Background

Following a meeting between the French and Norwegian Amputee Associations, ADEPA and Momentum, in Nantes in October 2014, it was agreed that we, as amputees and our national associations, could benefit from sharing knowledge and experiences. No joint organisation existed at that time. Between the association’s representatives from other amputee associations were invited to meet and form a joint forum.

Foundation Meeting in Paris

25th March 2015 representatives from amputee associations from Norway, France, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands met in Paris, France, and agreed on common goals and formed the first ever international confederation uniting amputees worldwide.

Constitution meeting in Leipzig

The first AGM and board meeting took place in May 2015 in Leipzig, Germany, and the following three founding board members were elected: Dr. Nils-Odd Tønnevold (President), Dieter Jüptner (Vice President) and Jean-Pascal Hons-Olivier (Secretary). In addition, Sandra Sexton was appointed as Secretariat Manager. Sandra is a global expert in prosthetics and orthotics and brought a passion to IC2A through her experience working with service users across the globe. In 2023 Sandra was recognised at the ISPO Congress in Mexico as the Sepp Heim recipient for her dedication to prosthetics and orthotics and work in low income countries as well as her educational guidance for prosthetists and orthotists around the world. Sandra finished her volunteer services with IC2A in 2022 and IC2A thanks Sandra for her commitment and support to IC2A and appreciates the legacy she helped create.

Launch of ISPO & IC2A Partnership in Lyon

At the ISPO World Congress in Lyon, France, in June 2015 a Memorandum of Understanding was launched to start an official partnership between ISPO & IC2A. The MoU was signed by the ISPO President Bengt Söderberg (Certified Prosthetists Orthotist) and IC2A President Dr. Nils-Odd Tønnevold and witnessed by user representatives from amputee associations from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands.

Working towards World Standards together with WHO

In 2015, as result of two years of campaigning, the World Health Assembly mandated WHO and partners to create the first ever world standards for prosthetics and orthotics. IC2A’s previous Secretariat, Sandra Sexton was a lead author for the standards and IC2A President Dr. Nils-Odd Tønnevold was invited to join the WHO Standards Development Group consisting of 38 global professional and user experts. The group worked together for two years and the results of their work was presented at the ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, in May 2017.