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Fort-Liberté (Haiti) declared ‘Tsunami Ready’

FortLiberté is a city on the northeastern coast of the island of Haiti with a population of about 20000 In 1842 the city was severely hit by a tsunami and the threat of another disaster cannot be ruled out

January 14, 2022

Director-General condemns murder of journalists Wilguens Louissaint and John Wesley Amady in Haiti

January 11, 2022

Social Media Use and Psychosocial Well-Being of Youth in Haiti during Covid-19

I found some funny videos that had helped me to support stress and I found time to share verified information in order to help people to protect themselves better says a participant during the individual interview conducted by a group of young Haitian researchers Selected by UNESCO for their program Youth As Researchers more than three hundred young people explored the multiple impacts of the Covid19 pandemic while proposing solutions and recommendations The official announcement of the first cases of Covid19 in Haiti on March 2020 was received with fear and uncertainty Most experts anticipated this unprecedented sanitary disaster will severely affect Haiti because of its weak health system and the incapacity of the Haitian government to work for public welfare Thankfully a major catastrophe has been avoided however it may be too early to be relieved This pandemic has impacted not only the economic sphere but it particularly impacted psychosocially Haitian society was still recovering from the economic and psychosocial consequences of the political lockdown Peyi Lòk started in 2018 When Covid19 hit people were forced to stay home as required by the government to avoid the propagation of the virus Thus social media became the prevalent spaces for young people to continue to figure out their future and their projects Consequently we decided as young Haitian researchers to find the link between the use of social media and the psychosocial wellbeing of young Haitians during the Covid19 Thus under the supervision of UNESCO the research conducted by a group was interested in the role of the use of social media in the reduction or intensification of psychosocial consequences occurred during the pandemic on young people in Haiti Seven people elaborated the research protocol Peterson Anténor the team leader Ernst Dimitry Cadet Marline Bilgaï Grand Jean Nem JeanBaptiste Nephtalie Pierre Nishina Prévilon and Ludwika Télusmon They are young undergraduate and graduate students in the law psychology anthropology education and philosophy field This article aims to expose the main conclusions and recommendations of this study while demonstrating the importance of this initiative in young people life

September 1, 2021

UNESCO emergency response in support of Haiti

August 20, 2021

Launch of the first UNESCO Chair in Haiti

The Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies of Haiti ISTEAH launched on Thursday June 17 2021 the UNESCO Chair Women and Science for Development the first UNESCO Chair initiated in Haiti

Director-General calls for investigation into killing of journalist Diego Charles in Haiti

#CoronavirusFacts: strengthening access to reliable information amidst tensions and the pandemic in Haiti

The ongoing pandemic and disinfodemic on COVID19 have emphasized the need for reliable information produced by professional journalists In Haiti journalists factcheckers and specialized NGOs have experienced increased difficulties to effectively and safely report and therefore are looking for help to perform their role during the health crisis In this context UNESCO with the support of the European Union implemented over the past year the project CoronavirusFacts to support media professionals in reporting on the pandemic and debunk mis and disinformation on COVID19

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Climate change and resilience, UNESCO calls on young professionals

Approximately 137 young professionals including 99 Haitians have joined a platform of young people from Caribbean small island developing states SIDS that will address climate change disaster management and risk reduction in the region As a means of prevention and to provide avenues for sustainable solutions in collaboration with regional and international partners the UNESCO Regional Office for the Caribbean launched this year the Youth Platform for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Daphning Pierre consultant of this platform said that the young professionals recruited come from diverse academic backgrounds professional experiences and expertise The young people will share their knowledge practices and experiences in disaster risk management DRM climate change and resilience discuss their views and take relevant actions and measures in the form of physical on the ground or digital onlineoffline initiatives To fulfill its mission the platform is tasked with conducting four 4 major activities throughout the year namely discussions with national regional and international stakeholders organizing webinars focused on knowledge exchange designing coordinated action plans projects events and other initiatives to improve disaster risk management in small island developing states SIDS Activities will focus on raising public awareness and developing the disaster preparedness and response capacities of key stakeholders networking with other similar platforms around the world to facilitate learn and exchange best practices to increase their resilience to climate change Experience over the past decades has shown that Caribbean small island developing states SIDS have experienced frequent and severe natural disasters such as storms hurricanes earthquakes tsunamis floods and droughts At least 14 countries including Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Belize Dominica Grenada Haiti Jamaica St Kitts and Nevis St Lucia St Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are expected to reduce their vulnerability at the family and community level In 2018 UNESCOs Caribbean office had already launched the Caribbean Special Initiative CSI to address the special needs of Caribbean small island developing states SIDS Two priorities were then identified as development themes namely youth and climate change Arriving in December 2019 UNESCO also supported the design and implementation of the Caribbean Youth Climate Change Network as a means of mobilizing young leaders in the Caribbean region to take action related to climate change resilience

Community Radios a Tool for Resilience in Haiti

The UNESCO office in Haiti in collaboration with the Radio School and the Medialternatif Group organized a webinar on February 12 2020 to celebrate World Radio Day Far from being a simple exchange session this webinar was first and foremost a reflection session on community radio in Haiti as a tool for resilience in isolated communities Four themes were discussed during this webinar the evolution of radio in Haiti community radio in the age of the internet the fight against misinformation and for gender equality on the radio Imelienne Ulysse from Rezo Fanm Radyo Kominotè Ayisyen REFRAKA focused her intervention on gender policy in community radios She showed how women in rural areas have not always had access to technology hence the role of community radios She called on the managers of these radio stations to consider this social category in their programming On the other hand Kechner Toussaint director of the Community Radio in Abricot believes that community radios are catching up with the innovation train Many of them currently broadcast on the internet and allow the Haitian diaspora to stay in touch with its community In case of emergency community radio stations run by grassroots organizations are the first line of defense for citizens by broadcasting instructions In some communities they serve as rallying points in the event of a disaster Although the Haitian press has gone through very difficult times in its history Jean Rommel Pierre Journalist Trainer estimates that 94 of Haitians listen to the radio However many problems affect Haitian broadcasters especially community radio stations which do not have all the means to broadcast 24 hours a day 7 days a week To fight against misinformation Edner Fils Décime recommended continuous training for radio broadcasters In in order for radio to play its role in Haiti a synergy must be established between broadcasters It is a matter of creating a space like a mirror that will allow journalists to make a selfanalysis a critical look at how to disseminate information Broadcasters need to question themselves to train themselves permanently in order to make reliable information available to the public stated M Décime

February 25, 2021