"We are very pleased with the project, which will open up a wide range of opportunities to the university," they said. "Further, we believe that the proposed e-campus will have a lasting impact on Haiti's education system as a whole." [Frederick Humphries], now regent pro fessor at Florida A&M, says the effort grew out of his school's drive to collect donations for Haiti right after the January 2010 quake. He led a small delegation to visit the State University last summer, and afterward Humphries and Dr. Arthur Thomas, program manager at Morgan State, phoned a* number of black college presidents. "All of them wanted to help," Humphries says. Leaders of each consortium expressed a willingness to collaborate. "Where we can make common cause, we'll be very happy to do that," Humphries says. Alix Cantave, associate director of the Trotter Institute at UMass Boston, says such cooperation "makes sense."
The program, which is sponsored by the Haitian Heritage Museum, featured traditional lecture format, intermingled with question and answer sessions, and a line up of local artists - Caheej, Flo and Mecca aka "Grimo." Throughout the presentation, the performers and speakers itnteracted with the audience. The program was designed for that purpose, explained Evaline Pierre, CEO and founder of the Haitian Heritage Museum, to keep them paying attention. "I chose artists to teach the culture because art transcends all boundries. Anyone can identify a beautiful painting." Attention is important because one of the program goals is to teach Haitian culture, a culture that is not widely known about, and by extension increase tolerance for differences. "It's a starting point," said Serge Rodrique, cofounder of Haitian Heritage Museum, "[so] you can start to understand similarities."
Luzincourt,Ketty (Author) and Gulbrandson,Jennifer (Author)
Format:
pamphlet
Publication Date:
Aug 2010
Published:
United States Institute of Peace
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
20 p., Explains that in Haiti, education both promotes and ameliorates conflict. Describes the education sector before the 2010 earthquake, then presents recommendations on how Haiti and the international community can increase access to and the quality of Haitian schools and modernize the organization and function of the national education sector. References.
The long-term prosperity and peace in Haiti depend on pursuing policies that have realistic prospects for implementation and are mutually coherent. Priorities include reforming the civil service and justice systems, streamlining regulations for business, reconstructing housing and infrastructure, improving schools and health care, and ensuring donor cooperation.
Discusses the imperative to establish a functioning education system and explores how the earthquake exacerbated perennial challenges to the Haitian education system, while also perhaps offering some hope. Analyzes reconstruction efforts involving the Government of Haiti and such organizations as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, arguing that an education system premised on local ownership and focused on sustainability is Haiti's best hope.
