A National Symposium on the Future of Democracy and Development in Haiti
March 17-18, Washington, D.C.
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The Haiti Support Project (HSP) formally invites and encourages you to participate as a presenter in the forthcoming National Symposium on The Future of Democracy and Development in Haiti, March 17-18, 2005 in Washington, D.C. The Symposium is endorsed and strongly supported by by Congressman John Conyers, Jr, Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus and long time friend/advocate for Haiti. Congressman Conyers will play a leading role in this important session. The Symposium will focus on three broad areas: an analysis of the social, economic and political situation in Haiti one year after the insurrection and the challenges and opportunities moving forward; prospects for some form of process for promoting justice, reconciliation and national dialogue on a program of national unity leading up to elections – particularly in light of the recent initiative launched by the African Union; building a constituency for Haiti in the U.S., with a special emphasis on African American and Haitian American communities, to mobilize political support to impact U.S. policy, provide humanitarian and developmental assistance and promote socially responsible business/economic investment in Haiti.
Given the gravity of the situation, we believe that extraordinary efforts must be made to devise principled and effective strategies to assist Haiti in this crucial period. In that spirit, with the assistance of the office of Congressman Conyers, HSP is reaching out to policy analysts/experts on Haiti, Haitian American and African American civil rights/human rights, religious and humanitarian leaders and organizations, representatives of organizations and constituencies from across the political spectrum in Haiti as well as representatives of the Congressional Black Caucus, US. State Department, U.N., OAS, CARICOM and African Union. Designed to be a working session with participation by invitation only, our goal is to facilitate a serious and substantive assessment and discussion about the current state of affairs in Haiti with the hope of creating or contributing to momentum towards finding positive and workable solutions to Haiti´s social, economic and political crises. Though there will be presenters who will serve as discussion leaders, everyone invited to the Symposium is considered a resource person who we expect to contribute to the dialogue.
HPS is making a special effort to enlist the support and participation of African American and Haitian American leaders and organizations to engage this crucial process. We believe that African Americans and Haitian Americans working together with our sisters and brothers in Haiti can make a significant contribution to advancing the process of democracy and development in the first Black Republic in this hemisphere. The National Symposium is an important first step in building a formidable constituency for Haiti in the U.S. to achieve this goal.
You have been identified as someone who can make a significant contribution to the success of this critical Symposium, and we sincerely hope you will make every effort to attend/participate. Please confirm your attendance by contacting Ka Flewellen, 202- 397-1770 (ofc)
Email HSP3971770@aol.com.
Yours in the Struggle,
Ron Daniels, Founder,
The Haiti Support Project
cc: Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
