El IV Congreso Latinoamericano en Santiago de Chile

Abstract

The IV Latin-American Congress held in Santiago de Chile (July 13–16) was a major event for the region. The Latin-American Confederation of Occupational Therapists (CLATO) organized this congress for the fourth time, which represents a continuum that promises a better understanding among Latin-American Occupational Therapists. CLATO is the organization that brings together the occupational therapists of ten countries from Central and South America. Representatives from five occupational therapy programs met for one day prior to the congress in order to share ideas and to develop common activities in the future. One of the conclusions of the meeting was to develop a Latin American Association of Occupational Therapy Schools, that will form links with the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT).The activities during the congress were attended by 337 occupational therapists and students. The activities covered a wide variety of aspects such as occupational therapy theory, research, educational issues, student activities and CLATO business. 167 occupational therapy students took the opportunity to meet together. They agreed a document which included ideas for disseminating information on the importance of occupational therapy along with demands for a better occupational therapy education.This article describe CLATO organization, congress attendance, congress contents, occupational therapy schools proposals and students proposals. The next V CLATO Congress will be held in Brazil in 2003.