International Conference of World Cities and Regions for Haiti
Launch of the LatitudeFrance website
International Conference of World Cities and Regions for Haiti
Following his official visit to Haiti on February 17, the President of the Republic announced the organization by France of the “International Conference of World Cities and Regions for Haiti.” This Conference aims to contribute to the equitable and sustainable development of the Haitian territory and will take place on Tuesday, March 23, in Fort-de-France in Martinique. Marie-Luce Penchard, Minister responsible for Overseas France, and Alain Joyandet, Minister of State responsible for Cooperation and Francophony, will represent the French government at this international conference.
On January 12, 210, a devastating earthquake struck the Haitian capital and several towns in southeast Haiti. Given the scope of the catastrophe, the Haitian government appealed for international assistance. The local authorities and their civil societies spontaneously expressed their solidarity following this announcement. A major mobilization was launched at the international level in order to respond to the massive needs of Haitian society. Following the emergency phase, with many local stakeholders having already been mobilized, four international sectoral meetings (private companies, diasporas, NGOs and regional authorities) have been organized under the auspices of the United Nations. These meetings will take place in the partner countries in preparation for the International Donors’ Conference in New York on March 31, where France will be represented by Bernard Kouchner.
The objectives of the meeting in Martinique are as follows:
1 – To implement the regional authorities’ contribution in accordance with the Haitian authorities’ development plan, particularly with respect to support for local governance;
2 – To coordinate the international assistance from the regional authorities;
3 – To combine the efforts of the foreign and Haitian regional authorities;
4 – To help strengthen Haitian decentralization, which had already been initiated before the earthquake;
In order to achieve these objectives, the conference in Fort-de-France will encompass a plenary session debate, workshops, and a general review at the end of the day. Five workshops will be organized (urban development and land-use planning, human resources, local funding, local economic development, pooling of resources and coordination) and co-chaired by a Haitian representative and a third country representative. A summary of the “International Conference of World Cities and Regions for Haiti” will be issued to the press.
Press contacts:
Eric Bosc (Deputy Spokesperson, responsible for media relations)
Tel: + 33 (0) 6 15 30 61 61, Email: eric.bosc@diplomatie.gouv.fr
Cécile Geneste (Responsible for communication, Prefecture of Martinique)
Tel: + 33 596 39 39 20 / + 33 696 28 34 42
Email: cecile.geneste@martinique.pref.gouv.fr
Launch of the LatitudeFrance website
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs will officially launch the new website of the French network of cultural action and influence abroad, LatitudeFrance, on Friday, March 19 at 2.30 pm, at the Convention in the presence of Secretary General, Pierre Sellal.
The French global network of external action encompasses, in more than 160 countries, embassies, French cultural centers and institutions, Alliances françaises, French research institutes abroad, archaeological missions as well as agencies of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs: CulturesFrance, CampusFrance, the French Development Agency, Ubifrance, the Agency for French Teaching Overseas, Canal France international, France coopération internationale and Egide.
LatitudeFrance aims to promote, via the Internet, the attractiveness, diversity and complementary nature of France’s resources in terms of development assistance, decentralized, cultural, economic, linguistic, university, intellectual, scientific and technical cooperation. This new tool supports the modernization of the working methods of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and in particular the regrouping of the cultural institutions and services under a common identity.
Complementing the France Diplomatie site (www.diplomatie.gouv.fr), LatitudeFrance aims, through a news web magazine, to make projects carried out overseas more visible and understandable to the general public, the media and French representatives.
The external action network organizes more than 50,000 events a year throughout the world, with the help of its local agencies and partners; it now provides a vibrant and practical overview of the range of its activities through the www.latitudefrance.org website.
On the launch of this website, Senator Yves Dauge, Director General of the Institut Pasteur, Alice Dautry, General Administrator of the Comédie française, Muriel Mayette, and Specialist Lecturer in Development, Serge Michailof, will give an account of their experiences within the network.