Friday, June 8, 2012

ARTICLE - CLAC AND LIBRAIRIES - CULTURE

CLAC AND LIBRARIES A PRIORITY OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE
(Haiti Libre) -

Mario Dupuy, the Ministry of Culture, launched this week, the complete rehabilitation project and the upgrading of 5 Centers for reading and cultural activities (CLAC) destroyed or damaged 12 January 2010 [Limonade, Grande Rivière du Nord, St Michel de l’Attalaye, Trou du Nord and Marchand Dessalines (departments of the North, Artibonite and North-East)]. This project estimated at more than 600,000 euros is supported by the International Organisation of Francophonie (OIF) [350,000 EUR], which ensures the field monitoring, the Fondation de France [250,000 euros] and the resources of the Ministry of Culture.

Composed of a library and an animation room, these centers are part of a network set up by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), and play an important role in local cultural life, and the education of the youth in Haiti. The CLAC is managed by the National Library Directorate (DNL) under the Ministry of Culture. There are currently 9 CLACs operating across the country, a network that should be raised to 40 CLACs by 2014.

Chantale Moréno, representative of the OIF in Haiti declared, "the CLAC are for the OIF, a way to improve the quality of education throughout the Francophone world, and I hope that this pilot project, will be exemplary, and that it will allow us to find a working method that we will be able to reproduce in the achievement of these 40 CLACs and perhaps go further, according to the wishes of the government authorities..."

The Minister of Culture, who specified that a tender had been launched for the realization of these works, which will last 11 months, promised the financial support of his Ministry for the extension, not only of these centers, but also of Municipal libraries "...we will do our best, commit all our resources, our energy and our availability so that by the end of the mandate of the President of the Republic, the country, if not in its entirety, at least in a majority of our municipalities; that CLACs will be almost everywhere in the country and are available to offer equal opportunities to our children, and our youth..."

The expected results by January 30, 2013, for this first phase, aim at 46,000 users, of which 70% are young people, as well as schools and associations gaining access to the CLAC, and benefit from enhanced services.

According to Frantz Carlie Jean Baptiste, the head of the DNL, "it is imperative to strengthen the existing cultural infrastructure, while seeking to create new ones, because young people need access to knowledge. They are these young, who tomorrow will take over. We need to offer them a better service at the CLAC level ..."

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