OpEd: We disagree with Florida. That’s why we’re holding our conference there

The natural instinct of organizations whose very lifeblood and mission is to help people, is to jump back from a state flouting human rights violations as if touching a hot stove. But the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) will be doing just the opposite. We are turning up the heat in Orlando next March because of the state's racially charged, sexual orientation challenging, book banning banter.

AOTA has been holding national conferences for over 100 years. As with any large membership organization, the logistics of organizing a convention requires a full-time, year-round staff of planning experts. Across only 20 states, there are just 32 convention facilities large enough to hold some 10,000 attendees of our INSPIRE Annual Conference and Expo. Of those, several are cost-prohibitive for our nonprofit organization, reducing the options even further. Locales are booked years in advance.

Orlando Orange County Convention Center is the second largest convention venue in the country. It was selected in 2018 by AOTA to host it’s 2024 Annual Conference. As we know, the world was turned upside down in 2020 by the pandemic and politically, the world grows more and more fraught. This year alone, at least five major conventions pulled out of Orlando because of laws like the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, “don’t say gay,” abortion, and other mean-spirited legislation.

Nonetheless, everyday people who earn their living in the convention ecosystem need our business. Their rent and grocery bills are indifferent to the wind of change. And, while there is mounting strife in the state of Florida, tourism accounts for over one million direct jobs and an additional 1.5 million indirect and supply chain jobs.

Should we punish them for the actions of their government?

Instead of pulling out of a location for our convention because we disagree with the current discourse in that area, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to bring more than 10,000 occupational therapy practitioners, students, health professionals, speakers, presenters, and vendors to town to show our solidarity for those impacted by discriminatory policies.

This decision was not received well among a portion of our community. Not at all. As a matter of fact, we got a lot of flack and negative feedback. To sum it up, there was a faction of folks who screamed “How dare AOTA hold a conference in a state that is banning books?” “What were you thinking, AOTA, about holding our sacred annual conference in a state that questions and punishes gender identity, a state that the NAACP has deemed dangerous for travelers of color?!” And so on. Fair enough.

To this we decided to hold ourselves accountable and ask those very same questions. From early planning stages up through post-conference debriefing, we are working with the Orlando local conference committee to support social justice in Orlando.

We held an open forum for AOTA members and explained our thought process. We opened the floor for questions and comments. The outcome was overwhelmingly positive. Once we had the dialogue (touching on some of the points here) people connected the dots just like our team did. Why punish Floridians for the actions of those in power?

The fact is, the cultural and political landscape of every state in the country always has, and always will present conscious-weighing challenges. We understand that the threats of safety in Florida go beyond the silly “anti-woke” rhetoric being peddled and grabbing headlines. We cannot control the microphone, but we can take measures to keep our attendees safe. Transportation, accommodation selection, and site security are very much in our control.

As CNN reported recently, the controversies in Florida are costing the state millions of dollars. And this hits the pocketbook of the average resident, not those who are passing laws and yelling from soapboxes. As occupational therapy practitioners, our job is to care for people across their lifespan. Wouldn’t we be joining in the fray of punishing more Floridians by pulling our conference?

We have several months before we get to Orlando for a week of learning, fellowship and yes – local spending and charity donations to benefit the average Floridian. It is our duty to remain vigilant about any new developments that might affect the safety and security of attendees. But we feel utterly confident that when we focus on the experience and connectivity AOTA will foster for our community , the where is just not as important as the why of bringing people together.