eosvisions

Overview

Professional exchanges, knowledge sharing and the contribution of expertise are important factors in personal and professional advancement. To respond to the growing need for international experiences, professional focus travel programs offer the opportunity to groups of individuals with a similar professional background to visit another country, and meet with local and expatriate counterparts working in the same or a related field.

Eos Visions creates international travel experiences for doctors, nurses, lawyers, educators, social scientists and others who are able to gain valuable perspective about their own profession through counterpart meetings where they can share common challenges and connect on a one-to-one level. This frequently leads to the creation of long-term sustainable partnerships and friendships, and sometimes even professional initiatives on the ground. Most of our partners are leading professional umbrella bodies on national or regional levels, or international professional non-profits. Delegates not only benefit from career development and personal enrichment, but, in some countries, also from continuing education credits and tax deductibility.

Among others, we are the official East Africa partner of the People to People Ambassador Programs and of Academic Travel Abroad. In the past, we have hosted delegations relating to the following themes:

• Medicine: Community & family health nursing, critical care medicine, family medicine, healthcare & medical education, mental health & social services, neonatal nursing, nursing, oral health, psychiatry, physiotherapy, rural physicians
• Education: English language & literature, head start, interdisciplinary education
• Law: Rule of law
• Social sciences: Counseling, psychology, social work

Features

Every professional association or non-profit partner has a different approach and philosophy when it comes to its international travel experience. As a comprehensive destination manager, we can handle all on-the-ground services that might be desirable and also advise on the educational content of the programs. Specific features include:

Travel logistics:

• Suitable 3, 4 and 5 star hotels with special negotiated group rates
• Up-to-date selection of the best local restaurants
• High-quality transport providers offering anything from comfortable SUVs and minivans to modern buses and coaches
• Appropriate conference facilities, and efficient organization and management of events
• Mix of knowledgeable and experienced local and international multilingual guides and tour managers
• Efficient back-office support also after normal business hours
• Collaboration with leading US-based operators like the People to People Ambassador Programs and of Academic Travel Abroad to provide customized airline services as well as additional international travel assistance such as foreign visa processing or insurance services

Educational content:

• In-house policy knowledge and research in a range of fields
• Strategic local alliances – ranging from top government authorities to academic leaders, embassies, development agencies, non-profit organizations and local businesses – willing to interact with our customers through guest presentations, meetings, lectures and site visits

Cultural activities:

• All tourism highlights that East Africa has to offer, including safaris, gorilla treks, cultural activities and events, and historical site visits
• Special theme-based city introductions, e.g. along the lines of history and contemporary politics
• Special theme-based excursions looking at development issues (e.g. in Rwanda’s Millennium Village), income-generating projects (e.g. SIDAREC in Kenya’s Kibera slum), challenges of historically marginalized people (e.g. the Batwa in Rwanda), gender mainstreaming, or coffee, tea, sugar and palm oil harvesting and processing
• Pre- or post-trip extensions

Case studies

Rural physicians:
In August 2010, Dr. Karl Stobbe, President of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada, led a delegation of rural physicians to Rwanda, co-hosted by the People to People Ambassador Programs. The primary professional objective was to seek better understanding of healthcare in rural Rwanda. Delegates learned about priority health needs of the people, how the current healthcare system addresses those needs, and what the working conditions of doctors and other healthcare professionals look like. Eos Visions created the program content, liaised with the local partners, managed the delegation and provided all logistics.

Neonatal nursing:
Since her first visit to Rwanda on a People to People Ambassador Programs healthcare and medical education delegation in March 2008, neonatal intensive care nurse Sherri Brown Geier has repeatedly led delegations to teach the STABLE program at leading referral hospitals in the country. STABLE is the most widely distributed and implemented neonatal education program taught to nurses, physicians, therapists and assistants. Eos Visions is hosting these delegations, advising on project policy and effectiveness, liaising with the local partners and providing all logistics. Future delegations will also be co-hosted by the Council of International Neonatal Nurses and the National Association of Neonatal Nurses.

Oral health:
Dr. Richard Reckmeyer is the executive director of Rural Rwanda Dental, an organization that provides education and technical training to empower nurses and community health workers to perform simple extractions, complete basic cleanings, and teach prevention. In Rwanda, there are less than 200 oral healthcare providers for over ten million people. Richard and his team have created a teaching model that can be implemented by visiting professionals in only three weeks. Eos Visions is regularly organizing the stays of Rural Rwanda Dental missions, and the two partners are also teaming up with the People to People Ambassador Programs to host oral health knowledge sharing delegations.