Countries

On April 8, 2017, the Central Association for Pedorthics in Germany (Zentralverband für Orthopädie­schuhtechnik, ZVOS) could celebrate its 100 years founding anniversary. Many things have changed within these 100 years. But the basic idea of the founding fathers is still valid: To help people with foot problems being mobile again.

Friendly people, pedorthic needs and flat bureaucratic structures – Samuel Welter has been heading a pedorthic company in Ireland for one and a half years. After many years in Germany he specifically looked for a country with comparatively low bureaucratic hurdles.

On 28 and 29 January the 13th congress of the Japanese Pedorthic Association “IVO Japan” took place. After Osaka in the year before this time Nagoya, Aichi, was chosen as the venue for the annual congress. With nearly 400 visitors and about 50 presentations in the specialized program the congress president Kaoru Kuribayashi was very happy about the attendance.

The Kobe College for Medical Welfare has been running courses in pedorthics for twenty years. IVO Japan took this 20-year anniversary as an opportunity to host this year‘s annual congress in Kobe. The motto of the event was ‘Design and Performance‘, focusing both on solutions to foot disorders and design aspects.

The pathway to his own workshop was a long one for Kosuke Fukushi. After many years in footwear retail and innumerable continuing education courses in pedorthics, Kosuke braved the waters last year and added on a fully equipped pedorthic workshop to his shoe business in Tokyo. This new workshop isn’t just where all orthopedic and pedorthic work is now carried out; it’s also where he produces all of his hand-made custom footwear. By Clemens Hagen

On 2nd February 2024, the graduation ceremony for the first PhD in Pedorthics took place at a graduation event of Southern Cross University at the Gold Coast. Sayed Ahmed graduated with the first Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree as a Pedorthist in Australia.