The National Conference of the Culture opened yesterday in Port-au-Prince at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Communication (MCC) under the theme "Our culture is our force" [kilti nou se fòs nou]. Three days of discussions that bring together the various players of the cultural sector in Haiti, to discuss about the National Program of Cultural Development of the MCC [which will be financed through the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC)].

Writers, musicians, painted, journalists, producers ... have responded to the invitation of the Ministry of Culture, supported by the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) and the European Union. In all, sixty delegates came from the provincial towns, others from abroad, to discuss of the sensitive realities of the Haitian artistic activity and the need for a cultural policy led by the state around a central idea : effectively regulate the actions and vision of the state in cultural matters and encourage the territorial collectivities to participate in the implementation of these policies.

"It's a way to put all the stakeholders around a common table, to establish a master plan for the sector [...] It is time to develop a plan for the rational management of the wealth that represents the Haitian culture" believes Jocelyne Colimon Féthière, Minister of Culture [Acting], which invited the Government to become more involved to help a better structuring of the cultural environment.

Three days that will focus among other things, on the training, legal and regulatory framework and the role that new technologies can play to allow each sector to achieve its objectives. All these discussions should contribute to the development of a cultural development project in Haiti, which will take into account the current situation and that will reflect the will of the Haitian people to appropriate their cultural destiny. The 3-day conference responds to the need for the cultural professions to organize themselves to implement the proposed programs.

Colimon Féthière, hopes that "the resolutions are taken at the end of this meeting to facilitate" the establishment of a cultural policy which must reflect the expectations and aspirations of each, to be integrated in the construction of a better future for Haiti and its people."

Chantal Moreno, head of the regional branch of the OIF estimates for her part that beyond the reconstruction of infrastructure, "we need a social refoundation whose the culture is the main vector" in this sense, the national conference should allow the culture to play its role.

HL/ HaitiLibre