Message from the President: Responsible for making dreams come true

The theme of this Bulletin issue is on Human Rights and I commend the authors of the articles in this edition. WFOT has a strong commitment to Human Rights evidenced through the establishment of an International Advisory Group (IAG): Human Rights, the development of a Position Paper on Human Rights¹ and WFOT's commitment to embed the principles of Human Rights and Social Justice into the fabric of its documents and publications.

In June 2011, WHO released the World Health Report² which for the first time examined the inequities around disability. The WFOT Position Statement on Human Rights demonstrates the WFOT position in relation to human occupation and participation. WFOT believes that occupational therapists have the knowledge and skills to support persons who experience limitations or barriers to participation in occupation. Occupational therapists also have a role and responsibility to develop and synthesize knowledge to support participation; to identify and raise issues of occupational barriers and injustices; and to work with groups, communities and societies to enhance participation in occupation for all persons. Achieving this is to achieve an occupationally just society.

One of the main outcomes from the United Nations Conference Rio+20 (2012)³ was the agreement by member States to launch a process to develop a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will build upon the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and converge with the post-2015 development agenda.

Sustainable Development Goals

Table

Goal 1	End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2	End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3	Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4	Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5	Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6	Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7	Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8	Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal 9	Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10	Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11	Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12	Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13	Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
Goal 14	Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal 15	Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16	Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17	Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

These will be the drivers of the future international health, social and community development agenda and it is not difficult to identify the role that occupational therapy plays in the achievement of these goals. Occupational therapy contributes to the health of individuals, communities and society by enabling the right to engage in meaningful, purposeful occupations, irrespective of medical diagnosis, social stigma or prejudice. WFOT is currently developing a document ‘Managing the Transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals: what it will take?’ (Working Title).

As occupational therapists we need to accept professional responsibility to identify and address occupational injustices and limit the impact of such injustices experienced by individuals. Intrinsic to this is raising the collective awareness of the broader view of occupation and participation in society as a human right and learning to work collaboratively with individuals, organizations, communities and societies, to promote participation through meaningful occupation.

Those of you who know me know that one of my favourite occupations is cooking. I was listening to a chef speaking and he said something that I feel moved to pass on to you — it is an occupational therapy ‘call to action.’

‘Dreams are without question the most important because without them you will never achieve anything. Do you have a dream? If you have a dream then you have a duty and a responsibility to yourself to make it come true. Because if you don't make your dreams come true then you are just a dreamer.’

We all know and understand the value of occupational therapy to the health and wellbeing of all people and we all at some time in our career wish more people knew about us — that is our dream — and it is therefore our responsibility to make it come true.

Notes

1 WFOT Position Statement on Human Rights: WFOT 2006.

2 World Report on Disability: WHO 2011.

3 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 20 to 22 June 2012.