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

January 11, 2022

Lake Chad initiative creates green jobs for local communities

The BIOPALT Biosphere and Heritage of Lake Chad project has set itself an ambitious objective to enable local inhabitant to live and work peacefully on the shores of Lake Chad Launched in 2018 for a period of four years the project aims to take stock of the regions natural resources so that they can be managed more sustainably Pilot actions to restore various ecosystems and foster the development of a green economy will also be carried out

October 29, 2021

Promoting the right to education and SDG4 in Haiti

December 21, 2017

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova at President Idriss Deby Itno’s inauguration in Chad

UNESCO engages in immediate response following Hurricane Matthew in Haiti

October 18, 2016

A week of activities for Creole, the native language of Haitians

UNESCO has joined forces with the Haitian Creole Academy AKA to celebrate International Mother Language Day A week of activities was organized from February 17 to 21 2020 in the Centre Department of Haiti

Model health clubs to promote health in schools

COVID-19 pandemic: Message from the UNESCO Office in Port-au-Prince

PortauPrince 18 March 2020 Today the world is facing an emergency which requires us to combine all our efforts to provide an appropriate response to the COVID19 pandemic which affects all areas in particular the education sector in a context where currently one out of every two pupils and students cannot go to their respective educational establishment while other similar decisions are expected

Singapore, Creative City of Design, implements relief measures for artist and cultural practitioners

Singapore a UNESCO Creative City of Design is a modern cosmopolitan and bustling citystate where design plays a significant role in its urban development Its urban designs incorporate smart solutions to meet the needs of its citizens in terms of housing healthcare education and transportation amongst others In response to the global outbreak of COVID19 the Government of Singapore has committed a total of 599 billion SGD approximately 40 billion USD to support individuals businesses and industries particularly impacted by the crisis The relief measures also include a series of dedicated measures to support the arts and the culture sector In the field of design the DesignSingapore Council has adjusted its existing schemes to better sustain and provide appropriate assistance to designers and design enterprises affected by the pandemic Apart from financial aid and other subsidies the Council has also launched the initiative Good Design Research that encourages design practitioners to set up new systems and processes that are more sustainable and resilient against external shocks such as the COVID19 Designers are thus encouraged to research and experiment with new materials services and experiences that will help tackle such global issues To assist the artist and art organizations the National Arts Council NAC recently established the Digital Presentation Grant for the Arts a timelimited scheme aimed at supporting artists and arts organizations to present their work digitally during the COVID19 period Through this grant the NAC not only aims to create work opportunities for art practitioners but also develop industry capabilities in producing digital art content In addition a set of measures targeting freelance artists and selfemployed persons SEP have also been put in place For instance the SEP Income Relief Schema assists eligible freelance artists with three quarterly payouts of 3000 SGD approximatey 2000 USD in May July and October 2020 respectively In addition the SEP Training Support Scheme has also been enhanced and extended allowing freelancers to receive a training allowance while attending courses under the SkillsFuture Series a package of short online training programmes focusing on emerging skills for the future such as data analytics digital media or urban solutions To know more about the initiatives undertaken by Singapore to support artists and culture practitioners please click here httpswwwdesignsingaporeorgwhatwedoresourcescovid19supportschemeshtml httpswwwnacgovsgwhatwedosupportsustainingtheartsduringcovid19SustainingtheartsduringCOVID19html

The world in 2030: UNESCO survey

The Historic National Park: Citadelle, Sans-Souci, Ramiers and its Biodiversity

As part of the project Preservation of Heritage and Support for the Tourism Sector PAST the office of UNESCO in PortauPrince undertook a floristic inventory for the conservation of the monuments and the natural environment of the historic national park Citadelle SansSouci Ramiers PNHCSSR The aim of this study was to revise the different species and evaluate their conservation status as a means to stop the erosion of biodiversity and propose actions for the conservation and restoration of the natural spaces for the wellbeing of the population and the conservation of the monuments The preliminary results revealed that the PNCCSSR has a great diversity of plants that can respond to health nutritional and environmental resilience issues Actually the inventories have shown that the park has a high rate of endemic plants to conserve More than fifty medicinal plants have been identified and five to eight species of trees exist on the site with large roots that prevent landslide and protect the area of Citadelle Nevertheless the park is also threatened with high fire hazard owing to the fact that the ecosystems have been disrupted and invaded by the pioneer and invasive plants such as ferns Moreover agroforestry practices over a large part of the PNHCSSR convey the impression that the area is conserved and protected Additionally severe erosion of sol and of the biodiversity has been noticed This research has shown that it is urgent to stop the elimination of stabilization species to avoid landslides one must invest in environmental education develop conservation and safeguard plans for critically endangered species and restoration plans for degraded ecosystems to strengthen the environmental resilience to protect the monuments The inventory realized in the context of the project PAST cofinanced by the Haitian Government and the World Bank displays that there is a need for the PNHCSSR to be classified among the protected areas like Park Macaya and the Visited Nature is our wealth our daily actions can lead to its protection and degradation Haiti is the second richest Caribbean country in floristic biodiversity The flora of the country which describes the plants dating from 1930 will have a century soon However these resources are very little known valued and preserved Consequently the Haitians barely know about the riches of the flora On the occasion of the world biodiversity day celebrated this year around the theme the solution of our problems is in nature it is relevant to sensitize the Haitian population generally and that of the park in particular on the threats of biodiversity An ideal moment to display that the solutions for health food safety environmental resilience in the face of climate changes and natural disasters are also found in nature

PR@TIC, a Digital Platform FOR the Continuity of Education in Haiti

In Haiti the first cases of Covid19 appeared on the 19th of March 2020 and for instance 144 countries around the world the Haitian government authorities have adopted a series of procedures including the closing down of schools The education of more than 4 million Haitian children has been interrupted the educational stakeholders agree on providing a platform of educational resources towards the continuity of the school year which had already severely shaken by the political crisis Globally UNESCO enumerates 1186127211 learners affected by the current pandemic or 677 of all learners enrolled at preprimary levels primary secondary and higher education 144 countries having closed their schools With a view to minimizing the impact of this health crisis on the Haitian education system as much as possible the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training MENFP quickly reacted by setting up a working group to manage the crisis provoked by Covid19 which is responsible for developing the strategic response plan for the education sector in Haiti This response plan encompasses six areas Heighten awareness and communication around Covid19 Pedagogical support for students carrying on distance learning activities Support the functionaries with hygiene kits in order to strengthen the protection measures for agents in the workplace Support the educational agents distinctly teachers and parents Preparation for the resumption of school activities Enhance the capacity of the education system to manage crisis situations The second area commended the creation of a virtual platform of educational and learning resources thus allowing primary and secondary students to continue their distance learning The platform by the name of PRTIC has been operational since April 24 2020 It can be accessed free of charge via the MENFPs website or at the following address httppraticmenpfgouvhtapp Access is directly possible via a computer phone or tablet or through social networks Learners students can ask questions about a course posted online in a space reserved for this purpose and following the principle of asynchronous interaction the teacher interacts with his learnersstudents In addition to this platform distance education in Haiti also plans to broadcast audiovisual courses on the National Television of Haiti TNH and other private channels as well as on radio stations in the capital and in the departments through community radios The learning content will also be available on USB media in the relevant departments and technical directions for students The MENFP also plans to print on paper certain contents and lesson sheets for the primary and secondary level as well as for the ENI for the purpose of reaching the public who do not have access to digital technology in order to avoid leaving no one on the sidelines of education which remains a fundamental right in this time of crisis Despite the goodwill and the efforts made by the shareholders certain specific challenges inherent in this approach still need to be addressed UNESCO supports the countries in their efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of schools closing mainly for more vulnerable and disadvantaged communities and to facilitate the continuity of inclusive education for all through distance learning This is why it strongly supports the MENFP in its distance education programs and initiatives in Haiti in particular through the Global Coalition for Education launched by UNESCO to support the States to develop the best solutions for distance education and to reach the children and young people who are most at risk with the support of several other institutions including the World Bank the InterAmerican Development Bank and UNICEF

#STOPinfodemic: UNESCO launches campaign to tackle the problem of disinformation in Haiti

As the world faces disinfodemia this wave of false information about the COVID19 pandemic the media are more than ever faced with their responsibility concerning objectivity in the treatment of information and must use science to communicate the facts and help save lives On the occasion of May 3 2020 which marks the World Press Freedom Day the UNESCO Office in PortauPrince more than ever committed to supporting the press sector whose role is undeniable as part of the response to Covid19 launched a vast campaign called STOPinfodemic through digital media to counter the phenomenon of expanding disinformation in Haiti In this respect the UNESCO Office held an important virtual discussion with representatives of community media and online media a meeting posted on the UNESCO Facebook page followed live by more than 500 participants Several subjects were discussed including the financing and multiplication of digital media the different faces of disinformation as well as the political issues relating to online news sites a situation of particular concern in Haiti An animated video presenting the challenges of disinformation and the need to be well informed was produced jointly with the United Nations Development Program UNDP and the United Nations Childrens Fund UNICEF broadcast on the National Television of Haiti as part of this vast awareness campaign against the dangers of disinformation in Haiti a strategy piloted by UNESCO and implemented by the Haiti Campaign platform Having responded to UNESCOs appeal several digital media have joined the battle for the spreading of reliable information by posting banners on their websites thus actively participating in the STOPinfodemic campaign a strategy which joins the efforts of UNESCO and its partners at the global level to underline the role of science diversely the responsibility of the media whose work is essential in the response to the pandemic UNESCO also benefited from the support of influencers on social networks in particular a rising star of the music in Haiti the artist Tafa MiSoleil who was involved throughout the period of the STOPinfodemic campaign to relay all awareness messages against disinformation through her social network accounts totaling more than 330000 subscribers all platforms combined A toolkit has also been prepared to allow all partners who wish to get involved to be able to use all the campaign resources infographics videos posters stickers for WhatsApp etc