Changing times

As this issue of the WFOT Bulletin is circulated, our 32nd Council Meeting (6–11 March) will have already met in Medellin, Colombia. The regular business of the WFOT will have been discussed and decisions made for actions over the coming two years leading up to our Council and Congress in South Africa in 2018. The agenda covers international, national, and local issues, with the opportunity to share and understand in more depth the concerns of our member organisations and possible ways forward. It addresses ongoing functions of the WFOT such as governance, accountability and outreach. As WFOT is a volunteer organisation, all of the work which takes place is on a volunteer basis – a huge investment in human resources. As we move forward in changing times, affected by global warming, international migration, poverty and vulnerable peoples, occupational therapists need to find ways to contribute to addressing these global issues, which affect all of us.

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists is involved at all levels with international organisations dealing with different global issues. WFOT Statements are regularly sent to the World Health Organization to support WHO activities. The latest statement relates to initiatives in the draft Global Strategy and Plan on Aging and Health, which builds on the World Report on Aging and Health (2015), setting it within the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (2015), which were adopted by UN member states in September 2015. Both these documents are important to occupational therapists as they support the role that we must take up globally. They are must-read documents. The post 2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015) is similarly relevant and concerns occupational therapists as global and local players in disaster management.

Welcome Bethan Collins as guest editor

I welcome Bethan Collins as guest editor for this special issue of the Bulletin on occupational therapy education, which provides a forum for discussing international occupational therapy education in its broadest sense. It covers teaching and learning practices, issues and innovative approaches to fieldwork, evaluation of educational approaches, and ways to bridge the theory practice gap. We have had an overwhelming response to this area of interest and will continue to publish relevant articles into the future.

Vale Carmen Forn de Zita, Bulletin associate editor

Carmen Forn de Zita, the Bulletin's Associate Editor for the last decade, will be sadly missed. She was a wonderful friend and a stalwart supporter of the Bulletin. She went way past her scope of responsibilities to encourage Spanish language submissions and find reviewers for manuscripts in Spanish to fill every fourth issue of the Bulletin. Beyond that, she supported the development of the Bulletin as a global voice for occupational therapy. Early in my association with Carmen, I realised the depth of her total commitment to our profession. Her active dedication to the development of occupational therapy in Latin America and the wish to facilitate global connections were ideals she held strongly. We will all miss her. Please see the article later in this issue.

New online publisher Taylor & Francis

From October 2015, Taylor & Francis have taken over the publication of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin on behalf of the WFOT, following their purchase of Maney Publishing in June 2015. This publication will be online-only with an option to purchase print copies. Refer to the WFOT Bulletin webpage (http://www.tandfonline.com/yotb) for the authors’ guide and submission details. As we move into this new phase of the Bulletin, we hope to expand its scope and possibly the number of issues per year. The aim of the Bulletin is to promote: awareness and understanding of the WFOT and its activities and services; the development of the occupational therapy profession worldwide, and the international exchange of professional knowledge and experience. The Bulletin offers the opportunity for you, as authors, to share your areas of interest through research papers, commentary or case studies. New reviewers are also needed to realise our expanding horizons. I welcome nominations for new reviewers in all our official languages. If you are eligible to do reviews and dedicated to the process, please submit your name and brief resume showing area of expertise to the WFOT secretariat – [email protected].

Though general articles are always eligible for submission, the proposed themes of our future issues will cover such areas as:

• Creative partnerships in health

• Working with children

• Occupational therapy on the margins

• Global health policy and occupational therapy

• Disaster risk reduction and management

• Practicing across cultures

• Strengthening communities through occupation

I hope that you enjoy the articles in this issue and that they challenge you to think about our future occupational therapists and how to support them to be proactive in changing times.