Occupational Therapy Week 2023
Occupational Therapy Week 2023: a quick pivot for the updated campaign title and hashtag for #OTWEEK!
We recognise the strength of feelings involved and want to be sensitive to them. And we don’t want anything to detract from celebrating occupational therapy. 
RCOT
Double meaning proved an occupational hazard for the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) when its original OT Week 2023 campaign title sparked concerns linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
In their Occupational Therapy Week 2023 overview, RCOT reveals, “We’ve heard from a few members about the very distressing situation in Israel and Gaza and our upcoming OT Week campaign, ‘Occupation matters’.
“The concerns raised are primarily about the campaign’s title and the meaning of the word ‘occupation’ in its geo-political sense, and whether it’s appropriate given the current conflict.
“We hear and appreciate the concerns.[...] We’ve had a wide range of views shared with us. We recognise the strength of the feelings involved and want to be sensitive to them. And we don’t want anything to detract from celebrating occupational therapy.
“That’s why we’re going to make some amends to the campaign to make sure that it’s clear we're talking occupation in the context of occupational therapy.”
#OT Week
The new tag for the campaign is #OTWeek but the focus remains the same; that is, RCOT says, “to create a better understanding of occupations in the occupational therapy context.”
The theme was decided after consultation with RCOT’s 35,000-plus members revealing a wide-scale feeling among occupational therapists that the value of their work isn’t always recognized or understood.
RCOT urged its members to take the opportunity during OT Week 2023 from Monday the 6th of November to let everyone know what occupations are and why they matter.
“Talk about occupations; weave them into every conversation so that people understand what occupation means in the context of occupational therapy,” RCOT said.
Own your superpower. Occupations are at the core of occupational therapy. Make them the focus of everything you do.
Occupational therapists facing barriers to discussion about everyday occupations can find support and guidance during the week at a panel event with peers.
RCOT has produced an OT Week 2023 – Resources page to make the most of the week’s events. It includes:
- A brief, an evidence search and a reading list around occupation-centred practice
- A calendar of activities for November
- Images and text for social media posts, newsletters, and discussions
There is also advice on modifying OT Week 2023 promotional material after the change in the campaign’s title.
Further reading
OT Week 2022: RCOT's crisis call for free OT life hacks - Could you brighten the life of someone struggling with the cost-of-living crisis by sharing some of your OT life hacks with them?
