ARTICLE - MICHAELLE JEAN AT UNIVERSITY

STATEMENTS OF MICHAELLE JEAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUISQUEYA
(Haiti Libre) -

Completing her stay, which began on August 31, Michaëlle Jean, the UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti, had come, as she declared, to support "the great project of rebuilding the public education system by strengthening institutional capacity, building content, curricula and regulations that should govern all schools in Haiti" Yesterday she gave a conference on her visit on education before leaving Haiti.

"...This is a rather positive assessment. There is also great concern because of the current political harassment, the imminent expectation of the formation of the next government [...] much of what I saw during my stay was quite encouraging. I took the time to listen to the people. I listened a lot and also met with high school students [...] to talk to people in the education sector here in Port-au-Prince, to see people at work [...] it's not the inertia that we imagine. There is no stagnation in Haiti. There are people constantly moving and even on the side of outgoing government, there are still Ministers that are in place and dealing with current affairs with a sense of responsibility and duty.

I had long working sessions with the President of the Republic. We talked a lot about the realization of this major project of schooling for more than 140,000 children who are outside of the school system right now; on the establishment of a system of quality education, that is universal and accessible; of the steps to follow to achieve it. We have said, when I say "we" it is the UNESCO; we have secured funds to begin work as soon as the next Minister of Education will be appointed, when the Ministry will be in place we will start. We have money for teacher training. These are funds which come largely from Canada. We are ready to work with that, and also at the level of initiatives where culture becomes an engine of the reconstruction.

We also have a very definite strategy [...] the message that I send to Haiti is that we are ready. What I found here, are people of a very high quality that work on the field and who are very very eager that the reconstruction efforts begin.

Canada has made available 4 to $5 million. We also have other funds for school statistics, because as you know, it is complicated to build an education system; an entrenched institution that should be solid. In terms of culture, Spain, for example, is a fantastic partner, who has already disbursed funds. The development of a cultural tourism sector, a tourism of quality and well diversified. There is a great demand for this. Haiti has plenty to offer. Haiti has much to offer."