History of WCPT

The World Confederation for Physical Therapy was founded in 1951 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with 11 founding member organisations from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, West Germany, Sweden and the United States of America.

The first international Congress and Second General Meeting were held in London in 1953, where the first executive committee was elected.

Administrative services were provided by the Secretary of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in the United Kingdom, which provided a base for the confederation for its first decade.

During this time, membership increased to 16 organisations, even though WCPT had no regular income and depended on voluntary donations from its member organisations and occasional grants from other international bodies. By 1961, an annual per capita subscription had been established, separate office accommodation in London had been obtained and a Secretary General had been employed.

The confederation consolidated its international position by attaining consultative status with the United Nations and official relationship with the World Health Organization. It also forged links with voluntary international bodies like Rehabilitation International, the World Medical Association, and United Nations agencies such as UNICEF.

In 1991, a change in structure of the Confederation resulted in the establishment of five WCPT Regions with autonomous regional committees. The intention was to encourage opportunities for more frequent contact among members with similar cultural, economic and social outlooks.

Over its history, WCPT has developed statements, including education curricula, to support the development of the profession.  At the 1995 general meeting, a range of declarations of principle and position statements were adopted for the first time, providing member organisations with foundation policy guidance about practice, education and research.  New policy documents have been adopted at every general meeting since then, including a description of physical therapy, standards of practice and guidelines for entry level professional physical therapy education.

Early in the new millennium WCPT celebrated its 50th anniversary by holding a meeting of member organisations on evidence based practice. The event underlined the coming of age of WCPT and the profession, with a focus on the relationship between research evidence and practice, and the role that WCPT can play in supporting the exchange of information and knowledge around the world.

In the past ten years, the Internet has become increasingly established as the main means by which WCPT can communicate with members, providing new potential for physical therapists worldwide to exchange information and share expertise. In 2004, the WCPT website was receiving 19,000 hits a month and in 2006 170,000 hits. Web based discussion forums were added in 2005.

Membership of the confederation has grown enormously, with 10 new member organisations joining in 2007, bringing the total to 101. Numbers of official subgroups have also risen to seven, and WCPT is now supporting informal international networks of physical therapists with a special interest.

WCPT has held 15 world congresses since its establishment - the most recent being in Vancouver, Canada, in 2007. Since 2003, the Congress programme has been organised centrally, with an International Scientific Committee selecting high quality papers for a wide-ranging programme. The next Congress is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2011.

WCPT has always worked closely with other international health organisations, but no more so than in the twenty first century. In 2008, the confederation was instrumental in organising the first-ever inter-professional and international conference on regulation of health professionals in Geneva, Switzerland, and also collaborated on joint international guidelines on the retention and recruitment of health professionals.

World Physical Therapy Day, established by WCPT in 1996, has grown in popularity and influence. In 2008, dozens of physical therapy organisations all around the world organised campaigns and events to highlight the role physical therapists had to play in conquering diseases of civilisation such as obesity.

World Confederation for Physical Therapy (2001) WCPT: the first 50 years.  London, UK: WCPT