8 - 10th September, 2010

Thank you and everyone associated for a wonderful and inspiring conference -

I came away buzzing!

Not only did I enjoy a few 'ah-ha' moments but I also thought the whole planned direction of the event was both informative and uplifting.

NZAOT Member

Conference Report
One delegate's impressions of conference
Conference Presentations available

Conference Report

Written by the Auckland DHB delegates to the 2010 NZAOT conference, this extensive report highlights the key message that came out of each session, along with delegates reflections of the conference. Download a copy of this report (pdf).

One delegate's impressions of conference

NZAOT member Maya Hammarsal attended her first NZAOT conference, and shared her reflections, in an article in the October OT Insight magazine. The following excerpts are taken from Maya's article.

"I’ve attended many occupational therapy conferences overseas and my impressions of the NZAOT conference were favourable. Everyone was really friendly and ready to talk about what they were doing in their practice. It’s clear there is a good network of information sharing and support within the organisation. The programme looked good with a spread of workshops, paper sessions and reputable keynote speeches.

I can’t think of anything I experienced at other conferences that I found missing at this one.

A council initiative that certainly has been implemented and was getting the thumbs up at the conference, was the Permanent Scientific Programme Committee instigated to work alongside a local committee at programme planning for conferences. As Kim Henneker, a practitioner from Hawkes Bay said, ‘You can tell the difference going to the sessions. There is a wide mix of topics with continuity through the papers; you can tell the threads are well thought out.

For a non-New Zealander the welcome by the local Iwi was fascinating, and set a respectful tone to the conference which was great to have. I think it is fantastic that Maori culture is recognised and respected and I hope this continues to strengthen and grow.

Home grown leaders in our profession were not the only source of inspiration. I was particularly impressed by the lineup of world class key note speakers on every day of the conference. Something I’d not experienced elsewhere."

Download full article (pdf)