Every day across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, North Star Alliance’s committed local teams are
breaking barriers to health, providing marginalised populations with stigma-free access to essential
health services through their e-health network. With their pioneering model and scale, the organisation
is posed to share promising practices at the 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS2018) in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands from 23-27 July, 2018. To bridge the geographical divide, the Dutch-based
innovator has tapped into virtual reality technology to share their work with the world.
“With much of our work falling in the field of HIV, when we learned that the International AIDS
Conference was coming to our home turf we immediately started thinking about how to best share our
model, our people, our context and our impact. We turned to virtual reality to best tell our story.”
shared Ylse van der Schoot, Executive Director of North Star Alliance.
Located in the centre of the AIDS2018 Global Village, North Star’s exhibition booth is set to transport
delegates and visitors from Amsterdam’s RAI Convention Centre to one of their 49 Blue Box clinics in
Africa. Popping with colour and the vibrancy of life; a shipping container will be set up as a replica clinic,
complemented by wraparound artwork, establishing a setting of sunny skies, open roads and an African
landscape. And then, the true diamond: the short 360 virtual reality tour of North Star’s Jomvu clinic in
Kenya is loaded and ready to be experienced via two Oculus-Go headsets.
“Virtual reality helps us to establish the value of our healthcare delivery model, in the context of our
clients. With 360 vision, visitors gain a firsthand look at what a real clinic looks like, the roles of our local
teams and the impacts on our clients. It demonstrates our innovative, proven model and driven people,
which are what makes this organisation a success. To illustrate this, we want to showcase our
organisation, talk about our promising practices, and find more partners who share our vision for a
healthy future for all.” continues Ylse, “Joining our Alliance means giving more people access to health,
something that everyone should have.”
With more than 11 years’ experience in operations, North Star has built a wealth of insights, and is
proud to share promising practices at AIDS2018. An international and cross-functional team has been
assembled to represent the about 300 staff, and will be present at all North Star activations, from their
film screening, to satellite sessions, partner and networking events, AIDS2018 publications, and more.
As an organisation, North Star Alliance is an illustration of the Power of Many. It is the combined work of
their people and their partners that creates North Star’s impact on the ground. The Power of Many is so
central to realising North Star’s impact, it runs throughout the AIDS2018 activations forming a visually
beautiful campaign. Visitors to North Star’s booth can learn more about North Star’s model and
promising practices, along with collecting a limited-edition button badge, and a pair of North Star
Alliance virtual reality cardboard glasses.
North Star’s exhibition space at the 2018 International AIDS Conference is booth #640 in the Global
Village at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam, 08:30 – 18:00, Monday 23 to Friday 27 July, 2018.
