friends and colleagues at the WCPT Asia Western Pacific Congress in Taichung, Taiwan. The mottos Moving physical therapy forward and Movement for health were certainly catchphrases where ever we went around the Congress venues and will carry us forward to the next Asia Western Pacific meeting to be held in conjunction with the WCPT General Meeting and Congress in Singapore in May Many thanks to our hosts, the Taiwan Physical Therapy Association for the great organisation and warm hospitality extended during our stay. It was also great to see the diversity in the research presented and to see so many students and younger members of the profession participating from over 30 countries in the AWP Region and around the world. Highlights of the event can be found at The WCPT Executive and Secretary General place attendance at and participation in regional congresses as one of our primary goals. President, Marilyn Moffat, Executive Member Joyce Mothabeng and Secretary General Brenda Myers as well as Catherine Sykes, Professional Policy Consultant, were all able to join me at the AWP Congress and bring the face of WCPT to the Region. The opportunity that Marilyn, Joyce, Brenda and I had to present a symposium on the influence of international policy on the profession was a great chance to update participants on the work WCPT is undertaking and the importance of collaboration with key groups such as the World Health Organization and the World Health Professions Alliance. Points covered in the presentation included: An appreciation of why physical therapists are physical activity specialists An understanding of WCPT s policies and guidelines Knowledge of how WCPT s policies are being implemented to influence national policy An understanding of the needs of professional physical therapy entry level programmes to meet the health promotion agenda An appreciation of the benefits of collaborative working 2

3 WCPT was also able to promote the 2015 Congress at the event in Taichung it is important that Member Organisations start planning now to ensure sufficient funds are available to have a representative at the AWP Regional Meeting, the WCPT General Meeting and the Congress to follow. Please note the dates below and pass them on to your members: March 2014 Call for abstracts opens July 2014 Registration goes live August 2014 Deadline for abstract submission October 2014 Deadline for early bird registration March 2015 Deadline for advance registration At the AWP General Meeting the amendments to the constitution were passed and there was also agreement on ways to support Member Organisations with professional development opportunities. Congratulations to the members of the AWP Executive who were elected at the meeting. Best wishes Margot Skinner WCPT Executive Member The 16 th Regional General Meeting WCPT AWP 2013 AWP General Meeting Attendees 3

4 Gillian Webb, AWP Chair Cris Massis, AWP Secretariat Member Organisation delegates from Pakistan, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia AWP Vice Chair s report Greetings to you all from Fiji, I would like to share with you my experience on the 8th of September, I was honored to attend the WCPT-AWP Congress in Taichung, Taiwan during the time of WPT day. The morning began with all physios from different AWP regions meeting at the Windsor Hotel Foyer with Marilyn Moffat, Brenda Mayer, Aussies, Fijian, and Joyce having a big group hug and cheer for WPT Day. It was an echo is the quietness of breakfast time and my Malaysian friend commented that it must be the Fijian physio who is making all the noise. Melissa Locke from APA was the cheer leader and she was fantastic. Then we all zipped down to the Congress venue for the last day of presentations. People seemed to be a great cheerful mood. There was a chirping atmosphere and many participants seemed they were making new friends in the corridor of the University. Catherine was dynamic in the WCPT-AWP booth and together we kept the crowd informed. Joyce was in and out of lecture halls but the best part was that the WCPT- AWP booth was the re-charging corner for the hard working ladies including Marilyn, Brenda, Gill and all other families of AWP. Our Hosts, Taiwan was so efficient- they fed us too much, looked after our luggage, directed us to the correct buses and gave us all the homely feeling. Thank you Taiwan!!! The Congress ended with Gillian Webb s dashing presentation. She was fabulous in her red dress and the audience was listening in pin drop silence. At the end of the day, we all bid farewell to those who were not coming to the gala dinner. Finally at 7.30 we all were dressed in our best for the gala dinner. There was wine and food. Noise at the backdrop but the head of the table had all the dashing men and women who have made physiotherapy their life. At the head table there were great ladies like our WCPT President- Ms. Marilyn Moffat, the WCPT Secretariat Brenda Myers, AWP-WCPT delegate Margot Skinner, AWP-WCPT President Gillian Webb and of course our hosts Suh Fang and Shin Da Lee with the government delegates. It was a very proud moment for me to see all these fantastic people in the world of physiotherapy on one table on the 8th of September in It s the most memorable WPT day for me. Then came the singing and the dancing. 4

5 Some of us were great singers and some did OK with support. The dance performances were stunning and Gillian s act with Taiwan s Past President was wonderful. The Gala Dinner ended with dance and cheer. We said our goodbyes and hoped to see all again soon. Thank you Taiwan Physiotherapy Association for hosting one of the best WCPT-AWP Congress and being a great host. Thank you to your organizing committee and the hard working volunteers. Till we meet soon in Singapore friends!!!! I would like to share some pictures from the great time I had in Taichung, Taiwan. Usha Krishna-Gfeller Vice-Chair Asia West Pacific (AWP) Region Brenda Myers WCPT General Secretary Team Cambodia Congress Team Friends from Macau, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore Sri Lanka 5 Friends from Australia

6 Beautiful ladies of physiotherapy Friends from Sri Lanka 2013 World Physical Therapy Day Physiotherapists around the world celebrated World Physical Therapy Day on the 8 th September 2013, with thousands of people volunteering their time to help raise the professions profile. The WCPT are collecting reports from Member Organisations around the globe and will be publishing these on the website. Remember to let the WCPT know about your activities for You should your reports, information and photos by ing mlockner@wcpt.org and share your activities with the world. Lots of countries have already done so, and you can view activities around the world by going to Upcoming Conferences Please find below information about upcoming conferences. If your association has a conference scheduled for 2013 or 2014 please forward the details to wcpt.awp@physiotherapy.asn.au. October rd World Parkinson Congress Montreal, Canada Web: Global Health Leadership Forum Berkeley, USA Web: Physiotherapy UK 2013 Conference and Trade Exhibition Birmingham, UK Web: Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Conference 2013 Embracing Global Health Kowloon, Hong Kong poonyhp@gmail.com 6

7 14-18 East African Physiotherapy Conference "Evidence Based Clinical Practice is the Cornerstone of Present and Future Physiotherapy Practice" Arusha, Tanzania or Brazilian Congress of Physical Therapy From science of functionality to new professional challenges Fortaleza, Brazil Web: Australian Physiotherapy Association Conference New Moves Melbourne, Australia Web: th European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry New horizons in interdisciplinary approaches Ghent, Belgium Web: th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back & Pelvic Pain Advances in multidisciplinary research for better spinal/pelvic care Dubai, United Arab Emirates Web: ISCoS nd Annual Scientific Meeting Istanbul, Turkey Web: 29 Oct 2 Nov 53rd Annual Scientific Conference/ General Meeting of Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy Ondo State, Nigeria Web: 30 Oct EBHC International Joint Conference Nov Taormina, Italy Web: November South American Region of WCPT regional Meeting Quito, Ecuador rantolin@uol.com.br rd Global Forum on Human Resources for Health Recife, Brazil Web: March South African Society of Physiotherapy Symposium 2014 "Physiotherapy: Exercise experts from prevention to participation Port Elizabeth, South Africa Web: 7

8 May Singapore International Physiotherapy Congress 2014 Enhancing Health through Physiotherapy 50 years and beyond Singapore Web: Third World Health Professions Regulation Conference Health professional regulation - facing challenges to acting in the public interest Geneva, Switzerland Web: th Bi-annual WCPT Africa Congress Lusaka, Zambia jmothabeng@wcptafrica.org October Physiotherapy UK 2015 Conference and Trade Exhibition Liverpool, UK Web: May World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress 2015 Singapore Web: 8