It was great to see so many people at the World Congress in Guadalajara. Thank you for your contribution in making it a success. In opening the new biennium I would like to thank my preceding presidents who have continued to nurture, develop and reorganise ISPO.
In particular thanks to Claude Tardif and Ed Lemaire for spending much of their bienniums bringing the organisation through the Covid pandemic and dealing with an online Congress. Along with his predecessors much progress has been made in the streamlining and modernisation of ISPO.
When I was asked to become President-elect of ISPO I was truly honoured. My background is over 30 years of working in the wheelchair sector focused on low income countries. Coming from outside the P&O sector one of the key factors was that ISPO, along with its members, were always helpful and accommodating to actors within the wheelchair sector, in particular during the time when there was no structure or support organisation for wheelchair provision.
Within the last decade WHO have made great strides to broaden the approach that provides access to affordable assistive technology. In 2022 WHO published the Global Report on assistive technology of which P & O and wheelchairs are an important part. Organisations such as ATScale and AT2030 have been created to develop innovation and fund important initiatives to demonstrate to governments globally that the provision systems within their populations will be a crucial factor in determining people’s quality of life and health in later life.
ISPO have always been very good at strategic partnerships and in this biennium we aim to strengthen and develop key partnerships and co-operations with partners in the similar fields, in particular with a focus on low income country sectors and the broader scope of what assistive technology can provide users in helping them towards accessing their rights in society.
Collaboration will be a key factor for us all in the coming years as we strive to improve the lives of those we work with.
I would also like to open up more opportunities for innovators and new ideas to be introduced to the sector. I would like to encourage all levels of and disciplines of the provision system to engage with ISPO.
I look forward to working with you.
David Constantine MBE
ISPO President 2023-2025