The Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C. is now accepting applications are or the Haiti's Future Leaders Fellowship. The fellowship targets graduate students and young professionals of Haitian descent in the United States and talented university students in Haiti. Haiti-bound fellows will be based in Port-au-Prince as part of an eight week program from June-August 2016. Applications are due by March 1st, 2016. More information below:
To say the Dominican Republic and Haiti have a difficult history is an under-statement. Despite historical (and largely artificial) divisions, there is much the two countries share. This includes a love of music, dance, rum and a good fet/fiesta. The Smithsonian Institution’s Latino Center and the Haitian and Dominican Embassies teamed up yesterday to hold a concert celebrating friendship among two peoples who share an island and a future. Enriquillo Tejada y Los Clarinetes Magicos and Tabou Combo represented their countries well.
According to the Cable, former U.S. President Bill Clinton will be named a U.N. special envoy to Haiti this week. Clinton made his fourth trip to Haiti in March with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. He had told the Miami Herald, "I've been following this country for more than three decades...the message I want to send is Haitians work hard and they work smart. Haiti is a good place to invest."
According to Caribbean Net News, Haitian Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis gave a speech on March 28th to the Organization of American States (OAS) highlighting significant improvements in both security and governannce. A stable, democratic Haiti is strategically important to the Americas. Haiti needs the help of its neighbors but doing so will require convincing them that Haiti can sustain this progress - that this is not another false promise.
The First Lady recently visited Haiti (read: Port au Prince), visting the well known GHESKIO (Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi's Sarcoma and Other Opportunisting Infections) Center as well as a school, education being one of her personal priorities. The last visit by a first lady to Haiti was by Hillary Clinton in 1998. Politics aside, this is a sign of progress. You can more about the visit in the New York Times.
