WCPT-AFRICA ■ by Jo B eenhakker An executive m eeting of the region w as held in H arare on the 14 M arch 1996. W e w ere fortu nate to have w ith us the President of W CPT, D avid Teager and Brenda M eyers, the Secretary-G en- eral w ho w ere able to guide us and answ er questions that w e had. Regional Conference The m ain thrust of the m eeting w as to discuss the 1996 regional conference w hich is to b e hosted b y the Zim babw e Physiotherapy A ssociation in H arare. The planning for this second conference is w ell advanced as regards the social functions and the pre- and post-congress cou rses, un der the leadership of the Congress Chairm an, Passion M usa and G illian M arks, C hairm an of the ZPA. Pre-congress courses to b e held from 18-20 Septem ber include: • A d ult neurology by M ary Riley • U pdate on card io-respiratory m anagem ent b y Sielie Eales • A dvanced sports therapy b y G raham Sm ith • Introduction to the N ordic approach to m anual therapy by Jostein Ellingsen • Also possible are paed iatric C BR b y Stephanie Kem p, A cu­ puncture and the M cK enzie approach. Post-congress courses (26-28 Septem ber) w ill include: • Paediatric neurology b y Pam H ansford • M yofascial release by M arge Steffen • Introduction to sp ort therapy b y G raham Sm ith • M anagem ent of the lum bar spine b y Jostein Ellingsen There will thus b e som ething for everyone and a large contin­ gent of South A frican p hysiotherapists is expected. Rem em ber G auteng is closer to H arare than it is to Cape Town! A call for papers/posters should have been sent w ith the sec­ ond flyer, bu t if any reader w ould like to present a paper or poster at congress, the closing date for subm ission o f abstracts is 31 M ay 1996 A n abstract of n ot m ore than 250 w ords, together w ith a short CV o f the author and presenter, should b e sen t to M rs Nhei- kairo-M usa, 21 M edical C entre, 8th A venue, J Tongogara Street, Bulawayo, Zim babw e. The form at of the abstract: • Title of paper/poster • N am e of authors (w ith surnam es in capitals) • D e p a rtm e n t/ H o sp ita l/ In s titu tio n / C o u n try o f p re sen tin g author • Text o f abstract: Purpose o f study, M ethodology, R esults, C on­ clusions • References m ay be included. • If presenting a single-case stud y the ab stract should describe the assessm ent, treatm ent, p rogression and conclusion. P aper presentations: tim e allow ed w ill b e 15 m ins w ith 5 m ins for discussion. A udio-visual equ ipm ent w ill b e available on prior request, including overhead projectors, 35m m slide p ro jec­ tors and video playback units. Poster presentations: inform ation should b e sum m arised using b rief w ritten statem ents and graphic m aterials, m ounted on a poster-board m easuring 1,8 m w id e b y 1,2 m high. Posters w ill be on d isplay throughout the congress, and presen ters w ill be assigned a specific date and tim e w hen they shou ld b e at their poster to discuss it w ith participants. A general m eeting o f the region w ill be held on Saturday, 21 Septem ber w hile the conference com prising free papers, clinical presentations and w orkshops w ill b e held from 23-25 Septem ber. Other Matters Discussed • Treatm ent o f torture victim s - a report o f the follow -up sem i­ n ar held in Cape Tow n d uring N ovem ber w as given b y D orcas M adzivire. A mini w orkshop on the m anagem ent of survivors of torture w ill be included in the conference. • Physiotherapy for the elderly - D ele A m osun is conferring w ith m em bers of the region w ho attended the cou rse held in M alta w ith the view of setting up an in terest group in this field. • F in a n cia lM a tte rs -M o s tm e m b e ro rg a n is a tio n s h a v e p a id capi­ tation fees for 1995. As certain cou ntries, n am ely E gy p t and N igeria have never paid subscriptions, it w as agreed that a letter w ill be sent asking w hether they w ished to b e part of W C PT Africa. It is not com pulsory for m em bers o f W C P T to b e also m em bers of the regions. In view o f the expenses in­ volved in holding two executive m eetings per annum , it m ay b e necessary in future to hold only one m eeting. • New Executive - as the p resent President and Secretary have held office for two consecutive terms, the secretariat will p ro b ­ ably m ove to another m em ber-organisation. N om inations will be called for the new executive shortly. • Funding - The executive requested that fu nd ing o f the region be given top priority. There is a need to p ro m ote w orkshops and sem inars w hich require starting funds as w ell as the desirability to support potential m em ber organisations in the region. The President o f W CPT once again congratulated the A frican region on the trem endous progress m ade b u t advised that w e will have to tailor ou r expectations and plans according to the funds that w e are able to g enerate ourselves. The d ay's proceedings ended w ith an eleg ant b u ffet dinner hosted b y the Z im babw e P hysiotherapy A ssociation at w hich Mr Teager w as guest speaker. The Z im babw e physiotherapists are to b e congratulated on their excellent organisation on b eh alf of the region and be thanked for their hospitality in accom m odating, tran sp orting and feeding m em bers o f the executive and delegates to these com m ittee m eet­ ings held during the p ast four years. SA J o u r n a l P h y s io th e r a p y , V o l 5 2 N o 2 M a y 1996 P a g e 51 R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )