2015 AAAS Annual Meeting (12-16 February 2015)

February 12 - 16, 2015

Science for Haiti Reconstruction: Advances in Science and Science Education Capacity

Access to the benefits of scientific progress is a human right as important as any other, particularly in times of disaster. The devastating earthquake on 12 January 2010 in Haiti prompted a massive response from the international community. However, among the reports and plans that were brought forth by international organizations, science was conspicuously absent as an integral part of Haiti's future sustainable development and reconstruction efforts. In contrast, AAAS, through its Caribbean Division, held workshops in Puerto Rico and in Haiti in July 2010, attended by Haitian and international scientists, as well as school principals and members of the Haitian government’s commissions on education and information technology. The workshops’ report Science for Haiti: A Report on Advancing Haitian Science and Science Education Capacity was published June 2011. This session will present an update of current national and international efforts for advancing Haitian science and science education capacity, five years after the 2010 earthquake. Examples of successful collaborations will motivate a discussion on how to move forward to accompany Haitian scientists as they advance science for the benefit of the whole Haitian population. Among them, the Haitian Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology was established in 2011.