Rebuilding Haiti, science, and science education

Here’s how the story starts (from the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s [AAAS] June 2011 report, Science for Haiti: a report on advancing Haitian science and science education,

In July 2010, exactly six months after Haiti was devastated by a tragic earthquake, a small group of scientists, engineers and educators from that nation traveled to Puerto Rico for a meeting with colleagues from the Caribbean, the United States, Africa and the Haitian diaspora. There they began a remarkable project: Over two days, they identified what Haiti would need to build scientific strength that could help speed recovery from the quake and support long-term, sustainable human and economic development.

The document is important as well for what it says about science in the 21st century—not just in Haiti, but globally. Nations such as Rwanda and Vietnam, which have en­dured historic disasters, have made focused investment in science and education and today are achieving remarkable advances. And because many of our most pressing challenges in public health, food security and environmental protection are regional, it is essential that we establish partnerships and work together to address them.

For that reason, this report offers an important model for the world. Haitian scientists, teachers, and policy leaders took the lead in defining their nation’s science-related needs and goals. Their international colleagues brought their own perspectives and energy to support the effort. Through this collaboration, they have developed a road­map for building Haiti’s prosperity and improving the lives of its people. (p. 2 PDF)

Sept. 19-20, 2011, there’ll be a meeting in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince (from the Sept. 15, 2011 news item on Science Daily),

Science for Haiti will be a central topic as the report’s authors meet in the Haitian capital 19-20 September with representatives of Haiti’s scientific community, universities and high schools and private sector. On 20 October, AAAS will host a meeting in Washington, D.C., of U.S. organizations interested in advancing Haitian science and science education capacity.

Here’s a little more about the project from the Science Daily news item,

The project is founded on a key principle: Haitians must chart their own future and their own goals for science, while the international science community must provide collaborative partnerships and other support.

“Haiti needs to integrate science into the process of reconstruction and renewal,” said Fritz Deshommes, vice rector of research at l’Université d’État d’Haiti. “This report will help build the scientific community in Haiti and strengthen bonds with the regional and global scientific community.”

Nations such as Rwanda and Vietnam have endured historic disasters, but are successfully pursing science-for-development strategies to build economic vitality. The new report suggests that Haiti could follow a similar path.

Among the specific proposals for achieving those goals:

  • Set national policies to build science capacity as an “integral element of social and economic development”;
  • Develop science education at every level, while training and hiring more teachers and improving curriculum and textbooks to support that effort;

Promote more working engagement between Haitian scientists and their international peers through research programs in key disciplines and a program that identifies opportunities for collaboration.

The authors include Gary Machlis, professor of conservation at the University of Idaho and a AAAS Fellow; AAAS Caribbean Division President Jorge Colón, professor of chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras; and Jean McKendry, senior researcher at the Association of American Geographers.

Science for Haiti reflects the resilience of the Haitian people and their strong desire for science and science education as a pathway towards sustainable development, even under the most challenging circumstances,” said Colón.

Good luck to them all and I hope we hear more about this at the AAAS 2012 annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *