Welcome to the first issue of Congress update, the emailer giving you the latest information and all you need to know for World Physical Therapy 2011, WCPT's 16th International Congress.  Via this newsletter you will be the first to receive information about:

• key topics and speakers 
• calls for abstracts and poster submissions
• registration
• promotions to attend congress
• social programme and hotels 
• information about Amsterdam

Congress update will initially be published quarterly, and then more frequently as congress approaches. 

Moving Physical Therapy Forward

The focus of the profession's largest international congress will be on the most significant issues, clinical topics, challenges and opportunities for physical therapists around the world. Where better to move physical therapy forward than at its prestigious international congress?

World Physical Therapy 2011 will be structured around five core programme tracks:

1. Global health: the world's most pressing health issues, international health priorities and policies and the implications and opportunties for physical therapists
2. Professional issues: their effect on health policy, service provision, quality and standards, service users and the context and scope of practice
3. Professional practice: the latest advances for practicing clinicians in their daily practice, encompassing health promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation throughout the lifespan and across different service settings 
4. Education: the education of physical therapists to be fit for practice throughout their career in a changing environment and in different practice contexts
5. Research methodology: producing evidence through research is essential for developing evidence based practice, as is looking at innovative ways to generate and disseminate the evidence

The call for focused symposium proposals is now open.  The International Scientific Committee welcomes submissions covering any topic with international appeal that fits at least one of the programme tracks and is particularly interested to see proposals addressing any of the following issues:

• advanced scope of physical therapy practice (eg extended scope practitioners, consultant physical therapists, advanced practitioners, specialisation)
• direct access to physical therapy services
• global health: diseases of civilization (eg cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, tobacco related respiratory problems)
• health promotion and wellbeing
• professional leadership, strategy and policy development
• the International Classification of Functioning (ICF)

Each symposium is organised by a convenor who leads an international group of presenters through a series of linked presentations, lasting 1.5 hours, concluding with key take-home messages for practice, research, education, management and/or policy, relevant to the subject internationally. 

Submissions must be made electronically via the WCPT website.  For further information and to submit your proposal please go to http://www.wcpt.org/congress.  The closing date for submissions is 31 October 2009.

The general call for abstracts for platform and poster presentations will be available from 1 January 2010 with a submission deadline of 15 September 2010. Information will be published via the January issue of Congress update and on the WCPT website.

The call for course proposals and additional satellite programming will be issued later this year.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in attending or finding out more about World Physical Therapy 2011 and receiving Congress update, please ask them to register their interest on the WCPT website at www.wcpt.org/user/register.