**World Occupational Therapy Day: meaning and significance of the profession** Every October 27 is celebrated as World Occupational Therapy Day, which aims to highlight the role of this discipline in improving the quality of life for people, integrating them into society and promoting their health and well-being worldwide. Initiated by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) in 2010, it was established to raise awareness about the importance of occupational therapy in such areas as health, education, work and leisure.
**History and international recognition** The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) was founded in 1951 in Switzerland, where many countries came together to develop professional standards. Key milestones in the development of the World Occupational Therapy Organization (WOT) in 1959 and the status of a non-governmental organization NOT in 1963. With this, WFOT actively promotes global norms, education and practices, strengthening the professional community and specialists.
**The role of an occupational therapist** This discipline serves a scientific purpose, empathy and functional necessity, to help people to live, learn or work, to develop new skills, unnecessary for a full life. Therapists work not only with patients with physical, but also with cognitive or sensory impairments, including with the elderly or with people with mental health problems, spinal cord injuries, strokes, and even degenerative motor diseases. They embody physical, emotional and social well-being, ensuring an individual approach to each client.
**Details for 2025: focus on action** In the framework of the 2025 campaign under the slogan "Occupational Therapy in Action" WFOT calls on medical professionals, universities and professional organizations to spread information about this science in the public space. This attention is given to policy, based on the availability of rehabilitation and functional support.
**"Occupational therapy is not just the restoration of functions, but the restoration of dignity"** Therapists play a key role in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities and participation in social life. As experts note, their work "does not just restore physical function, but gives motivation, adaptation and emotional well-being", which changes their agents in the system of health care.
This profession is considered important in the current context of the spread of various groups, including people with disabilities, children with developmental disabilities and patients after critical conditions. Every year it reminds us that health is not possible to separate from activity and social inclusion.
