In 1967 the British Orthoptic Society Executive, with Barbara Lee as Chair, conceived the idea of proposing the formation of an international association of orthoptists. They felt that the profession had arrived at a stage in its development which called for international cooperation and exchange of ideas. As a means of sponsoring this venture the Society staged a first international congress of orthoptists in London with the express wish of proposing to those present, the formation of an International Orthoptic Association. It was in this way that the IOA came to be formed. Eight of the countries present at that 1967 meeting were the original signatories and now the IOA has a membership of over 12,000 orthoptists stemming from national association from 26 different countries.
Enjoy 50 years of IOA in pictures now! IOA 50th Anniversary
What is your IOA?
If you were asked to tell a story about being an IOA member, what would your story be?
That’s the question the IOA has asked of its members as the Association commemorates the IOA’s 50th birthday during 2017.
Here are some of these personal stories. We’ve already collected many interesting and entertaining examples.
Do feel free to share a picture with us, write a few lines or send us a video message. You can email your story to Katherine J. Fray, IOA Secretary, at secretary@internationalorthoptics.org or post them on IOA Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin. We will continue to publish our favourite stories on our website during 2017.
We want to hear orthoptists personal stories about what defines the IOA for them.
