Haiti: Promoting the
Social and Solidarity Economy and Investing in Social Entrepreneurship to fight
against poverty.
Haiti, officially the
Republic of Haiti, is a country in the Greater Antilles occupying the western
third of the island of Hispaniola (about 28 000 km2). Its capital is
Port-au-Prince. Haiti is close to 10 million inhabitants. Pearl of the West
Indies before fighting the French who occupied this island. Haiti became in
1804 the first independent republic of predominantly black population after the
Haitian Revolution (1791-1803) that led the army of Napoleon Bonaparte to
abandon the island. Haiti is also the only independent French-speaking
Caribbean country.
However, today, Haiti
remains one of the poorest and most unequal countries in Latin America. Eight
years after the devastating earthquakes of January 12, 2010, killing more than
300,000 people and causing considerable damage, poverty is still high,
especially in rural areas. The economic disparity is high: 63% of the country's
wealth is in the hands of the richest 20% of the population, while the poorest,
40% of the population, have access to only 9% of the wealth. 40% of the
population is food insecure. Haiti has the highest risk index of natural
disasters in the world. Haiti has the highest population density in the region
(353 people per km2).
In this regard, and
with the aim of promoting the social and solidarity economy and investing in
social entrepreneurship to fight poverty and find appropriate solutions adapted
to the current reality of the country, the Youth Foundation and Perspective
(FJP) and Global Communication & Services, two institutions legally
recognized by the State, led by Philogene Bernadin, member of Future Team
Haiti, in collaboration with: The Church Baptist Church of Christ of
Morne-Rouge (EBAC), Freedom Foundation (FL), Youth for Social and Democracy
(YUSD), Haiti Future Team (FTH), Friends of the Elderly and Disabled (APAH),
Open Source Solution Academy (LOSA),
Bamboo Facile, Center for Innovation and Technology, and
Entrepreneurship (CITE) organized on November 11th to 18th, 2018, the first
Forum of the Social and Solidarity Economy (FES2018) in Haiti under the theme:
"Social and solidarity economy (ESS) and social entrepreneurship in Haiti.
This forum was held in the northern region of Haiti, precisely the North Plain,
in the area of Morne-Rouge.
This forum has
launched a public debate on the role of the social and solidarity economy in
building inclusive citizenship and sustainable economic development in Haiti.
One of the objectives of the forum is to promote the social and solidarity
economy in Haiti and to encourage social entrepreneurship as an alternative to
solving the social problems of vulnerable groups and also to provide a response
to the classical economy and by promoting economic activity and social utility
at the same time.
With a regional
vocation, this forum was open to all, it was above all a place of exchange and
sharing bringing together community leaders, religious, students, researchers
as well as people from neighboring communities of the North Plain.
On the program,
participants had the opportunity to interact with panelists working in the
field of entrepreneurship, business leaders and networks of the social and
solidarity economy.
The program was
structured around conference-debates, workshops, animations, etc. and the
following topics were discussed:
• ESS, original way
of development in Haiti
• Cooperatives and
Community Development
• An inclusive and
committed solidarity economy
• ESS and
Entrepreneurship for the socio-economic transformation of Haiti.
• Solidarity finance
and community development
• Social innovation
and development
• Innovation and
Social Entrepreneurship (Workshop)
• Establishment of a
Cooperative (workshop)
More than 500
participants took part in this space of discussion, dedicated to the promotion
of the social and solidarity economy and the social entrepreneurship in Haiti.
In addition, the
Center for Innovation and Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) brought to the
forum, the "Global Entrepreneurship Week Haiti" which is a
celebration of innovators that reaches millions of people through events and
projects. Local, national and global activities.
This year, more than
39,000 events were planned in 170 different countries. Here in Haiti, Global
Entrepreneurship Week was celebrated for the first time from 12 to 18 November
2018. During the period of Global Entrepreurship Week there were activities
such as: Training, Start-up Workshop, Networking, and Exhibition of Startups.
In terms of training, they will be based on the techniques of Business Plan,
Market Opportunities, the role of financing in an Entrepreneurial ecosystem
etc.
At the end of the
event, the initiative to set up a Savings and Credit Fund was taken with all
the participants in the program. A small fund was collected among them
constituting “start-up capital". This will help fund small-scale social
entrepreneurial initiatives. This savings bank will operate in the form of a
People's Bank.
After eight (8) days
of activities, the closing time had come, certificates were given to
participants for their active participation in the forum. Specifically, the
team, including stakeholders and volunteers, were also recognized for their
extreme efforts to make this forum an effective program and all received a
certificate of appreciation.
And we took the
opportunity to thank all the participants from all over. Our deep gratitude
goes to: local support, and of course the Youth and Perspectives Foundation,
Global communication & Services, Christ the Baptist Church of Christ of
Morne-Rouge, CITE , Kasannou, APAH, Bamboo Facile, YUSD, LOSA, Impression
Lakay, …. for making this forum possible.
We officially closed
the forum by scheduling an appointment for next year at the same time.
Philogene
Bernadin
CEO
of Global Communication &Services
Director
of Youth Foundation and Perspectives
Founder
and CEO of YUSD
Member
of Future Team Haiti
Phone:
+50948958553
Email:philogenebernadin@yahoo.fr
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