The 20th Congress of Slovenian Physiotherapists, held in Portorož, Slovenia, from November 7th to 9th, not only celebrated the 70th Anniversary Academy of the Slovenian Association of Physiotherapists (ZFS) but also served as a platform to highlight the groundbreaking Moving for Health project. Bridging the gap between physical and health literacy, captured the attention of physiotherapy professionals by showcasing its mission to foster healthier, more active communities through integrated efforts in healthcare, education, local settings, and sports clubs.

The Anniversary Academy, held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, was important moment for the Association. The President awarded national recognition to Marija Kandus, the first President of Slovenian Association of Physiotherapists, which is not only recognition of her life's work, but also recognition of the importance of physiotherapy in healthcare.

Photo by Marko Pigac. 

This year's Congress had a rich and diverse scientific program with invited lectures by top Slovenian and foreign experts in the field of physiotherapy and medicine, as well as presentations of the research work of Slovenian physiotherapists in the fields of neurophysiotherapy, musculoskeletal physiotherapy, women's health, cardiorespiratory physiotherapy and other fields. World Physiotherapy president Michel Landry and Europe Region of World Physiotherapy chair Esther-Mary D’Arcy also attended the congress.

Physiotherapists from the Department of Integrated Prevention of Chronic Diseases in Adults at National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) that are also partners in Moving for Health project actively participated in the Congress and promoted the project at the biggest physiotherapy professional event in Slovenia.

We presented our research paper "Knowledge about Physical Literacy among Slovenian Physiotherapists". Currently this is the first research on physical literacy in physiotherapy on a global scale and the results are encouraging. Physiotherapists in Slovenia understand the concept physical literacy to some extent and have positive attitude towards physical literacy, which is positive for the development of physical literacy in physiotherapy. By making physiotherapists aware of the concept of physical literacy and by developing a suitable measurement tool for assessing physical literacy, barriers could be largely reduced and more optimal conditions for the physical literacy of patients/users of health care services that include physical activity could be provided.

The Moving for Health project was also presented in the framework of the presentation. We emphasized that the primary goal of the project is to combine physical and health literacy into a united model for the promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle in four target environments (medical centres, schools, local community, sports clubs). The secondary goal of the project is the development of a proposal for an assessment tool for physical literacy and the associated indicator in healthcare, which coincides with the findings of the presented research.

The presentation of the Moving for Health project was received with positive attitude and interest. We also announced the development of online training tool for all four target environments so that physiotherapists that attended the lecture can share this information with colleagues within and outside the field of healthcare.