INTERNATIONAL BOBATH INSTRUCTORS TRAINING ASSOCIATION
An international association for adult neurological rehabilitation
March Newsletter
Executive Committee
Congress and AGM 2025 in Tokyo, Japan
The 41 IBITA AGM will be held on Friday 29th August 2025 at “KFC Hall and Rooms” inside of “Daiichi Hotel Rygoku”. The main place for the meeting will be held at the 3rd floor of this building.
The Congress will open on Wednesday evening 27th August with a Welcome party. This will be followed by educational days on 28th and 30th August and the AGM on 29th August.
Here is the LINK for detailed information.
Registration will be opening at 1st April 2025.
Join our new IBITA WhatsApp Community
We are growing – 151 members are already part of the community!
This platform is designed to provide a quick and reliable way to keep all our instructors around the world informed with the latest updates, announcements, and important information from the Executive Committee.
Link to Join the IBITA WhatsApp Community
Course Exemptions
Please submit all course exemption requests to the IBITA Chairperson Marc Michielsen – [email protected]
Conferences and Congresses
The Australian Bobath Training Association is running a 1-day conference on the 17th of May 2025 at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
The Topic is:
It Makes Sense – Sensation as a Basis for Movement recovery.
Here the conference flier with speakers and booking LINK
Publishing Courses
Please do not forget to publish the basic and advanced courses you are teaching in 2025/2026. Please publish all the co-instructors or/and instructor candidates who are actively involved in teaching. We have a lot of requests from all over the world and if we don’t know where courses are running, we cannot help with further information! If you need help, please contact the IBITA Secretary Victor Urquizo – [email protected]
Scoping Review Webinar from 1st of March 2025
The Scoping Review of conceptual literature Webinar led by Sofia Marques and Julie Vaughan-Graham is online. Please use this LINK
Education Committee
The Education Committee invites you for the webinar:
“How to find good references” by Agnieszka Sliwka and Kostas Kypriotis
They will go with us through the process of searching for references. We will find answers on questions like: Which databases can be used? How can I structure my searchterm?
How to scale the quality of a reference of review?
They will also address the use of the IBITA library with lots of resources.
The webinar will take place on:
- UTC: 11th of April on 6 PM
- Wellington: 12th of April on 6AM
- Tokyo: 12th of April on 3AM
- Melbourne: 12th of April on 4AM
- CET: 11th of April on 8PM
- New York: 11th of April on 2PM
- Lima: 11th of April on 1PM
You can join the webinar with this LINK, Meeting ID: 857 7186 7189
We hope to see you
Instructor Training Committee
2025 Japan
LAST CHANCE for Module Registration
BCIC Registration Document LINK – This Module is full with a waitlist. Additional registrants will be placed on the waitlist
ACIC Registration Document LINK LAST PLACES REMAINING
The ITC is happy to be offering 2 planned Modules this year in Tokyo, Japan.
Registration information can be found on the IBITA homepage and the tab Instructor training / ITC Modules
Please note this year registration will close on 15th April 2025. This is earlier than in previous years.
Each module has pre-module work group work that will be provided once registration closes.
Pre-Congress ACIC-Module
TITLE: Task analysis as a tool for developing advanced clinical reasoning in the Bobath-Concept.
DATES: Sunday August 24 to Wednesday August 27, 2025
While the title of this Module is the same as Brescia 2024 the context is all new. We will be exploring the below tasks:
- Turning over in bed
- Dressing: putting on a sock in sit
- Walking on inclines
- On and off the floor (as per Japanese culture thru cross leg sit)
- Drinking from a glass in sit
- Dressing in stand to zip and unzip an upper body garment
FEEDBACK from previous ACIC Module:
“Thank you for organising and running the course. It was great to meet and engage/ share/learn and develop my skills with such an international and positive group of therapists.”
“Good friendly atmosphere created, enjoyable patient demos”
“I have a deeper understanding of the observations of task analysis and hands-on interventions.”
“The task analysis strategy, the evidence to support the theory and practicals and the use of MBCP was very well done.”
“We were able to have many discussions among the committee members and participants, which deepened my understanding.”
Post-Congress BCIC-Module
TITLE: Understanding the Complexity of Postural Control for the Functional Recovery of the Upper Limb and Hand
DATES: Sunday August 31st to Wednesday September 3rd, 2025
Future Modules
2026 Germany
- Pre-Congress Advanced Module: August, Sunday 23rd to Wednesday 26th
- Post Congress BCIC Locomotion: August, Sunday 30th to September, Wednesday 2nd
2027 ??
- BCIC Upper Limb
Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee has closed the survey on the upcoming vacant positions. We are now conducting one-on-one meetings to share information with those interested in joining a committee next year.
If you would like to schedule a short meeting to discuss the commitment required by a committee, assess whether it aligns with your expectations, or explore which committee might be the best fit for you, feel free to email us at [email protected]
We would like to remind all members of the vacant positions that will be up for election before the AGM in Tokyo 2025:
- Instructor Trainee Secretary: Norma Lopez – end of first term
- Nominating Committee: Koji Takahashi – end of second term
- Research Committee: Hanna Aviv – end of first term
- Peer Review: Sara Guy – end of second term, Monica Junquero – end of first term
- Instructor Training Committee: Catherine Eustache – end of second term
- Qualification Committee: Cristina Soares – end of first term, Megan Knox – end of first term
In previous emails, we shared testimonials from members completing their second term, where they encouraged others to step forward and highlighted the impact that joining a committee can have on one’s professional growth. Below, you will find the final testimonial of the year from Catherine Eustace:
The upcoming AGM in Tokyo will mark the end of my term as Chair of ITC. Serving on this committee has been a highlight of my professional career. It has been an honor to collaborate with a dedicated group of instructors from around the world, all deeply committed to teaching the Bobath concept. Teaching both the BCIC and ACIC modules presents unique challenges and rewards, demanding a higher level of instruction than even our Advanced Courses.
In my view, the ongoing success of ITC hinges on its members bringing:
- A High Level of Skill: While teaching is always a learning experience, the primary motivation for joining ITC should not be personal learning. Instead, committee members need to bring a high level of expertise to develop and present curriculum effectively. This ensures that our Instructors can deliver their courses at a consistently high standard.
- A Desire to Create a Safe, Nurturing Learning Environment: It’s crucial that Instructor candidates and Instructors feel secure enough to ask questions without fear of criticism.
- An Ability to Work as a Team Player: ITC’s strength lies in the harmonious collaboration of its members, where everyone is supported in their areas of weakness and able to contribute their strengths.
Catherine Eustace.
If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are happy to assist you! Francesco, Koji, Adrian.
Research Committee
The Research Committee is happy to announce a webinar on:
A Study Protocol of a Mixed-Methods Study. Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in Neurorehabilitation: Enhancing Adherence and Competence through Continuing Education in the Bobath Concept
Presented by: Gabriele Eckhardt
Sunday, May 25th, 10am (Germany time)
You may read the abstract in the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IwCtiKVPoph2BHQVhz3PwimN2x5UTqQ4/view?usp=sharing
Looking forward to seeing you all
Other News
If you have any info for the April newsletter, please send it to Victor Urquizo at [email protected] by 15th April