Day 5 - Exploring the trade shows & a Gala Dinner...

Hello Everybody, 

As Day 2 of the congress got under way I was in far more of a relaxed mood. I continued to struggle with the humidity and rarely felt comfortable, but I was at least free to make the most of the congress with no presentations of my own to worry about. I was finally getting some decent sleep too and had a nice routine going in the mornings. A 10 minute shower (as per rules of the hostel as 20 rooms had to share one shower) was quickly followed by a short walk down the road, 2 stops on the metro, and a walk with the rest of the Japanese public towards the business centers of town. (A little stop at Starbucks for a cup of English Breakfast tea was also becoming a daily event).

So, to the congress and one of the keynote presentations I was really looking forward to. Disaster Relief - the role of OT's following the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. The presentations showed the power of human spirit and the quite amazing work done by several OT associations and communities to help with both the immediate emergency responses, and then the transition into community based recovery and  transitional housing.

Making immediate emergency shelter spaces

 The spaces created in the emergency shelter areas for use directly after the tragedy were well thought out and considered the needs of a variety of people. Consideration was given to private space, accessibility especially considering the injured and elderly who may have had additional requirements post disaster.

 

There was certainly a need for a whole range of expertise needed and as you can see from the photo's the volunteers / professionals came together to share ideas and knowledge with the people in the centres themselves. Supporting others to become leaders and develop their own role and sense of usefulness and create positive identities for people who had felt like they had lost their ow identity and sense of purpose in the disaster. This development was every bit as important as the actual set up of shelters and spaces. (Supporting the survivors soul).

Not everyone was to end up in shelters of course, but there were few people who had not been affected and who could still benefit from the information regarding survival skills in this new and unexpected existence. Information booklets were developed and shared with the community such as the ones seen below. Using visual aids as well as text was critical in reaching all affected peoples. 

A return to the main exhibition centre was needed to begin to process all the information presented by such a unique and surreal key not presentation. Walking around the posters and exhibition stands allowed me to focus on other interesting work and projects, such as this fascinating poster presentation from Brazil.... about Brazilian transvestites... I was amazed at the variety of work and areas of practice that OT's get involved with...

poster presentation from Brazil

Craft Space and shop....

It was not long before I saw (& heard) the laughter of my Taiwanese OT colleagues, who were making sure people knew where they were from. They had been having a great little photo shoot with all the Taiwanese OT's outside on the conference centres. I couldn't resist, (nor could they) a few extra photos and whipped out a great big flag! I loved every minute I spent with my Taiwanese friends, as they were always so friendly, inquisitive and fun. Therefore I though it was a great idea to set some time aside to sit down together instead of having quick 10 minute chats.

Taiwanese OT's & me.

Me, Janelle & Amy relaxing between sessions.

Day 2 was to include the Gala Dinner evening, which quite frankly is always a fun night, especially if you are going to travel all the way to Japan for it! Given the size of the congress, it was not surprising to have a large function area. It was quite a feast for the senses, (if not for the stomach). The food was nice, if you could get some from the main tables. The decorations, colors, drinks (sake) and photo opportunities were endless. The entertainment wasn't too bad either. As you first entered the room you were greeted with these ornaments which made for a nice photo.... 

The venue itself was pretty large, as it needed to be as swarms of people littered the room. There were many a recognizable face in the room (such as Michael Iwana, below). 

Despite the food being as sparse as a swimming pool in the desert, the crumbs I did find kept me going between drinks. The entertainment was what you'd most likely expect. Some understated dancing, and small food and drink stalls to keep the spirits up of such a multi-cultural audience.

The stalls were cute, authentic and certainly different from anything I had seen before at such events, which was after all what I had gone to Japan for.

Japan is known for Sake - and the display on show did not disappoint with a pretty good selection for tasting on display. Of course  it would have been rude not to try at least a few of these flavours, and so I was a good guest and did my best to distinguish between them all! 

Sake...

The reason I have always tried to get to the dinners and so called 'gala' events has always been bout the networking. With a world record 5,000 delegates (not all at the dinner obviously,) I was not going to pass up such an opportunity as this night presented. Whilst it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, there were few unexpected faces and conversations too! One such surprise was having the chance to speak some Romanian, to a wonderful and friendly OT Ina Stavril (See Below) Ina wasn't the only interesting OT around and a very glamourous OT professor from Israel, was also great company....

Ina - Romanian

Israel OT

Me & Yvonne Thomas

I'm not sure if other people have the experience of how with some people, you can just bump into them anywhere, anytime..... the next chat I had certainly fitted into that category. Yvonne Thomas and I first met in Vietnam in 2008 when she brought 2 OT students from James Cook Univeristy (Australia) to the NGO I was working in. I then saw her next in Santiago, Chile at the 2010 WFOT Congress. So it was hardly surprising to 'bump' into her and her fine fella here in Japan too. (See Above). The rest of the photo's below gave a good impression of the end of the Gala event and the start to the rest of the evening as spent the night with a group of people (some old, some new) tha will stay with me for the duration of my life, that I am sure of.

OT's from Australia, U.S., Chile and UK!

A real mix of folk... some famous faces in here....

Possibly my favourite photo of the night included great friends and faces from all over the world, with Nick Pollard (UK) (Co-author of Occupational Therapy without Borders), Merrolee Penman (NZ) & Anita Hamilton (Aus) - (OT4OT founder members), Bill Wong (US) and my good friend of 5 years OT Jouyin Teoh (Malaysia)... to name just a few...

A truly memorable night was had by all and I was reminded yet again about what an amazing profession, with such a rich variety of people, I was part of.

Regards from Japan.