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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

Celebration of International Youth Day 2021!

August 12, 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

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

Partners align with the priorities of the Ten-Year Education and Training Plan

The technical and financial partners have committed themselves to pursue the agreements made in the Paris Declaration adopted on March 2 2005 They all made a firm commitment to coordinate their support and to align themselves with the priorities of the Haitian State as defined in the TenYear Education and Training Plan PDEF in order to maximize results Indeed the Minister of National Education the PDEF National Technical Committee UNICEF in its capacity as Chair of the Education Cluster GSE the IDBs Education Division acting as the Coordinating Agency of the Global Partnership for Education in Haiti and civil society took part in a webinar on the occasion of the International Education Day Mr Bayard Lapommeray Director of the Studies and Programming Unit UEP of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training MENFP presented an outline of the sector plan

February 18, 2021

The United Nations concerned about the disproportionate use of force against journalists

PortauPrince 14022021 The United Nations system in Haiti is concerned about the increase in cases of attacks against journalists covering demonstrations Covering live events is at the heart of journalistic work which is essential to ensure press freedom and the right to information In light of the documented allegations the United Nations is worried that law enforcement officials have committed acts against certain media actors acting in the scope of their professional functions These acts have the upshot of limiting the right to freedom of expression and access to information The United Nations urges the security forces to review their practices and promptly address violence against journalists and other media stakeholders to such an extent that any abuses and proven violations are subject to sanctions following duly conducted investigation In this regard the United Nations recalls the recommendations to the Haitian authorities on crowd management to ensure respect for the right of peaceful assembly and security of the person made in the recent joint report of BINUH and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights violations and abuses committed during the 2018 and 2019 demonstrations httpsbinuhunmissionsorgsitesdefaultfiles20210115rapportmani which were welcomed by the Haitian authorities The United Nations condemns all attacks against journalists and call on the authorities and political practitioners to respect the freedom of the press and the right to information A free and independent press free from censorship and coercion is essential for the development of peace respect for justice and the promotion of human rights END Contact person Beatrice Nibogora In Charge of Strategic Communication and Public Information Officer Spokesperson United Nations Integrated Office in HaitiBINUH emailnibogorabunorg

February 17, 2021

UNESCO promotes access to scientific knowledge to fight climate change

To commemorate the World Climate Day in Haiti UNESCO organized a webinar on December 8 2020 in collaboration with the Youth Climate Change Network YoU CAN Haiti to promote young peoples free access to scientific knowledge to fight more effectively against climate change Everything was very well orchestrated A panel composed of highlevel personalities with expertise in the field of climate change and adaptation planning accompanied by executives from the Ministry of Environment and the Representatives of the United Nations Environment Program UNEP Mr Fabien Monteils At the end of the fruitful exchanges the speakers including Steeve Julien Symithe expert in geophysics geodesy geodynamics and seismology and Kenel Delusca international expert in the National Climate Change Adaptation plan pleaded for the development and sharing of information and scientific mastery in order to provide a practical response to this multidimensional global crisis As expected the session facilitated the sharing of statistics and factual information on damage caused by extreme weather events as the climate warms particularly in Haiti The information provided by the experts is of paramount importance for young people who want to understand the effects of climate change and the importance of their participation We must be responsible and show solidarity stated Mr Rony Horat representative of the Ministry of the Environment in this webinar Access to scientific knowledge he said is essential for the progress of developing countries such as Haiti which have low adaptive capacity By focusing on the development and sharing of scientific knowledge the results of our actions will be more effective in reducing the socioeconomic pressure amplified by climate change in Haiti Education must be the key element of any comprehensive response strategy to climate change It will enable citizens not only to understand but also to cope with climate change by changing their attitudes and behaviors The World Climate Day was created to remind the worlds citizens of the consequences of global warming particularly on the cryosphere global food production and the need to take urgent action to limit its effects on the planet

February 17, 2021

The Role of the Haitian Press in the Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

On World Press Freedom Day on May 3 2020 the UNESCO office in PortauPrince held a week of activities to draw attention to the role of the press especially in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic Journalism without fear or complacency it is around this theme that the various activities took place as part of the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day in Haiti at a time when the Office of UNESCO in PortauPrince is more than ever committed to supporting the press sector whose role is undeniable in the response to COVID19 Haiti fell 21 places in the 2020 world press freedom ranking produced by Reporters Without Borders RSF This reveals the need for all actors concerned to work tirelessly to strengthen the safety of journalists Indeed UNESCO took the opportunity to salute the memory of all journalists who have been victims of their profession or simply because of their status as journalists In her speech for the occasion the representative of UNESCO underlined the efforts of the Organization in the fight for a free but also responsible press Ms AlvarezLaso insisted on the need for journalists to base their work on facts to promote responsible journalism essential to face the crisis in the current context of the coronavirus pandemic For his part the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System Mr Bruno Lemarquis recalled that the COVID19 pandemic gave birth to another pandemic just as worrying and which is spreading much more quickly the infodemic For Mr Lemarquis the press must be part of the solution to this phenomenon by providing verified information based on facts During Press Freedom Week the UNESCO office in PortauPrince invited all journalists to take part in the webinar on Journalism in a Time of Pandemic A discussion with several media representatives and journalists was organized online followed by a highlevel meeting with key decisionmakers including the Minister and Secretary of State for Communications UNESCO believes that a free press should be one that is equipped trained and responsible It will continue to favor innovative partnerships with all sectors because every threat or attack against freedom of the press must be a matter of concern for all For today and tomorrow our society needs a free independent and responsible press

UNESCO Invites Stakeholders to Use Open Science to Better Cope with the Pandemic

The multifaceted impacts of the new coronavirus disease are not long in being felt particularly on the global economy The pandemic is generating an unprecedented crisis that is no longer only healthy It is imperative now more than ever to strengthen scientific cooperation between scientists policymakers private practitioners industries health professionals and civil society for a multidimensional approach to the fight against the Coronavirus In this context marked by the COVID19 pandemic Haitian society needs reliable information to adapt its response according to a multidimensional approach which implies open access to scientific knowledge and expertise in other words a policy of evidencebased decision making In this sense the UNESCO Office in PortauPrince proposes to organize a set of Webinars on the role of open science in the fight against COVID19 in Haiti In fact as a way to transform the COVID19 crisis in Haiti into an opportunity for the future in particular to prepare for the postcrisis period UNESCO wants to initiate a constructive debate on the role of science and research in the service of sustainable development through advocacy for the production of knowledge the promotion of research and the opening up of scientific data This series of Webinars which takes gender issues into account in the debates aims to highlight throughout July the role of academic and scientific actors in the scientific decisionmaking process following the objectives set by UNESCO for societies to increase their capacity to mobilize local knowledge systems and create synergy with science to meet the challenges of sustainable development Haiti facing the COVID19 pandemic open science and research at the service of the response this is the theme chosen for this series of exchanges and scientific debates which will involve political decisionmakers but mostly researchers professors of universities and academic partners However it targets the entire population in general but in particular students civil society the media in their educational purpose journalists and all types of content producers The 5 planned sessions will address the subthemes specific to the key orientations for the revitalization and use of natural sciences applications social and engineering in Haiti in the context of COVID19 namely food and nutritional security the challenges of educational continuity the role of information technologies artificial intelligence and above all the economic impact of the pandemic in Haiti These debates will be broadcast live on the pages of partner institutions as well as on UNESCOs web platforms