The first European Occupational Therapists’ Congress, titled “Future-proofing Occupational Therapy” took place in Krakow on 15–19 October, gathering members of ENOTHE (European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education), COTEC (Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries), SPOT (Student Platform for Occupational Therapy in Europe), and ROTOS (Research in Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science). The congress in Poland hosted over a thousand occupational therapy researchers, practitioners, educators, and students, allowing them to exchange their professional and academic experiences with colleagues from various European countries.
The Lithuanian delegation consisted of ten participants, including three lecturers from the Rehabilitation Department of the Faculty of Medicine at Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution (HEI) – Dr Daiva Baltaduonienė, Evelina Lamsodienė, and Giedrė Sasnauskienė, along with occupational therapy programme alumna Jonė Ambraziejienė.
Throughout the event, there were plenary sessions, oral and poster presentations, as well as work in sections. The team of lecturers from the occupational therapy study programme at the Rehabilitation Department presented three poster presentations. During the congress, meetings of ENOTHE network members were held (Kauno kolegija HEI is an ENOTHE member), during which the board (with vice-president being occupational therapist and lecturer Giedrė Sasnauskienė) presented last year’s activity report and updated ENOTHE network operational guidelines. Elections for new board members also took place.
A central theme in the presentations and discussions of this congress emphasised that occupational therapy is a broad science centred on human occupation. All human life consists of various activities, and each of us encounters challenges related to activities throughout our lifetime.