Biennium report 2023

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PROSTHETICS AND ORTHOTICS 19 What does ISPO represent for you? ISPO represents a community of individuals from an almost endless variety of backgrounds, occupations, and interests that share the common belief in the power of prostheses, orthoses, and assistive technology to enable and empower anyone, anywhere, to improve their quality of life. How does your committee contribute to ISPO’s mission and vision? The ISPO Advocacy & Awareness Committee aims to spread awareness of ISPO’s core values, its mission and vision by amplifying the advocacy efforts of ISPO, its National Member Societies, its stakeholders, and partners. Public awareness of prosthetics, orthotics and assistive technology is important in order to increase enthusiasm and support, stimulate action, and mobilise efforts for expanding access to care globally. What were the main objectives and goals of the committee during the biennium? Our main goal was to establish an international awareness day - International Day of Prosthetics and Orthotics on November 5th. The date was chosen because that was the day that ISPO was founded. Enabling and Empowering was chosen as the message for the inaugural date of November 5, 2022. What were the major activities and projects undertaken by the committee during this period? The establishment of the International Day of Prosthetics and Orthotics, along with the marketing collateral, video messaging and logo was the major activity undertaken by the Advocacy & Awareness Committee. Secondarily, the committee worked to support the advocacy efforts of partners and stakeholders like the WHO and ISPO National Member Societies awareness campaigns for example, WHO’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd; BAPO’s Prosthetists and Orthotists Day on September 7th; Amputee Coalition’s Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month in April; Pakistan’s Orthotics Prosthetics Day on January 14th. Elizabeth is the chair of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) Advocacy & Awareness Committee. She is the immediate past chair of US ISPO. Her background is Marketing and Communications in the prosthetic and orthotic field. She has been actively involved, since the 1980’s, in supporting efforts to improve quality and access to appropriate prosthetics and orthotics care and services. Advocacy Committee Elizabeth Mansfield – Chair, Advocacy & Awareness Committee How does the committee use the new ISPO Community? The committee is not currently using the ISPO Community but looks forward to doing so in the next biennium. What was the main challenge/s faced by the committee during the biennium and how were they addressed? Our main challenge was being unable to meet in person. Additionally, timing of our remote meetings proved to be difficult for everyone to attend regularly. While we originally had head office staff support on our calls, we weren’t able to continue that which contributed to organisational difficulties. We will be meeting in person at the World Congress in Guadalajara and, hopefully, in Leipzig in 2024 which should eliminate some of the communication challenges and allow for better planning and implementation for the future. What lessons were learned during the biennium that can inform future activities and projects for members? Lessons learned were that continuity of committee membership is important in keeping the committee on track and not having to start over at every new biennium. Subcommittees are key to reaching our goals in a timely manner. In addition, outside contractors are an integral part of producing the content that the committee requires in order to successfully complete our projects. Lastly, a working budget is critical for implementation as the Advocacy & Awareness committee did not have a budget in prior biennium.