Dear Colleagues,

China’s population is one fifth of the world. Despite rapid development in its economy, there are not many professionally trained occupational therapists serving this huge population.

In order to promote the development of occupational therapy in Mainland China, Hong Kong Institute of Occupational Therapy (HKIOT) organized an International Occupational Therapy Conference in September 2005 in the city of Qingdao in China.  About 200 doctors and therapists from all over Mainland China who were interested in or practicing some primitive form of occupational therapy attended the conference. Besides, over 100 occupational therapists came from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Australia, etc joined the conference. We were successful in consolidating our previous efforts by constructing a platform for sharing the vision, knowledge and skills of occupational therapy in Mainland China. This was the first International Occupational Therapy Conference held in Mainland China, an important milestone of the development of occupational therapy in China.

To maintain this momentum, HKIOT will organize another International Occupational Therapy Conference with Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine in the city of Guangzhou in November 2008, and invite Guangdong Provincial Work Injury Rehabilitation Center to be the hosting organization. This will be a 4-Day Conference, with the theme of “Development of occupational therapy in hospitals & community”. We believe that such conference will exert great driving force to facilitate the growth of occupational therapy profession in Mainland China. I would like to invite you to join us to achieve the mission.

You can participate and help in many ways. You are welcome to advise us as to how we could achieve our mission more effectively, join the scientific program committee, volunteer to give lectures in the plenary or symposium sessions, and share your scientific works and clinical experiences in the free paper sessions. You may just attend the numerous conference activities to demonstrate the unity of occupational therapists from all over the world and show to our Mainland China colleagues the borderless occupational therapy spirit shared among occupational therapists.

If you are interested to join us in this venture, you may contact Kwok-fai LEUNG, the Organizing Committee Chair, or Mr. Simon WONG, the Scientific Program Committee Chair. If you want us to update you with the latest development of the conference, you may send an e-mail to HKIOT Executive Officer, Ms Candy LAW. The e-mail address is 2008otc@hkiot.org. You may obtain latest information in the conference website at www.hkiot.org/2008otc as well.

LEUNG, Kwok-fai

Chairman, Organizing Committee

2008 International Occupational Therapy Conference

Vice-Chairman, Hong Kong Institute of Occupational Therapy

WONG, Kam-man Simon

Chairman, Scientific Programme Committee

2008 International Occupational Therapy Conference

Chairman, Hong Kong Institute of Occupational Therapy