World Occupational Therapy Day 27 October 2013 Roundup of World Occupational Therapy Day celebrations. There were various celebrations around the world with the actual dates varying according to each country. The theme for World Occupational Therapy Day 2013 was Global Touch, Local Reach. The WFOT was contacted by many national occupational therapy associations and individuals who shared with us their activities and support of the event. Examples included website updates, fundraising activities and promotional events in hospitals, schools and shopping malls. It was fantastic to receive these updates. Below are a number of examples of how World Occupational Therapy Day was celebrated around the world. WFOT s Facebook posting alone generated messages from people in over 57 countries and reached nearly 30,000 people.
WFOT also partnered with promotingot to actively encourage occupational therapy practitioners to participate in the OT Global Day of Service (OTGDS). Thousands of occupational therapy staff participated in this initiative aimed at volunteering their time for local and community projects. For more information visit www.promotingot.org Bangladesh Promoting OT in Bangladesh by celebrating World OT D Md. Julker Nayan Head of OT at CRP, Bangladesh Authors Karen Heaslip OT Volunteer at CRP, Bangladesh On the 27 th of October, the Occupational Therapy Department at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP) and the Bangladesh Occupational Therapy Association (BOTA) celebrated World Occupational Therapy Day in the CRP, Savar. The main theme of the day was Global Reach, Local Touch which aimed to highlight both the profession and the occupational therapy service in CRP locally and throughout the country. During the opening ceremony, the BOTA student affairs committee released the first issue of Occupational Therapy Times e-newsletter for students. This first edition focused on OT history in Bangladesh, covering past students of the Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI). The day started with a rally attended by all the occupational therapists, students, other health professionals from CRP and Dr. Valerie A. Taylor, founder and coordinator of CRP. More than 300 professionals and students
took to the streets wearing promotional t-shirts and waving banners, creating an unmissable presence in the name of promoting OT. A series of seminars including OT and sustainable socio-economic development in Bangladesh; OT involvement in Stroke Rehabilitation; The OT role in hand writing development; and, the influence of OT in Office Ergonomics were attended by many participants. Coverage of the day was broadcasted by the national electronic and print medias. There were highlights on the day on TV channels during the news bulletin and press releases in both Bangla and English newspapers. Articles on different areas of OT practice were also published in national daily newspapers. Occupational Therapy is still a relatively new profession in Bangladesh, with only a selection of centres, mainly NGO s (National and International) offering job opportunities for OTs, which is why the theme of this year s celebrations was so relevant in Bangladesh. Currently about 30% of OT graduates immigrate to find work as the prospect of jobs in Bangladesh remains low. OT s are now concerned with promoting the profession within government sectors, mainly through student placements in government hospitals. There have also been opportunities to promote the profession by equipping mobile clinics with written information on OT and giving presentations about the profession in other organizations. CRP is the largest rehabilitation centre in the South Asia, and utilises a multidisciplinary approach, including occupational therapy. CRP also run an academic institute, Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI) which is the only academic institute offering the Occupational Therapy course in Bangladesh, affiliated by The University of Dhaka and State Medical Faculty and accredited by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). For any further information please contact MD. Julker Nayan, Head of OT at CRP: julkernayan@hotmail.com Inaugural session with Special Guests
Starting the Rally with guests and OT professionals Promoting OT, Bangladesh style! The Bangladesh Financial Examiner published an article Occupational therapy: A modern healthcare profession written by occupational therapist Rabeya Ferdous, in celebration of World Occupational Therapy Day. The article [available at http://www.thefinancialexpressbd.com/old/index.php?ref=mjbfmtbfmjdfmtnfmv8yn18xodgwmzy=] outlined the development of occupational therapy in Bangladesh, and the current profile of occupational therapy in Bangladesh.
China Haidee Law shares these photos of World Occupational Therapy Day celebrations at Chengdu No 2 hospital in SiChuan Province in China.
India Activity Fun-Day World Occupational Therapy Day, October 27 th, 2013 was celebrated at Dr. Kruti Gala's Paediatric Occupational Therapy Center in Mulund, with an 'Activity Fun-Day' to promote Occupational Therapy. The Center deals with children up to 8 years of age with developmental disorders like Autism, ADHD, PDD; Cerebral Palsy, Genetic Disorders like Down's syndrome, William's syndrome; and also addresses the Handwriting issues and any problem area that prevents child to perform optimally in the environment. Dr. Kruti Gala reports that the activities, with a touch of the soon to arrive festival of Diwali, included: 1. Fancy Dress with the theme of Fiction characters to encourage pretend play and imagination and enhance their social participation. 2. Craft Work (Diya) where the children had to stick the cut outs on the Diya sheet provided to them. Craft was used as a therapeutic modality of OT to provide tactile inputs and improve fine motor skills. 3. Colouring (Diya) where kids filled the colouring Diya sheet with beautiful festive colours. 4. Painting (Diya), where kids were provided with an actual diya and they painted and decorated them with flamboyant colours, glitters and beads. 5. We also played Ring-O-Ring, Cricket and Musical chair to encourage playing skills, social interactions as a part of therapy. 6. Kids were also provided with the snacks to improve their eating habits and independency as a part of ADL. The event ended with the distribution of OT pamphlets and stickers on gifts provided by the Gala family. Dr Gala thanks the Mumbai Branch of the All India Occupational Therapists Association (AIOTA) for providing the banner, stickers and pamphlets. Also, special thanks to Dr. Shilpashree Palsule for gracing this event with her presence, and Dr. Manasa Shetty, Miss Grishma Gala and Mr. Sushant Pansare for their support and hard work. This event truly supported the motto of Global Reach, Local Touch by incorporating India s most loved festival of colours and lights - Diwali"
Promoting Occupational Therapy We celebrated the World Occupational Therapy Day at Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil Occupational Therapy College and Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil Hospital & Research Center. We had displayed a banner at the entrance of the Hospital OutPatients Department, and staff and students volunteered to explain the facilities that the Occupational Therapy Department is providing in the Hospital for patient care. We also posted posters in the Medical College Campus for all students awareness. We interacted with the students and gave away brochures on Occupational Therapy. Dr. Shashi Oberai Pad. Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Occupational Therapy Nerul, Navi Mumbai
Creating Awareness The staff and students of the Occupational Therapy School & Centre, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College (LTMMC) & Government Hospital celebrated World Occupational Therapy Day along with the 50 th Foundation Year of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, Sion, and Mumbai on 28 th October 2013. Banners and posters informing about the celebrations Global Reach, Local Touch were put up all over the campus three days before the program. Invitations were sent to all departments. The Dean, Deputy Dean and various heads of departments of the college graced the program and were impressed with the impact Occupational therapy has on the quality of life of the patients. The program was as follows: A beautiful floral Rangoli about Occupational therapy was displayed in college premises. A Street play on Role of Occupational therapy in society was performed by the students at three different locations in the hospital
campus. The locations targeted specific populations like patients and their relatives, doctors and other staff. A Stall was put up for free Occupational therapy consultation and awareness at a location crossed by most people visiting the institution. Handouts were distributed, Posters about the Role of Occupational therapy in various conditions and Occupational therapy as a career were put up in English and local language. Patients were advised about treatment.they were also informed about OT services available near their house by referring to our OT services directory. A Poster Exhibition on various fields of Occupational therapy was displayed in the medical College building. The posters included: Occupational therapy in Forensic Science Clinical Reasoning in Occupational therapy practice Human Computer Interface in Assistive Technology Occupational therapy in Industrial Rehabilitation Splints Some facts cleared Occupational therapy intervention in HIV Role of Occupational Therapy in Reintegration of Patients in the society with social stigma. World Occupational Therapy Day merchandise was designed in the form of badges, car stickers, posters, small stickers for bags, mobile phones, etc. and handouts which was funded by the Mumbai branch of All India Occupational therapists Association. The Dean was presented with a badge of World Occupational Therapy Day which he gracefully sported for a major part of the day. Our goal for the World Occupational Therapy Day celebration was to spread maximum awareness about Occupational Therapy in Medical professionals & in the society. Meticulous planning one month before the event and hard work by all staff and students helped us to achieve our goal. R.S.Yeradkar, Assoc.Prof & In charge, Dept.of Occ.Therapy.
Israel Occupational therapists in the Maccabi Health Services, Israel promoted the World OT Day and OT Global Day of Service by donating hundreds of their own books to a mental health association. "Sipur Hozer" is a social project which creates work vacancies for the mentally disabled through the recycling of books. This association helps community mental health patients to be engaged in work by delivering the books to coffee shops, where they are sold to coffee shop visitors. Italy International newsletter with introduction from Professor E Sharon Brintnell, WFOT President:
Mexico Sri Lanka
Celebration Videos on YouTube Hong Kong United States of America Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
WFOT You Tube Channel As part of the World Occupational Therapy Day 2013 celebrations, WFOT launched its own You Tube Channel with an opening address and also a Message from the WFOT President which can be viewed here http://youtu.be/e2wl7ntpdbc www.youtube.com/user/thewfot World Occupational Therapy Day 2013 Feedback Your feedback about World Occupational Therapy Day helps WFOT plan and develop the event for subsequent years, please share your thoughts and ideas by completing this short survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/wotd2013