The 16th International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Japan: Discovering the Meaning of Being in the Occupational Therapy Profession by Singapore's Occupational Therapy Students

The 16th International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Japan: Discovering the Meaning of Being in the Occupational Therapy Profession by Singapore's Occupational Therapy Students

　　The 16th International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists（16th WFOT Congress）in conjunction with the 48th Japanese Occupational Therapy Congress and Expo in Yokohama, Japan represented the first WFOT Congress hosted in the Asian region. Japan is the first Asian country to host two WFOT Council Meetings, the 24th WFOT Council Meeting（2000）in Sapporo and the 31st Council Meeting（2014）in Kisarazu. There has only been two other Council Meetings in Asia, the 20th Council Meeting（1992）in Hong Kong and the 30th Council Meeting（2012）in Taipei. In contrast, Europe has hosted 12 Council Meetings and eight WFOT Congresses. Therefore, as an Asian occupational therapist, I look upon the successful 31st WFOT Council Meeting and 16th WFOT Congress with pride. Furthermore, the attendance of the Japanese Imperial Family during the opening ceremony and thereafter meeting personally with Japanese occupational therapy leaders and also the WFOT delegates reinforced the importance of occupational therapy in Japan and internationally. This short paper highlighted themes arising from the personal reflection of occupational therapy students who visited Japan and participated in WFOT Congress for the first time.

　　The 16th International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists（16th WFOT Congress）in conjunction with the 48th Japanese Occupational Therapy Congress and Expo in Yokohama, Japan represented the first WFOT Congress hosted in the Asian region. Japan is the first Asian country to host two WFOT Council Meetings, the 24th WFOT Council Meeting（2000）in Sapporo and the 31st Council Meeting（2014）in Kisarazu. There has only been two other Council Meetings in Asia, the 20th Council Meeting（1992）in Hong Kong and the 30th Council Meeting（2012）in Taipei. In contrast, Europe has hosted 12 Council Meetings and eight WFOT Congresses. Therefore, as an Asian occupational therapist, I look upon the successful 31st WFOT Council Meeting and 16th WFOT Congress with pride. Furthermore, the attendance of the Japanese Imperial Family during the opening ceremony and thereafter meeting personally with Japanese occupational therapy leaders and also the WFOT delegates reinforced the importance of occupational therapy in Japan and internationally. This short paper highlighted themes arising from the personal reflection of occupational therapy students who visited Japan and participated in WFOT Congress for the first time.