from left:

Prof. Dr. Rudolf Probst, Director of the University ENT-HNS Department, Medical Faculty, University of Basel

Prof. Dr. Mihael Podvinec, Chief of the ENT-HNS Department, Cantonal Hospital of Aarau

Dr. Silke Hasenclever, Chief of the ENT Department, Cantonal Hospital of Olten

Prof. Kurt Tschopp, Chief of the ENT Department, Cantonal Hospital of Liestal

Dr. André Arnoux, Associate Chief in Aarau

Prof. Markus Wolfensberger, Associate Director in Basel

ORL-BAL is an association of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) Departments of the Medical Faculty in Basel and the Cantonal Hospitals of Aarau, Liestal and Olten, Switzerland. We have successfully co-operated during the past five years in the planning and implementation of continued education and specialist training programmes for trainees in the specialty, as well as in providing specialist health care and in conducting multicenter clinical research studies.

In the course of their visits abroad, members of ORL-BAL recognised a great need for knowledge transfer to a number of ORL-HNS Departments in countries in transition and of the Third World. The financing of postgraduate education, especially of educational travel abroad and regular acquisition of new literature is difficult there. This again impedes the introduction of modern medical standards in specialist medical care. Through a spontaneous initiative, we organised visits of trainees from East- and Southeast Europe in Switzerland as well as lectures by members of ORL-BAL in these countries. These were quite successful, judged by the feedback from the local colleagues. The willingness of ORL specialists from Switzerland to provide such knowledge transfer to foreign colleagues was highly valued and is, by all standards, an enrichment for ORL-BAL Departments and also beneficial to the image of Swiss medicine abroad.

In order to focus these activities on knowledge transfer and to increase transparency, sustainability and accountability, members of ORL-BAL founded the

The Society was founded on January 24, 2003 in order to strengthen the international ties of our Member Departments with those Departments abroad, who expressly solicit our co-operation in providing knowledge transfer. Membership in the Society of Friends of Otorhinolaryngology is not limited to specialists in the field or even to medical personnel. Any person or organisation prepared to support the goals of the Society is welcome as a regular, passive or a supporting member.

Medicus Mundi, the Swiss Network of Organisations for International Cooperation in Health Care has, in 2003, accepted the membership of our Society in their organisation. This membership links the Society to other Swiss organisations providing support in medical care abroad. www.medicusmundi.ch