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International affiliations

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists actively contributes to the international relationships which increase the global profile of the profession.

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) is a member of the Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries (COTEC), the European Network for Occupational Therapists in Higher Education (ENOTHE), and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT).

WFOT is the only international representative for occupational therapists and occupational therapy around the world. It is also the official international organisation for the promotion of occupational therapy.

Find out more about our international affiliations

Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries (COTEC)

COTEC was established in 1986 with the purpose of co-ordinating the views of the national associations for occupational therapists in Europe and providing a strong voice for occupational therapy on a European level. The British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT) was a founder member. COTEC has now grown to represent 31 European occupational therapy associations and more than 180,000 occupational therapists. It is registered as a legal entity in Germany.  

Below: Information films from COTEC looking back at the key milestones of COTEC and looking forward promoting the future vision of occupational therapy.

COTEC General Assembly

Following a major review of the structure of the organisation, a General Assembly replaced the Council and meets once a year to progress the business of the organisation. COTEC also has an Executive Committee which takes forward the Strategic Plan.
 
The RCOT COTEC General Assembly member is Karin Bishop.

COTEC Strategic Plan

Facts and figures

Statistics and information are collected from the member associations each year and published in a document available from the COTEC website.

Summary of the occupational therapy profession in Europe

Events

1st OT-Europe Congress
The 1st Occupational Therapy Europe Congress is being held 15-19 October 2024 in Krakow, Poland. It is co-organized by the Polish Association of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Therapy Europe, which brings together 3 largest European organizations dealing with occupational therapy: European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE), Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries (COTEC) and Research in Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science (ROTOS).

Key dates:
Abstract submission is open
August 1 – October 31, 2023

Abstract review process
November 2023 – January 2024

Decision about accepted abstracts
February 1, 2024

Early bird registration
December 2023 – March 2024

See the Congress website for more details: https://ot-europe2024.com/

 
 

COTEC Register of Experts

The Council of Occupational Therapists in European Countries (COTEC) is requesting occupational therapists to self-nominate as experts in various domains of practice.

COTEC has established a Register of Experts in line with the priorities identified by the European Targets for 2020 and the WHO areas for action. As a result COTEC is seeking experts in the following areas: mental health, aging population, dementia, children and adolescents, poverty reduction, primary care, equal access to healthcare systems, ICT solutions and e-health innovations, employment, oncology, palliative care, refugees and displaced people, neurology, rehabilitation.

Please visit the COTEC website for more information.

 

Contact:

Karin Bishop
RCOT COTEC General Assembly member
karin.bishop@rcot.co.uk

European Network for Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE)

ENOTHE supports the introduction of occupational therapy education into new members of the Europe Union.

The European Network for Occupational Therapists in Higher Education (ENOTHE) develops and harmonises the standards in existing occupational therapy programmes. The Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries (COTEC) initiated the European Network for Occupational Therapists in Higher Education (ENOTHE) in 1995. Individual education establishments join the network and the College's Education and Learning Department is an active participant.

Annual Meetings

2019

For updated information about ENOTHE issues, visit the latest new-style newsletter.

The 25th Annual Meeting was held in Athens, Greece on 17-19 October 2019. The overarching theme of this meeting was Sustainability: view further information about the themes.

2018

The 24th ENOTHE Annual Meeting 2018, was held at the Escola Superior de Saúde do Alcoitão (ESSA), Estoril, Portugal.  Details about this can be found in the enothe website

You can also find more information and updates about ENOTHE by following the organisation on Twitter @enOThe1

2017

The 23rd ENOTHE Annual Meeting was held in Zagreb, Croatia.

Please follow the enothe website for more news about the meeting and the Winter 2017 newsletter (no. 9) from ENOTHE:  

In December 2017 ENOTHE was registered as a legal form of an association Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) under Austrian law and entered in the Austrian register of associations. In the Statutes of the Association, ENOTHE membership now has new classifications.

You can also catch up with more of the latest ENOTHE news in the enothe news section of their website.

2015

The 21st meeting of ENOTHE was on 22nd-24th October 2015 at University of Ruse 'Angel Kanchev', Bulgaria .

 
 

World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT)

You must be a member of RCOT to join WFOT.

WFOT is the official representative of occupational therapy and occupational therapists worldwide and in 2012, celebrated its 60th anniversary (1952-2012). Occupational therapists from the UK were amongst the founders of the Federation, which is a global network of 101 member organisations, representing 550,00 occupational therapists. It is registered as a legal entity in Switzerland and has been in official relations with the World Health Organisation (WHO) since 1959.

Read more about the WFOT Member Organisation Profiles on their website.

Become an individual member of WFOT

RCOT is a member of WFOT. Qualified occupational therapists and students who are already members of RCOT can become individual members of WFOT.

Becoming an individual member of WFOT allows you access to a wide range of benefits and discounts in addition to joining a global occupational therapy community.

Following are some of the benefits you can enjoy by becoming an individual member of WFOT:

  • Gain access to the exclusive Members Only part of the WFOT website. Imperative if you want to download the latest documents, guidance and materials produced by WFOT.
  • Download the latest free publications and promotional materials up to 12 months in advance of them being released as public access.
  • Receive online access to the twice-yearly issues of WFOT’s international professional journal WFOT Bulletin.
  • Receive 20% discount on all books produced by Wiley Publishing. 

WFOT Congress

WFOT Congress 2022
The next WFOT Congress is being held 28-31 August 2022 in Paris, France.
Visit the official WFOT Congress Facebook Page or visit the WFOT Congress 2022 website for the most up-to-date information.
The hashtag for the Congress is #wfot2022

Click here to register for WFOT Congress 2022

 

WFOT Congress 2018
The last WFOT Congress was held 21-25 May 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Congress theme was Connected in Diversity: Positioned for Impact.
See the WFOT Congress 2018 website for highlights from the Congress.

 

WFOT Position Statements and Publications

There are a number of Position Statements and Publications available on the WFOT website covering a range of topics from Education, Advanced Occupational Therapy Competencies to Telehealth.

To view them all, visit the WFOT Resources page and select 'Position Statements' or 'Publications' from the drop-down menu.

Occupational Therapy International Online Network (OTION)

In June 2016, WFOT announced the launch of the Occupational Therapy International Online Network (OTION). This is a dedicated interactive forum that enables occupational therapists, assistants and students from across the world to network, share ideas and communicate with the profession as a whole.

OTION is a free resource that requires a simple registration process. WFOT urge everyone to register and share their ideas and feedback. A number of forums have been established within the OTION platform:

  • Education
  • Practice
  • Research
  • Students
  • Working in another country
  • Studying in another country
  • Congress 2018

The success of OTION will be reliant on the engagement and involvement of the occupational therapy community internationally and WFOT welcome your active support.

Contact

Council member, International Affairs (WFOT) and RCOT Delegate to WFOT
Dr Kee Hean LIM
Email: uk.delegate@rcot.co.uk

RCOT Alternate to WFOT
Thérèse Lebedis
Email: therese.lebedis@nhs.scot