During OsEAN's annual General Meeting in Maidstone, UK, we warmly welcomed Marco Giardino from AIMO (Italy) as the newly elected member of our board. He brings fresh perspectives, energy, and expertise that we look forward to incorporating into our organization.

Marco is a practicing osteopath and Principal of AIMO - Accademia Italiana Medicina Osteopatica based in Saronno, Italy.

Marco qualified from the Istituto Italiano di Osteopatia (IIO) obtaining a Bachelor’s degree issued by South West University in 2001.

In 2011 he founded AIMO together with other partners with the aim of developing a unique course of study in Italy and providing its students with a high-quality education that would enable the prospective professional to easily enter the Italian workplace.

Marco Giardino continues to work in private practice in addition to his work at the AIMO.

We look forward to a collaborative journey ahead, working hand in hand with Marco to propel our organization to new heights. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to him as we embark on this exciting chapter together!

In October 2023, BCON - ESO (Maidstone, UK) hosted OsEAN's All Members Meeting, a gathering that brought together osteopathic educators from across Europe. The meeting focused on practical discussions surrounding key topics shaping the field.

News from OsEAN: Keeping Members Informed
The meeting kicked off with updates on OsEAN's ongoing initiatives, providing members with a clear picture of the organization's recent activities and future plans.

News from the Schools: Sharing Progress and Learnings
OsEAN member schools presented updates on their achievements, sharing insights into their latest projects and educational methodologies. The discussions highlighted the collective commitment to excellence in osteopathic education.

A guest: Tomas Colin from Osteopathy Europe
Tomas Colin from Osteopathy Europe was invited as a guest and he offered valuable perspectives on the challenges and opportunities faced by Osteopathy Europe.

Osteopathic Identity Crisis: A Candid Conversation
The meeting addressed the ongoing identity crisis within the osteopathic field. Attendees engaged in frank discussions, sharing experiences and insights to collectively address the challenges ahead.

This May, the Bi-Annual All Members Meeting took place in the picturesque town of Saronno, Italy. This gathering served as a nexus for collaboration, and networking, as attendees from various member schools came together to share knowledge, foster connections, and drive excellence in the field of osteopathy.

The first day started with the president sharing news about OsEAN which included the topic "Osteopathic Models: between tradition and evidence-based practice" and dates: 24^th & 25^th October 2024 of the 9^th Open Forum for Osteopathic Education which will take place in Saronno, Italy. The day continued with the news from the members followed by the main topic of the meeting which was learning outcomes. While some of the 27 attendees participated in a workshop “Competence based Medical Education” lead by Giacomo Consorti which had the aim to present “An outcome-based approach to the design, implementation, assessment, and evaluation of a medical education program using competencies as the organizing framework”, the others discussed existing documents on learning outcomes within osteopathy.

On February 17^th, 2023, osteopathic students from all over the world gathered for the Virtual International Student Day (VISD) 2023, an event that aimed to connect students and provide them with valuable insights into the field of osteopathy. OsEAN organises the event once a year and this was the 3^rd VISD organised so far, the first one was in 2021.  The Virtual International Student Day gives a platform for students to network with each other and learn from international teachers.

This year’s VISD was the first in a series of three which focus on the philosophy and identity of the osteopath, and how these have evolved over time. The topic was concentrating on the history - “Osteopathic Identities in a Changing World: History”. The following two events will concentrate on philosophy and principles in 2024 and on Identity in 2025.
The Virtual International Student Day 2023 was a resounding success, with 350 participants from various countries, in Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the rest of the world: Argentina, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, United States. Some participants marked the cities there were in at that moment and this is how the map below was created.

The topic of OsEAN’s eight “Open Forum for Osteopathic Education” conference which was held on 29^th & 30^th September 2022 in Antwerp, Belgium was “Teaching Clinical Competencies”.
The clinic is an important part in osteopathic education and clinical competencies are a core part of osteopathic training, according to the CEN-Standard for Osteopathy (CENTC414-N0086). Teaching clinical competencies includes the application of all osteopathic skills to real patients.

The lectures, workshops and poster presentations were very well received by the seventy present participants from Europe. The conference continued one and a half days offering keynote speeches from Prof. Eyal Lederman on “Process Approach in Osteopathy.” (read abstract / view presentation) and Stephen Vogel on „Conceptualising and teaching the risk of serious vascular adverse events associated with manual therapy when treating the neck: An overview of a recent International Framework.” (read abstract / view presentation)

During OsEAN's annual General Meeting Catherine Clair from ESO (UK) was elected as a board member. We are very happy to welcome her on board.

Catherine graduated from the European School of Osteopathy (ESO) in 2005 from the CIDO - ESO pathway and has since been actively involved in various roles at the ESO for both undergraduate and international departments as well as practicing in two clinics in Kent.
Following her diploma in Osteopathy, Catherine has obtained a Masters degree in Osteopathy from the ESO as well as a Postgraduate certificate in Higher Education from the University of Greenwich and is currently undertaking a Doctorate in Education.

The second annual All Members Meeting as well as the General Meeting took place in Antwerp on 28^th September 2022. The meeting was only one day long because it was on the day before OsEAN's 8^th Open Forum Conference dedicated to the topic of Clinical Competencies. The meetings topics were different. then last time. The members talked about the news from their schools and countries, about the upcoming Open Forum and decided on the topic of the Open Forum Conference in 2024. The exact title needs to be formulated but we can tell you already now that it would be on research and its implementation in the classroom. Further Marco Giardino from AIMO and Marco Sbarbaro from SSOI presented Fondazione PSP - Promozione della Salute e della Prevenzione (promotion of Health and prevention) how it works and what its goals are.

This was OsEAN’s first in person meeting after the pandemic. The meeting took place in Vienna, Austria on the 23^rd & 24^th May 2022. Host was the WSO (Vienna School of Osteopathy). Main topics of this meeting were succession and leadership, two topics our members were highly interested in. Often osteopathic schools are reigned by one person alone which wears many heads in the structure of the school and in these cases, it is important to realise that the time will come for the principal to retire and there needs to be a plan of action in place on how to do the change smoothly. It is important to realise that when a school is led by one person only if anything happens to the principal, the school needs to continue working without major problems. Here is also important to acknowledge the role a good leader plays in the organisation of an educational institution. This led to the decision that workshops on these topics are needed. The workshop “Succession in osteopathic schools” a workshop led by Raimund Engel (WSO, Austria) and the workshop “Perspectives on leadership as principal for an osteopathy school” was led by Daniel Heed (SKOHS, Sweden).