OT Today interview director and WFOT president Samantha Shann

OT Today speak to our director Samantha Shann, president of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), to find out more about the impact and influence that this organisation has around the world.

Here is a snippet from the article published in February’s edition.

WFOT is the international representation for occupational therapy. They provide expertise to inform and influence international policy and strategy development at a health systems level. The Occupational Therapy Service director Samantha Shann is also president of the WFOT, being elected to this position in 2021.  Samantha has been involved in the WFOT for over 25 years and OT Today magazine recently met with her to find out more about the work WFOT do and the impact they have around the world.

Samantha says it is special because “Countries where occupational therapy is still developing influence international occupational therapy policies and ways forward, just as much as countries that have been practising for many years. We know occupational therapy is practised slightly differently around the world so WFOT and the profession needs to ensure that it meets local and cultural contexts.”

Samantha first got involved with WFOT when she moved to Uganda. She was one of the first teachers at the occupational therapy education programme there and supported the Uganda Association of Occupational Therapists (UAOT) in their application for full membership to WFOT. UAOT has gone from has gone from strength to strength and 25 years on Samantha says her ongoing membership and involvement with UAOT is something that is still important to her.

As for the WFOT, Samantha says “WFOT is an opportunity for individual occupational therapists to come together to participate in activities and to feel part of their own national occupational therapy association with those synergies between national and international thinking.  My involvement in WFOT has encouraged me to step that bit further into new areas pushing myself and expanding my understanding of the profession.”

The next WFOT Congress 2026 is being held on 9-12 February 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. Find out more at www.WFOTCongress2026.org  If you are interested in presenting at the WFOT Congress 2026 you are invited to submit an abstract by 28th February 2025.

Read the full article here