INTERNATIONAL BOBATH INSTRUCTORS TRAINING ASSOCIATION
An international association for adult neurological rehabilitation
May Newsletter
Executive Committee
Congress and AGM 2026 in Hanover, Germany
The 42nd IBITA AGM will be held on Friday 28th August 2026 at MHH Hanover (Hanover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg Strasse 1)
The Congress will open on Wednesday evening 26th August with a Welcome party. This will be followed by educational days on 27th and 29th August and the AGM on 28th August.
Here is the LINK for detailed information. Registration is open.
AGM 2027 – save the date!
The EC is happy to announce that the 43rd IBITA AGM 2027 will be held in Rheinfelden, Switzerland from 11th to 14th August 2027.
The BCIC-Module will take place in the Reha Rheinfelden from 8th to 11th August 2027 and the AT-Module from 15th to 18th August 2027.
The EC, IBITA members working in the Reha Rheinfelden and the IBITA Swiss are organizing this event together. Details will follow.
New Qualified Instructors
We would like to congratulate Hrvoje Matic from Croatia who qualified as Basic Course Instructor in May 2026
SIS Survey
- All members (Full, Retired, Honorary Life Members, and Associate Members) are required to complete the SIS: Procedural Manual, 2.4 Statements of Instructor Status and Instructor Candidate Status (SIS)
- The SIS survey must be submitted after 1st May and before 1st July (Byelaws Art. VI – Members’ rights and duties – Section II Duties of members – Clause 3).
- Exemptions must be applied for before July 1st, the SIS submission deadline.
May 31th
Deadline to submit motions for the AGM!
Join our IBITA WhatsApp Community
172 members are 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]
Publishing IBITA recognized courses
According to the passed motion 10.1. at the 41st AGM in Tokyo, all IBITA-recognized courses must be advertised on the IBITA website. Please publish all the co-instructors or/and instructor candidates who are actively involved in teaching. If you need help, please contact the IBITA Secretary Victor Urquizo – [email protected]
Research Commitee
The ResCom would like to invite IBITA members to volunteer for our Reading Circles initiative. We have recently completed our review of 2024 and are now looking ahead to 2025. This is a valuable and fulfilling opportunity to stay up-to-date with leading journals in the field, while contributing to the collective knowledge of our community.
As part of this initiative, volunteers are assigned 3–4 journals and are asked to look for articles that may be of interest to IBITA members. Selected articles are then shared for inclusion in the IBITA library. The contribution can be flexible — either a one-time effort or an ongoing (e.g., yearly) involvement, according to each volunteer’s availability.
If you are interested, please contact Kostas ([email protected])
Nominating Committee
The NomCom is now opening the committee positions for 2026.
Below is a summary table of committee members whose terms are coming to an end, helping to identify the vacant positions for 2026.
| Committee | Member | Country | Term Status |
| Executive Committee (Secretary) | Victor Urquizo | Germany | End of first term |
| Verification Committee | Klaus Gusowski | Germany | End of second term |
| Appeals & Grievance Committee | Heike Abt | Germany | End of first term |
| Education Committee | Helen Linfield | UK | End of second term |
| Bobath Development Committee | Gakeemah Inglis-Jassiem | South Africa | End of second term |
| Nominating Committee | Francesco Inversini | Italy | End of first term |
| Research Committee | Satoru Otsuki | Japan | End of first term |
| Research Committee | Kostas Kypriotis | Greece | End of second term |
| Research Committee | Paul Johnson | UK | End of first term |
| Peer Review Committee | Sara Guy | UK | End of second term |
| Instructor Training Committee | Monika Pessler | Germany | End of second term |
| Qualification Committee | Alena Scurrah | Australia | End of second term |
| Qualification Committee | Nabuhiro Hiura | Japan | End of first term |
| Qualification Committee | Elisabeth Swain | Canada | End of first term |
We would also like to share some suggestions from the committees to help members and future applicants better understand the work involved in each role.
- The Education Committee is seeking enthusiastic individuals with strong communication skills to support the implementation of learning objectives and the development of educational initiatives, including a planned webinar series on neurophysiology; familiarity with IBITA is helpful, but a critical mindset and solid knowledge of the Basic Course are key.
- The Instructor Training Committee requires instructors meeting the criteria defined in the Byelaws, with a commitment to supporting international training, consistency in teaching, and the ongoing development and quality of instructor education
- The Peer Review Committee focuses on auditing members’ activities in line with IBITA Regulations and the Procedural Manual.
- The Research Committee welcomes motivated members who are comfortable engaging with research, contributing to activities such as reading circles, webinars, newsletter input, and advising on ongoing projects.
- In the Grievance and Appeal Committee, to support broader international representation and balance within the committee, it could be valuable to consider a new member from regions currently less represented, such as the Americas, Africa, Asia, or Oceania.
- The Qualification Committee is focused on ensuring a high-quality, standardized, and internationally consistent qualification process for instructors at all levels, while supporting the development, training, and monitoring of the Qualification Panel.
We have also the new Social Media Committee where we need 5 members:
- To support and promote IBITA’s mission through strategic communication across social media platforms, helping to increase visibility, strengthen engagement, share evidence-based content, and foster international collaboration within the neurorehabilitation community.
We would also like to share the testimonial of Monika Pessler, who served on the Instructor Training Committee and is finishing her term this year:
“I am the contact person for the organization of the modules, e.g. number and kind of patients, equipment, meal times etc.
Re the work within the ITC, we try to share the tasks between us. There is not a specific topic I am responsible for.
The collaboration with my different colleagues on that committee is a wonderful experience. We are supporting each other and try to use our strengths and improve our weaknesses. We are very open and appreciative in our discussions! Our common goal is to improve the delivery of material in a didactic way and spread enthusiasm.
This very positive experience supported my personal and professional development.
In my opinion, for joining the ITC you should already have teaching experience and a very solid theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics taught in the modules. You can also see more detailed information in the Byelaws regarding the ITC.
It was more than a pleasure to serve on that committee!”
Participation in a committee is a valuable opportunity to contribute to IBITA’s development while engaging with an international professional community.
If you have any further questions, would like to organize a meeting to clarify doubts, or would like support regarding your nomination, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] .
Other News
If you have any info for the June 2026 newsletter, please send it to Victor Urquizo at [email protected] by 15th June.