MIAMI – African-New World Studies (ANWS) of Florida International University (FIU) and the Académie Nationale Diplomatique et Consulaire (ANDC) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, are hosting a symposium on the Reform of the Haitian Constitution at FIU’s University Park Campus, College of Law (Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall) on Saturday, April 28, 2007, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM. This event is free and open to the public.
The Government of Haiti (GOH) recently launched a national dialogue aimed at identifying and correcting the flaws of the 1987 constitution, which, in spite of the turmoil of the past 20 years, remains the fundamental political chart of Haiti.
Toward this endeavor, and in order to be as inclusive as possible, GOH, in concert with various partners, has expressed support for the organization of various colloquia across Haiti and the Diaspora. The symposium at FIU is the first of series of international conferences and symposia that will explore the “most pressing” aspects of the Haitian constitution that need reform, as well as the most efficacious ways in which change(s) should be made.
The one-day conference will provide a forum for the Haitian Diaspora and scholars of Haiti in South Florida to partake in the dialogue on Haiti’s constitutional reform.
Conference participants include: Gérard Gourgue, interim president of the Port-au-Prince Bar and former Haitian ambassador to UNESCO; Jean Chavannes Jeune, leader of the party Union; Eric Jean-Jacques, president of the Haiti Chamber of Deputies; Georges Michel, writer, journalist and former constituent; Chantal Hudicourt-Ewald, lawyer and former constituent; Myrtho Bonhomme, president of the Académie Nationale Diplomatique et Consulaire.
Honorable Jacques Edouard Alexis, Prime Minister of Haiti, will be the keynote speaker at the conference.
Dr. Jean-Germain Gros, Spring 2007 visiting research fellow at ANWS and associate professor of political science and public policy administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), and ambassador Myrtho Bonhomme, president of ANDC, will co-chair the conference.
For further information, please call (305) 919-5521 or contact [email protected] or [email protected]. For general campus information, call 305.348.2000.
The symposium is sponsored by the following units at Florida International University: African-New World Studies, Caribbean Bar Students Association, Latin American and Caribbean Center, and College of Law. Additional support is provided by the Haiti Research Group at the University of Miami.
