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The Muse Haïti Center Unveils the 7 Topics for its National Essay Competition

The Muse Haïti Center, in partnership with the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), alongside several other national and international institutions, has officially launched the 4th edition of its National Essay Competition. This annual initiative, which aims to encourage young people to engage in critical and civic thinking, focuses this year on a highly topical theme: "The Right to Education in Haiti." Through this edition, the Muse Center aims to encourage engaged thinking among Haitian students, capable of questioning the realities of the national education system. To this end, seven carefully selected essay topics have been unveiled, each addressing an essential or controversial aspect of the right to education in the current Haitian context.

Dedikas 3.0: New sign of the rising sun in Port-au-Prince

Dedikas is an initiative taken by the young Haitian slam poet, Jean Wood Jude, better known as the Silent Poet. It is a cultural event that highlights poetry and music in the heart of Port-au-Prince. The event aims to offer a space for expression to young artists, especially those evolving in the Haitian slam scene. Dedikas has already taken place twice, and a third edition is planned for Saturday, December 22, 2024, at the Soho premises, located at Delmas 41, number 16, from 2:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This new edition follows on from the first two, which took place respectively on October 8 and December 20, 2023.

Beven brings Haïti among the elite of world slam

This Thursday, November 14, 2024, the young slam artist Youven Beaubrun, Beven by his stage name, qualified Haiti, for the very first time in its history, for the final of the Slam World Cup. This competition, which brings together the best slam artists on the planet, took place on African soil, more precisely in Togo. In a country held by the throat, a country that is dying from start to finish, under the dangerous feat of a certain armed part of its youth, Beven’s extraordinary performance in this competition resonates with the echo of a whole piece of the country, in the thirst for beauty. Beven is the symbol of a youth that refuses to give in to the chaos that surrounds the face of its motherland. Art, slam being his field of specialization, is used in the best possible way to make hope resonate. And to continue to believe that a country that made 1804 cannot afford the luxury of sinking so hard in the face of human history. "It is with pride that I advanced in this competition. Especially with the crisis that is going through the country at the moment. My qualification for the final is an eternal sign of hope, which confirms the fact that not everything in this country will end in death," the young slammer told us before going to compete in the final. The final took place on Saturday, November 16, 2024, where Beven had his chance to represent his wounded land well on the doorstep of a world victory, a victory that if it had taken place, would have been initialed in the name of an entire people, in the absolute race against a great chaos that dreams only of suffocating it. Although he failed to win this cup (finishing in sixth place overall), the Haitian slam champion had time to inspire an entire country during his great journey in this competition. This is only a postponement, next time victory will be achieved for sure.

Port-au-Prince Book Fair: Triumph of books in the Haitian capital

The second edition of the Port-au-Prince Book Fair is scheduled for Friday, December 13, 2024, at the premises of the French Institute in Haiti, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. "Politics, dictatorship and literature in Haiti" is the theme chosen for this second edition. "We chose this theme because of the senior authors who should be with us for this edition. These themes are very present through their works," Emmanuel Pacorme, general coordinator of the organization behind the fair, told us. Indeed, this great literary celebration, which is mainly for the benefit of young authors, will be delighted with the presence of three of the greatest contemporary Haitian writers, a reference to the immortals Marc Exavier, Évelyne Trouillot and Dédé Dorcely.

Phone-free day: A sign of youth seeking connection with nature

The "Phone-free day" is an initiative taken by a group of young people led by slam poet Jean Wood Jude. The first two editions took place on September 30 and October 29, 2024 in Kenscoff. The next edition is scheduled for November 30, still in the town of Kenscoff, above Pétion-Ville The practice is intended to be innovative, in that it provides an ideal setting for the public (generally young) that facilitates their interconnection, by guaranteeing them a better connection to books, traditional games, and the lush nature of Kenscoff.

Haïti will make a splash at Milano Cortina 2026 with Olympic outfits unlike any other in the world

Discover Haiti's unique Olympic outfits for Milano Cortina 2026, a blend of tradition and modernity that will make a splash! #Haiti #MilanoCortina

A successful eighth outing for the Wednesday of the Monferrier Dorval chair

On Wednesday, October 24, 2024, in the premises of the Office of Citizen Protection, on the road to Bourdon, the 8th Wednesday outing of the Monferrier Dorval chair took place. As a reminder, the Wednesdays of the chair are one of the initiatives taken within the framework of the Monferrier Dorval chair of constitutional law, established on March 12 by the Council of the State University of Haïti (UEH). The rector, Mr. Fritz Deshommes, is the technical director. Professor Henri Marge Dorléans, former Minister of Justice, is the scientific director, and the dean of the Faculty of Law and Economics, Me Eugène Pierre Louis, holds the position of both technical and scientific vice-president. It should also be noted that the two main objectives of the chair are, on the one hand, to promote the memory of Professor Dorval, then President of the Bar Association, who was cowardly assassinated in front of his house, near that of the presidential couple at the time, on August 20, 2020. On the other hand, it is about promoting the work he had undertaken in the country, as a professor of constitutional law, around the need to make a constitutional change to facilitate effective governance and better institutional management of Haiti.

Letter to My Favorite Author: An Initiative by CSimon Publishing and the Port-au-Prince Book Fair

The "Letter to My Favorite Author" contest is a joint initiative by CSmon Publishing, a publishing house based in Virginia, USA, and the Port-au-Prince Book Fair. The contest aims to create a platform where young literature enthusiasts can express their affection and admiration for the authors who have impacted their lives through a letter dedicated to them. This letter can be written in Haitian Creole or French by any young person aged 18 to 30 living in Haiti. The author to whom the letter is addressed can be Haitian or foreign, and even from the medieval period. The contest began on January 27, with registration closing on that date, and will continue until April 15, when the prizes will be awarded. The awards, which are 75,000 gourdes for the winner, 50,000 gourdes for the second place, and 25,000 gourdes for third place, will be presented during the event "Living in Prose and Poetry," organized annually by the Port-au-Prince Book Fair, to be held in 2025 at the French Institute in Haiti.

Vertières: A Flame Held by the Hands of Humanity

Vertières is the place where history’s light shines brightly. The war that led to the independence of the first black republic in the world, Haiti, spanned several decades. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who proclaimed the victory on January 1, 1804, was a man who cleverly capitalized on the honorable legacy left by Toussaint Louverture at the head of this struggle for the first liberation of a black people in the Americas. The Battle of Vertières took place in the northern outskirts of Saint-Domingue, the name of Haïti under the yoke of slavery, near the current commune of Limbé. Under a pouring rain, mixing the mud with the blood of the freedom fighters represented by Dessalines’ indigenous army, on November 18, 1803.