Black History Month 2023
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Black History Month 2023
The theme of this year ’ s UK Black History Month is ‘ Saluting our Sisters ’. This theme highlights the crucial role that Black women have played in shaping history , inspiring change , and building communities and you can join RCOT on social media to celebrate the incredible work that Black women have done ; people you know , people you ’ ve worked with , or people you appreciate .
As we did last year , to mark this month we ’ ve changed the ‘ O ’ in our front cover logo , to show solidarity with our Black members , colleagues and people everywhere .
The design celebrates the colours red , green , gold and black – colours with significant meaning , used widely to denote Black History Month . The ‘ O ’ in our logo represents RCOT ’ s identity as an organisation , as well as ‘ occupation ’.
Black History Month is a brilliant time to talk about Black culture and heritage , but make sure everyone knows that Black history is a part of history that can ( and should ) be learned about all year round .
To help you celebrate , you can find lots of exciting resources to talk to friends and colleagues about at rcot . co . uk / bhm-2023 . If you ’ d like to join the Caribbean Network of Occupational Therapists please contact Dr Blaine Robin via b . robin @ leedsbeckett . ac . uk . If you ’ d like to find out more about BAMEOTUK you can visit their X ( formerly Twitter ) profile , which is frequently updated on activities and actions @ BAMEOTUK . And see our special focus in this issue on pages 12-35 .
© kate _ sept200 via Getty Images
Professor Katrina Bannigan to give the 2024 Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture
RCOT has introduced Professor Katrina Bannigan as the speaker for the 2024 Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture .
With over 26 years of expertise , Katrina is an internationally renowned occupational therapist researcher and educator . Her impactful leadership has greatly fuelled the growth of evidence-based practice in occupational therapy .
Throughout her career , Katrina has actively harnessed her expertise , passion , creativity and innovation to develop a culture of scholarly activity within occupational therapy .
While nominating Katrina , Janice McClymont emphasised that ‘ her expertise not only inspires students and colleagues , but also the entire occupational therapy community to adopt evidence-based practices by merging research , practice and education for meaningful impact ’.
Professor Bannigan , who is Head of Occupational Therapy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics at Glasgow Caledonian University , said : ‘ I am humbled to have been nominated and even more so to have been chosen to do the Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture .
‘ It is an incredible opportunity to play a small part in Elizabeth Casson ’ s legacy to the profession . I ’ m looking forward to the challenge and will do my best to justify the faith that has been placed in me .’
The prestigious lecture will take place online in April 2024 , allowing you to watch it from wherever you are . Plus , you ’ ll have the chance to watch the recording afterwards . All members and occupational therapists can attend for free . We ’ ll share more details about the event and booking in early 2024 .
6 OTnews October 2023