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 INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER SYMPOSIUM
As part of a cross-cultural training exercise, the Academy of Dentistry International in liaison with Health Volunteers Overseas hosted a symposium at the American dental association’s Hillenbrand auditorium on Thursday and Friday October 12-13, 2000. The more than 40 attendees were divided into randomly separated groups (tribes) with each "tribe" having its own culture that fundamentally different from each other.
The challenge was that each "culture" was unknown to the other to facilitate understanding by observation, trail and error participation. The symposium coordinator Fellow Dr. Francis Serio assured the participants that this arrangement was essential to the 1-1/2day program designed for dentists interested in volunteering overseas for the first time and also for veteran international dental volunteers.
Presented in cooperation of the Dentistry Overseas Steering Committee of the Council on ADA Sessions and International Programs, Dr. Serio stressed that this ‘cross-cultural" exercise was designed to put a participant in a culture dissimilar from their own and that we don’t often consider our own behavior as being different. Dr. Serio also stressed the necessity to develop one’s cross-cultural communication ability especially for volunteers who haven’t overseas before to different countries.
The symposium was designed to provide the attendees a "cook book" approach to organizing to organizing international. Dr. Murray Dickson, author of "Where There is No Dentist" a community dental care manual, discussed how dental volunteers can assist in the development of third world countries. The workshop also analyzed the methodology of "training the trainer," which offered insights on how to approach training education programs.
The Faculty included Dr. Francis G. Serio, FADI; Dr. Murray Dickson; Ms. Susan Moher, Dr. Gary Leff and dr. Stephen Mackler, FADI Dr. Henry J. Sazima, Executive Director Emeritus ADI was in attendance at the Friday. Afternoon session.
The Health Volunteers Overseas can be contacted at: c/o Washington Station, P.O. Box 65157 Washington, D.C. 20035-5157 U.S.A. Tel: 202-296-0928 Fax 202-296-8018 E-mail: hvo@aol.com and www.concentric.net/~hvousa.
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International Programs: Int. Vol. Symp.
