Explanation to lists of signatories
The recently published 2019 report to the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change once again underscores that we need the involvement of 7.5 billion people to achieve the necessary changes to tackle the combined environmental and health challenges we are currently facing (Watts et al., 2019). A critical element of ensuring that the physiotherapy profession can make a substantial contribution is, therefore, to recognise that we can, must, and do meet the challenges ahead together, physiotherapy clinicians, researchers, students, educators and professional representatives alike, and in collaboration with our clients and colleagues across the world of healthcare and beyond. The three lists of signatories included in the EPT Agenda 2023 - Individual Signatories, Supporting Organisations, and Participating Institutions - aim to reflect this need for comprehensive collaboration and give further strength to our combined voices. Their brief explanations in the following hope to provide more context to those considering supporting the EPT Agenda 2023 as individuals, organisations, or participating institutions.
Individual Signatories
The list of Individual Signatories invites people from across the physiotherapy profession to support the call to action proposed in the EPT Agenda 2023 irrespective of their current role or history in the profession. That is, physiotherapy clinicians, educators, researchers, professional representatives and, importantly, students are equally invited to express their support by signing the EPT Agenda 2023 Individual Signatories list and add strength to the call for the integration of environmental physiotherapy and sustainability perspectives into entry-level physiotherapy education.
Reaching beyond our profession, we also cordially invite colleagues from other healthcare professions to express their support and help us achieve its aim by signing this list. We are grateful and aware that you are working on similar efforts and would appreciate all of your support, encouragement and collaboration.
Last but by no means least, we would equally like to invite our clients to do the same. Boldly speaking for our colleagues in physiotherapy and healthcare in general, we genuinely seek to improve our work on a daily basis and believe that acknowledging the bigger, planetary picture of health represents a timely addition to these efforts.
An additional element of the Individual Signatories list is that we envision its signing also to express a commitment and leadership at the personal level. As with education, we do not seek to be too prescriptive here. Many actions that can be taken at the individual level are already known and well supported in the literature, from small adjustments to one’s diet to adjusting one’s travelling habits, and more. Physiotherapists might feel especially familiar with personal pledges to a switch from passive to active transport where feasible. The physiotherapy profession currently consists of more than 1.6m physiotherapists and a large number of physiotherapy students worldwide. Whatever personal adjustments we might choose to make, with so many physiotherapists and physiotherapy students committed to not only taking professional but also individual action aimed at improving environmental sustainability in other parts of their lives, we cannot fail to contribute to the significant societal shift required to meet today’s most urgent health challenges.
Supporting Organisations
The list of Supporting Organisations is meant to multiply what is expressed in the Individual Signatories list at an even large-scale, calling on professional organisations within healthcare and beyond to express their support for the EPT Agenda 2023. We have no particular expectations or restrictions here as to who or what classifies as an organisation that can sign the EPT Agenda 2023. Organisations can include large-scale international professional groups, national and regional professional organisations, small and large special interest groups, as well as other healthcare professional and patient groups and organisations. With all of your support, we will undoubtedly achieve the aim of this agenda and help improve health and wellbeing around the globe.
What applies to us as individuals naturally also applies to the organisations we have formed and that represent us. Support and leadership at the level of organisations are therefore equally critical and indispensable in the realisation of the EPT Agenda 2023. If your organisation wishes to support the EPT Agenda 2023, please contact us here. We will then be in touch with you regarding your organisation logo (preferably PNG format with transparent background) and, once received, this will be added to the Supporting Organisations list in the PDF publication and Agenda website.
Participating Institutions
The final list gathers the physiotherapy education institutions that offer entry-level programs and have decided to implement the EPT Agenda 2023. Much courage, passion, leadership and drive are required for this given that tertiary education institutions around the world are under a variety of considerable and growing pressures, financially, politically, and environmentally. To take on a task as bold as the one proposed in this Agenda is no small feat, irrespective of the extent or approach chosen to achieving it. We, the signatories and supporters of the EPT Agenda 2023, are therefore particularly grateful for your support and participation and are eager to collaborate with you in these efforts.
If your physiotherapy education institution wishes to support and participate in the EPT Agenda 2023, please contact us here. We will then be in touch with you regarding the addition of your institution logo (preferably PNG format with transparent background) to the Participating Physiotherapy Education Institutions list and provide you with all required detail regarding our proposition for collaboration on the further development of environmental physiotherapy education.