Apr
13

Haiti Today: The Sustainable Leadership Challenge

Leave a comment »

Opportunities and challenges in the sustainable redevelopment of Haiti: Can we imagine an alternative future for “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere”?

Haiti is perhaps the most powerful example of a society suffering from a deficit of triple-bottom line outcomes-ecologically, economically, and socially, though it continues to have a strong culture and an indomitable spirit. Our recent trip was both magical and disturbing, inspiring and transformative, and profoundly moving.
This Saturday’s Sustainable Leadership Forum event will focus on Haiti and its special implications. Jonathan just spent ten days in Haiti with Matt Polsky, my colleague at the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and his wife Sandy. The goal was to do fact-finding and relationship-building on the ground, from the perspective of “the 100-year resilient reconstruction” of Haiti; and they had a remarkable series of meetings, events, and experiences in Haiti that have many lessons for us here as well. Matt and Jonathan then returned to Miami for the Sustainable Haiti Conference and Jonathan co-led a session on April 6 with Doug Cohen, co-founder of the Sustainable Haiti Coalition.

At our Saturday, April 16th meeting – 1-4 p.m. at the Morristown EcoCenter – we’ll be sharing some of our experiences and reflecting on what they might mean for us, in both philosophical and practical terms. What does Haiti have to teach us about sustainable development, and what is our role in making a difference both there and here? There will be a brief presentation, photos and films clips from the Haiti trip, and discussion followed by potential action steps.

In terms of immediate practical action we are looking at collaborating with several Haitian entrepreneurs to expand their businesses in mountain biking and adventure “voluntourism,” renewable energy, and green construction. There are immediate opportunities to get involved, e.g., in the importation to the US of authentic, naturally and organically grown foods; and there are equally important issues to wrestle with, conceptually, as they have implications for policy, advocacy, and practical action.
We invite you to join us for a discussion of these issues and opportunities, and to explore what these might mean for our work here in New Jersey. Please RSVP to rsvp@slforum.org. The meeting will be held at the Morristown EcoCenter, 55 Bank Street, Morristown, NJ 07960. Thanks.

Posted in Coalition Culture Events Future Haiti News Private Sector Resiliency Sustainability
No Comments Yet Posted by admin

Leave a Comment