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EDITORIAL
HDNdigest 7
Dear All:
For personal and professional reasons, it has been impossible for me to work on the release of HDNdigest 7 for the past three months, and it is unlikely that I will be able to do so again. These months of non-publication also showed me that this project has little or no impact. Indeed, except for a few rare friends, no one was worried about our silence.
Also, this issue is the last of this editorial adventure that we wanted to be unique: addressing beyond to the Haitian communities (at home or abroad), to all those of all origins who wish to enrich their lives at all levels. In this perspective, this latest edition, among others, highlights an impressive photo’s exhibition by young Ajani Charles on the Canadian hip-hop movement, at the Billy Bishop airport of Toronto; spotlights the great René Depestre, the indisputable dean of Haitian letters, even Caribbean, in addition to offering for your consideration a 2023 UN report on “reparatory justice for people of African descent” that we suggest to read in parallel with the Debray report on “Franco-Haitian Relations” (2004).
We have not been able to reach the target audience, we hope that others, younger, will take up these ideas and succeed.
Finally, I would like to particularly thank my brother Jacques, chairman of the board of the Haitian Development Network, who enthusiastically supported this project; my friend Asselin Charles, who worked body and soul in the development and production of HDNdigest; James Ulysse who was our webmaster/designer from the first issue; and all the collaborators who trusted us by sharing their expertise or their work with us.
Sincerely,
Jean Jonassaint
Co-founder and co-editor of HDNdigest
TARGET READERSHIP
The HDNdigest is a publication of Haitian Development Network designed for a composite readership consisting of people interested in, and supporting of, the economic, social, and cultural progress of Haiti and in the advancement of Haitians and Haitian descendants, both in Haiti and abroad.
OBJECTIVES
In addition to promoting Haiti, Haitians, their descendants, and communities, HDNdigest has three sets of objectives:
- To inform its readers, especially members and supporters of Haitian Development Network, about the organization’s activities, which include recent achievements, ongoing projects, and planned initiatives;
- To inspire and motivate its readers to support development initiatives for Haiti and Haitian communities;
- To suggest promising pathways for Haiti, Haitians, and Haitian descendants in such key areas as communication, community building, economy and finance, education, energy, entrepreneurship, food production, health, housing, transportation, etc.
LANGUAGES
Materials included in this publication are in English, French, Haitian Kreyòl or Spanish. Whenever possible we will provide French and English versions of editors’ texts that are more than two paragraphs long. Machine translation of various writings is available by simply clicking on the desired target language (French, English, or Spanish) — the current technical conditions do not allow us to provide automatic translations in the Haitian language.
CONTRIBUTORS
Two co-editors, Asselin Charles and Jean Jonassaint, assume oversight of the content and form of the materials published in this biweekly. They may also contribute short essays or information pieces. Other materials included in the publication are contributed by volunteer collaborators or taken, with requisite attribution, from open sources on the web or in the public domain.
FREQUENCY OF PUBLICATION
The HDNdigest is an online bimonthly published every first and third Thursday of the month from February to November; on the first Thursday of December; and on the third Thursday of January.
DISTRIBUTION
The HDNdigest will be delivered free of charge directly to subscribers’ emails. In addition @ https://hdn.org/hdndigest-archives/, readers can access the publication directly online or download it onto their device to be read, listened to, or printed.
Contents of This Issue:
HAITIAN MEDIA
For Haitian news, some Haitian media accessible online:
SPOTLIGHT ON
This is a piece that spotlights an individual (Haitian preferably but from any national or ethnic origin) or an institution (Haitian or non-Haitian) that has accomplished something worthy of admiration or emulation for the benefit of our collectivities.
Alternatively, instead of a short essay on an exemplary individual or institution this section may offer a short Q & A interview of said individual or representative of said institution.
Since the publication of his first collection of poetry, Étincelles (1945), René Depestre, born in Jacmel in 1926, never ceased to amaze us, him, that Aimé Césaire presented “as a Master of the dew, […] poet of the freshness, of the sap that rises, of the life that blossoms, of the river of hope that irrigates the soil of the present and the work of men.”
OPPORTUNITIES
[…]
View
NEW & NOTEWORTHY
Activities and productions worthy of attention: publications, exhibitions, shows, conferences, etc.
[…]
HDNdigest Archives
SPOTLIGHT ON
This is a piece that spotlights an individual (Haitian preferably but from any national or ethnic origin) or an institution (Haitian or non-Haitian) that has accomplished something worthy of admiration or emulation for the benefit of our collectivities.
Alternatively, instead of a short essay on an exemplary individual or institution this section may offer a short Q & A interview of said individual or representative of said institution.
The profiles of two brilliant Haitian American engineers, Lourdes and Yves Charles, followed by a video interview of these two successful professionals in which they highlight their educational itinerary, discuss their work history, describe an engineer’s varied occupational activities, and share the secrets of professional success.
OPPORTUNITIES
A series of articles on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the best ways to take advantage of this growing field of wealth.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY
Activities and productions worthy of attention: publications, exhibitions, shows, conferences, etc.
Following a piece on 12 influential young Afro-descendant artists, writers and entrepreneurs in The New York Times, we highlight a series of events, articles, interviews, videos and so one on these important figures in our world today: Ruth E. Carter, Mr Eazi, Zhong Feifei, Omar Victor Diop, Nnedi Okorafor, Adamma and Adanne Ebo, Mory Sacko, Grace Wales Bonner, Lesley Lokko, Toheeb Jimoh, Nkuli Mlangeni-Berg.
Bonne lecture!
If you have any comments or suggestions, do not hesitate to write to us. In advance, thank you very much.
