Benefits of membership

Benefits of Membership of COTEC

Overarching Benefits:

  • Being represented at European level
  • Keep up to date with European policy, standards and legislation
  • Information on current European issues which impact on occupational therapy practice and education
  • Opportunities to be engaged in
    • EU consultations on varied subjects related to health, social care, labour market and environment
    • EU driven projects on EU or national level
    • participating and presenting on European events
  • Opportunities for networking with OT and other organisations
  • Access to 29 European OT National Associations and their staff with a wide range of interests and expertise
  • Opportunities to share and develop guidance documents in different subjects as e.g. gouvernance, specialization with NA s across Europe through the development of informal and formal relationships
  • Opportunities to promote achievements and successes of individuals and your association within Europe through web site, newsletter or network
  • Opportunities to encourage to widen the horizons of your NA members regarding cross cultural experience
  • Being a part of a European community of OT’s as individual OT and having opportunities to reflect on own daily professional practice having a broader perspective

Specific Benefits:

  • Access to information, facts and figures about OT and a number of resources to inform practice through the website
  • Opportunity to be involved in cross European projects through expert groups e.g. on Elderly, Mental Health, Children and Adolescents, Primary Care, Dementia, ICT innovation.
  • Opportunity for professional development as a potential member of the Board, presenter at the joint congress
  • Potential access to professionals who may wish to collaborate on cross European research

Some examples of concrete ways of benefiting from COTEC as national association.

Support by means of:

  • Letters written by Cotec executive and/or other NA s.
  • Speeches on national congresses on relevant issues which places your profession in an international context
    • By COTEC Executive Committee members
    • By using Cotec executive network for finding keynote speakers
    • By using Cotec members to find experts in some field
  • Logo use
    • for announcement congresses, showing you are a member of a community
    • Being a member might get sponsors interested
    • For using on specific letters
  • Welcoming or supporting messages in congress book
  • Meetings with relevant persons
    • Politicians
    • Regulators
  • Make use of the facts and figures in the summary of profession for national policies
  • Using the Cotec network
    • Identifying experts in field
    • Sharing experiences in policy matters, guidelines, regulations, organisational issues
    • Find best practices
  • Develop and or use position statements made by experts in the field