Hand Therapists From all Corners of the World Shook Hands in Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

D uring the most memorable week of my professional career, 260 hand therapists from 31 different countries and all the corners of the world came to Helsinki, Finland, to participate in the Third International Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT). There are 19 member countries and 10 corresponding members in the IFSHT. I was very happy about the expansion of some new countries participating in Helsinki. There were hand therapists from countries that were not previously involved in IFSHT. I want to send a special thanks to the therapists from Hong Kong, Slovenia, Turkey, and Uruguay who all actively participated in this congress. The Finnish Hand Therapy Society had formed a group to organize the Third International Congress of IFSHT, and we started to plan this big event from spring 1992 onwards. Eight enthusiastic ladies put their minds into arranging it and doing a good job. Finns have sisu-endurance-and I can say that Tuula Ranta, Riitta Haerkoenen, Pirkko Lundan, Irmeli Parjo, Riitta Harju, Riitta Kaunola, and Tarja Rantala, who are members of the organizing committee, did show a lot of it during the three years prior to this congress. However, we did have some backup from the experienced and wise advisors, Evelyn J. Mackin from the United States, Jean Claude Rouzaud from France, and Martti Vastamaeki from Finland. I have received a lot of positive feedback and thank you messages since the congress, and it seems to me that we succeeded in making people enjoy their stay. I got the feeling that it did matter a lot to the participants that there was a variety of social events to choose from. To our great surprise, many took the chance to visit the famous Finnish-style sauna bath that was offered as part of the Finnish Evening to go along with Finnish folk dancers and Kantele music. I do believe that there are many hand therapists around the world now who have gained a knowledge of Finnish customs. There was also a chance to dress up and visit the new Opera House, enjoy the show, then dine and dance to the tunes of the Boston Promenade Big Band. band does not come from Boston, but from the greater Helsinki area, and it is conducted by Jussi Saari, a staff member from Congrex, the Congress office. All the social events helped the therapists to relax and get to know one another. To quote Evelyn Mackin, This is a very important part of a world congress, to be able to form friendships with each other. For the most important part of the congress I wish to thank all of you who submitted a paper or accepted an invitation to lecture at the Third IFSHT Congress. You made the scientific program work, and it did tum out to be a high level one. It is so important that you shared your knowledge and experiences with your colleagues; it is an important way to develop our field in a world-wide scale. The scientific committee did valuable work in planning and putting the program together. There were members from six countries: Ruth Aukia Liechti from Switzerland, Dorcas Beaton from Canada, Riitta Harju from Finland, Judith B. Leonard from the United States, Annette Leveridge from the United Kingdom, and Dominique Thomas from France. During the two-day scientific programthere were 79 presentations by lecturers from 23 different countries. The program was/mostly arranged into plenary sessions, but it did also include two three-hour long sessions running simultaneously. In order to offer experiences that are new and might be useful in the future, one of the simultaneous sessions, called Philosophical Issues, introduced a debate on protocols used in treatment. Many of us today find it necessary to think critically and be able to explain the principles of treatment. A large exhibition represented the latest developments of the commercial sector of our field. The participation of 38 companies, great and small, is essential to the success of a Congress like this. A special thank you to Rehband-Otto Bock Scandinavia, Orfit Industries, and Smith Nephew Rolyan for their generosity. The success of the Third Congress ensures the success of subsequent meetings. I am enthusiastically looking forward to the Fourth Congress of the IFSHT in Vancouver, Canada, in May 1998. See you all there!