Page 2 P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y September 1963

FOURTH CONGRESS of the WORLD CONFEDERATION 
of PHYSIOTHERAPY

T he F o u rth  Congress o f the W orld C onfederation of 
Physical T herapy has com e and gone. The long-awaited 
date in the m iddle o f June greeted 1,700 physical therapists 
from  all over the world who assembled in C openhagen for 
ten happy, busy and instructive days.

The focal point o f the Congress was the F alkoner C entret, 
a m odern congress building with a large auditorium  from  
which sim ultaneous translations could be given, large 
reception room s and smaller room s for sub-committee 
meetings. In the adjoining building there is a large cinema 
which was used for th e showing o f som e very excellent films 
and slides. T he stage of the auditorium  was decorated with 
the fam ous Badge of the W .C .P.T. below which shone the 
symbolic globe the light o f which was switched on at the 
opening session and only switched off at the end o f the 
impressive closing session on 22nd June. Below the stage 
hung the flags of th e member nations giving a p atch  of 
colour to  the scene.

The m ain entrance hall o f th e building housed stands 
m anned by all the physiotherapy associations where infor­
m ation and publicity could be obtained ab o u t the different 
countries, b o th  from  the physical therapy p oint o f view and 
from  the general interest angle. T he South A frican Society 
o f Physiotherapy had a stall, ably organised by Miss A. 
B odoano and M r. J. M oot, <?n which were exhibited pictures 
and pam phlets depicting life and w ork in South Africa 
and in the hospitals, especially Pretoria G eneral H ospital 
and the E rnest O ppenheim er H ospital, W elkom . A  series 
o f  coloured slides o f South A frican scenes were projected 
at intervals during the day. Photographs on display showed 
different aspects o f Physiotherapy training in the three 
South A frican training schools.

P rio r to  the m ain Congress week, three days were devoted 
to  hospital and institution visits and Special Session lectures. 
A bout 25 different hospitals were open and each physio­
therapist had the opportunity of going on a t least three 
different visits. In  many, dem onstrations were given in the 
Physiotherapy departm ents by the staff and tours o f the 
whole hospital o r institution were arranged in o ther places.

The Special Sessions were on M ultiple Sclerosis, a condi­
tio n  so prevalent in E urope and America, b u t happily rare 
in South Africa, C erebral Palsy and finally on Poliomyelitis. 
Experts from various countries as well as from  D enm ark 
gave lectures and showed films on various aspects o f these 
three im portant subjects.

The following week was devoted to  the m am  them e o f the 
Congress with lectures and films going on all day. A vast 
variety o f subjects was em braced and it was a full p ro ­
gramme. South Africa was represented by Miss A. Savin 
from  th e Pretoria College of Physiotherapy who read an 
interesting and constructive paper on G eriatrics entitled 
“ A Concise G uide to  th e Assessment of the G eriatric 
Patient and the A pproach to the T reatm ent on the R oad to 
Independence” . T his paper covered geriatrics as a whole 
and in South Africa in particular and aroused a good deal 
o f outside interest.

Miss Agnes W enham  o f Johannesburg showed a film 
“ O rthotoys in Clinic, School and H om e in South A frica” 
and this again stim ulated interest am ong m any overseas 
visitors. These tw o South Africans were good am bassadors 
fo r our country and the South African Society o f Physio­
therapy .

The opening session was honoured by the presence of two 
o f the R oyal D anish Princesses and the impressive ceremony 
consisted o f the lighting o f the Congress Symbol by M rs. R , 
Agersnap, President o f the W .C .P.T. followed by singing 
by a line choir.

D uring the week the G eneral M eeting was held and 
South Africa who is one o f the founder mem bers was elected 
to  the Executive Council for the next eight years. This will

mean th a t o u r representative, Miss Jean Blair, will have to 
attend interim  meetings o f this C ouncil when they are called, 
before the next Congress which is scheduled for A ustralia 
in 1967.

Mrs. M. Levy, H onorary G eneral Secretary o f the 
S.A.S.P. was our voting delegate a t the Congress, and 
attended all th e special executive meetings as well as the 
G eneral M eeting in her official capacity.

Five new mem bers, namely Switzerland, Iceland, G u ate­
m ala, Portugal and Brazil were adm itted to  the C onfedera­
tion and during the G eneral M eeting were form ally wel­
com ed and their flags added to the already impressive array.

Besides general lectures, special meetings were called to 
enable various groups to  get together and discuss their own 
special problems.

T he Teachers and Superintendent Physical T herapists 
m et in groups, as did the Physical Therapists in In d u stry / 
and in Private Practice, and much o f interest cam e out of\ 
these discussions.

Social activities were also in great evidence. Several 
official receptions had been arranged and very well organised 
by th e D anish Physiotherapy Association and the W orld 
C onfederation C om m ittee. T he first of these was at th e well- 
know n N im b R estaurant in the fam ous Tivoli G ardens 
where mem bers had free admission for the whole of the 
Congress week. T his was followed by the Congress B anquet 
in the sam e R estaurant later in the week. B oth these functions 
enabled members to  really get together and m eet old friends 
and m ake new ones. A civic reception was also held at the 
C openhagen Town H all and at the adjoining M unicipality 
o f Fredericksberg, the m em bers being divided into tw o 
groups for this function. H ere following a form al welcoming 
speech by the respective m ayors, visitors were introduced 
to th e fam ous D anish hospitality and invited to  sam ple 
D anish fare and drink D anish beer.

O ne of the highlights of the social activities was a visit 
to  th e hom e o f a D anish physiotherapist which was arranged 
for m ost of the overseas members.

A n afternoon to u r was arranged through th e delightful 
D anish countryside when visits were m ade to  som e of the 
fam ous castles o f th a t p a rt o f N o rth  Zealand.

D enm ark and C openhagen in particular, went o u t o f 
their way to  provide entertainm ent, inform ation and good 
w eather for the mem bers o f the W orld C onfederation o f 
Physical T herapy and many have returned to their hom es£ 
in the far corners o f the globe with their m inds refreshed^ 
and vivid memories of happy and instructive days in a happy 
land. A ttending a W orld Congress is a wonderful experience 
and som ething never to  be forgotten. It is n o t merely this 
new knowledge th a t one gains by attending lectures, but 
m aking contact w ith people from  far afield w ith sim ilar 
interests th a t is so valuable and stim ulating.

F rom  time to  time it is hoped to  rep o rt on som e o f the 
m ost interesting lectures th a t were given at the Congress, 
and every effort will be m ade to  d o  this.

O n behalf o f all those 19 South A frican physiotherapists 
who attended the F o u rth  W orld Congress, we extend o u r 
grateful thanks to  the officials o f the W .C .P.T. and the 
D anish Physiotherapy Association who w orked so hard 
and did so m uch to  m ake the Congress the great success 
th at it was.

P U B L IC A TIO N  O F  P R O C E E D IN G S
I t  is hoped th a t the Proceedings o f W .C .P .T .’s Congress 

in C openhagen will be published before the end o f 1963.
Copies at a price o f 32.00 D anish kro n er post free may be 

ordered from  D anske Fysioterapeuter, V esterport 455, 4 
Trom m esalen C openhagen V., D enm ark.

Please note th a t a Cheque for th e appropriate am ount 
payable to  D anske Fysioterapeuter m ust accom pany each 
order.

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