Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development

by Bojana Koljancic, PPAF Intern

On Friday, July 2 the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted a resolution that includes establishment of “UN Women,” the new gender equality agency at the UN. The formal name is the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. (A/64/L.56).  This momentous action is the result of years of negotiations between UN Member States and advocacy by the global women’s movement. 

PPAF works to promote the advancement of women in its activities in its focus countries and welcomes this new important agency. 

UN Women will function as a secretariat and also will carry out operational activities at the country level; it brings together four parts of the UN system:

• the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), established in 1946;
• the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), established in 1976, and with its headquarters in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic;
• the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), established in 1997; and
• the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), established in 1976).

The new body will be headed by an Under-Secretary General who will be a member of all senior UN decision-making bodies and will report to the Secretary-General.  [Keep reading for more information on UN Women and on Ambassador Cuello's statement concerning a role for UN Women in the Dominican Republic.] Read more…

by Bojana Koljancic, PPAF Intern

On Friday, July 2, four Dominican Republic organizations held a conference at the United Nations about the “Empowerment of Young Women through Youth Delegates to the United Nations.”   This was a side event to the 2010 Substantive Session of the UN Economic and Social Council which took place on the day that the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted Resolution A/64/L.56, which establishes “UN Women” as the new gender equality entity at the UN. 

These were the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), La Fundacion Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), the United Nations Association of the Dominican Republic (UNA-DR) and the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the UN.

Convinced that empowering women and youth fuels thriving economies, and spurs productivity and growth, the Public-Private Alliance Foundation welcomes their involvement on national delegations.  PPAF regularly involves young women and men from different origins and cultures as interns.   PPAF also welcomes the creation of UN Women, which will be operational by January 2011.   PPAF further seeks to help achieve the aims of UN Women, to work for all women and girls toward achieving the goals of equality, development and peace all over the world.

Panelists at the July 2 event were:  Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations in New York; Kerry Stefancyk, Program Coordinator for GFDD; Anik Kohli. UN Swiss youth delegate in 2008-2009; Fruzsina Molnar Straus, Communication and Program Officer at the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA); and Yamile Eusebio, Director of Formative Activities in FUNGLODE and Director of the New York GFDD office.  Pilar Sandoval, the Executive Director of UNA-DR was unable to join the panel.

The main theme of the meeting was to promote and show the value of youth delegates at the United Nations, and the extent youth representatives, in particular young women, are involved. Read more…

by Robert M. Worth, PPAF Intern

The UN offers businesses many ways to support its mission while creating valuable partnerships and pursuing new business opportunities.  One is to compete in the procurement process and become UN vendors.  Another is to assist in disaster response.  The UN also encourages business to join  the UN Global Compact, which affirms their adherence to several basic international mandates.  For more information about business partnering with the UN, and examples of how companies work with the UN, see:  http://business.un.org

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation promotes a business approach to development for poverty reduction and partnerships, and in support of all of the UN Millennium Development Goals.  PPAF is a participant in the UN Global Compact.

Procurement

One way to become a vendor and gain access to the UN’s $6 billion international market is to take advantage of the “one-step, fully on-line” registration process of the UN Global Marketplace.  This registers businesses with 21 agencies, funds and programs and the UN Secretariat, which represent over 95% of the UN procurement program’s expenditures.

Large contracts make the headlines, but the UN also relies on small businesses to support its operations. To encourage small business participation, the UN offers a tiered contract system   based on contract size – ranging from under $200,000 to over $5 million – with reduced compliance requirements for smaller contracts.

The UN Global Marketplace guide “Doing Business with the UN System” outlines the process. 

Disaster Response

A business can partner with the UN in disaster response as a paid service provider or by making donations.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) produces “How Can My Company Help?”   This page explains the role of businesses in disaster response, as well as methods of giving.

Cash is always the preferred type of donation, as it allows the UN to direct resources to the most immediate need, but in-kind donations are accepted so long as they meet current emergency needs. In all cases, donated goods and services must be aligned with the goals of the UN.

Businesses can also donate expertise by providing full-time employees with needed skills to UN agencies, and can facilitate individual giving through employee donation programs.

 OCHA encourages businesses to develop their ability to respond to future disasters, especially by creating long-term partnerships with emergency relief organisations.  OCHA also encourages support after the initial disaster passes, as reconstruction often costs ten or more times the cost of the initial response.

The UN Global Compact

The UN Global Compact  is a public-private initiative that joins businesses with the UN to make commitments to sustainability and corporate citizenship in four core areas: human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. By signing the Compact, businesses agree to implement and promote ten universal principles and to make annual contributions according to revenue-based guidelines.

Participating in the Compact allows businesses to contribute to the creation of a “more sustainable and inclusive global economy,” as well as to enjoy the benefits of partnering with the UN, governments, civil society, labor, and other non-business interests to develop best practices and implement an “established and globally recognized policy framework for the development.”

by Robert M. Worth, PPAF Intern

PPAF’s renewable energy seminars, held in the Dominican Republic in cooperation with the National Energy Commission (CNE) and others in 2009, emphasized the importance of Law 57-07 to make the D.R. a potential leader in the Caribbean in renewable energy, and to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.  Law 57-07 grants numerous incentives and tax exemptions to investors in renewable energy.

PPAF is very happy to learn that the Dominican Corporation of State Electrical Companies (CDEEE) recently signed its first contract, with Grupo Eolico Dominicano, to buy wind energy that will be carried by the Interconnected Electrical System (SENI). The system currently carries only energy from conventional sources.

The energy will come from Grupo Eolico Dominicano’s 34 mega watt wind park, which will join SENI in 2011. 

Speaking to the newspaper Dominican Today, Grupo Eolico Dominicano representative Wilfredo Gonzalez, who participated in PPAF’s 2009 seminars, called the deal “historic.” He said that the group will continue to make renewable energy investments in the Dominican Republic.

The power will be sold to the CDEE according to the price formula found in Law 57-07 on Incentives to the Development of Renewable Energy Sources and Special Regimes.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2010/7/5/36209/Dominican-Republics-1st-wind-energy-park-to-operate-in-2011

Ing. Máximo Nicolás, president of the Dominican Association of Aquaculture (Asociacion dominicana de acuacultores, Inc.), has announced the redesign of ADOA’s website.   Included is the announcement of an upcoming training course on tilapia, to be held in August, in conjunection with the American Soy Association. 

PPAF has worked with ADOA since 2007 in strengthening fish farming in the Dominican Republic.

email info@adoard.com
Edificio CONAPROPE
Feria Ganadera
Santo Domingo
República Dominicana

by Robert M. Worth, PPAF Intern

PPAF has added a number of videos produced by Frank and Dana Minaya of the Samana College Research Center in the D.R. onto the PPAF YouTube site.  They feature the PPAF / SImACT workshop in Jacmel, June 12 – 13, 2010 – on “Reconstruction and Business Opportunities in Southern Haiti,” as well as the June 9 – 10, 2010 “Building a New Haiti” Conference held at Club Indigo in Montrouis.  Thank you , Frank and Dana! 

Click on the titles below to view the videos.

BUILDING A NEW JACMEL, HAITI

SImAct and PPAF sponsored a workshop in Jacmel on June 12-13, 2010, for the exploration of reconstruction and business opportunities in southern Haiti.  About 50 participants traveled there on the morning of June 12 from the Building a New Haiti conference (organized by American Chambers of Commerce (of the D.R. and Haiti) and the U.S. Commercial Service).  Another 25  joined them  from Jacmel, elsewhere in Haiti and internationally.

HAITIAN SYNERGY #3

Haitian Needs and Answers as described by Reginald Boulos, coordinator of the Haitian Private Sector Forum, notes President Obama’s commitment to Haiti.  He spoke at the Building New Haiti conference held at Club Indigo on June 10-11, 2010.

 HAITI’S SYNERGY #2

Reginald Boulos, speaking at the “Building a New Haiti” Conference.

HAITIAN SYNERGY – JUNE 2010

Photos from the “Building a New Haiti” Conference held June 10-13, 2010, at Club Indigo and Jacmel’s Hotel Cap Lamandou.  The first few minutes show Betsy Wall of the Foundation for International Development Assistance (FIDA) giving a special message for rebuilding Haiti.  Images and presentations from the Jacmel Workshop by PPAF and SImACT follow.

 HAITI’S MINISTER OF TOURISM PATRICK DELATOUR  (in Creole and French)

“Regional Priorities for Recovery and Development,” Jacmel, Haiti, June 12, 2010.   Minister Delatour meets with participants and reporters at the Jacmel Workshop.

RENE PREVAL, PRESIDENT OF HAITI,  JUNE 11, 2010

Rene Preval, President of Haiti, speaks at the “Building a New Haiti” conference.

On June 12-13 PPAF and SImACT held their Jacmel Workshop “Reconstruction and Business Opportunities in Southern Haiti” at the Cap Lamandou Hotel.  This took place at a time of great crisis but also great opportunity. “Refondation”  will take many years and billions of dollars.  Yet the cry is to “build back better,” and investment, commerce and business have central importance in this.  

Some Jacmel participants

Seventy potential investors and contractors, the mayor and the president of the local chamber of commerce of Jacmel and other notables participated.  Conference materials with details on participating companies and organizations will soon be available on the PPAF website.   Photos can be viewed here.   

The Minister of Tourism (and reconstruction) Patrick Delatour gave the keynote address and an extensive powerpoint presentation.  He encouraged revitalization of the historic areas of Jacmel and other sites and their potential for becoming an economic engine for rebuilding and tourism.  He stressed the themes of revitalization of infrastructure, decentralization from Port-au-Prince, job creation, income generation and rebuilding Haitian pride.   

(l to r) Roland Zenny, Pres. Jacmel Chamber of Commerce; Edwin Zenny, Mayor of Jacmel; Patrick Delatour, Minister of Tourism

Photo: Frizner Nau 

Our workshop built on a just-completed conference of 600 participants that was organized by the American Chambers of Commerce of the Dominican Republic and of Haiti and the US Commercial Service. About 50 AmCham conference participants left at 6 a.m, Saturday and traveled by bus for a weekend in Jacmel. joined by others already residing in Haiti.  There we had practical discussions and site visits that focused on several priorities for Southern Haiti – seaport and airport infrastructure; the “soft house” and other transitional housing; agriculture and fishing; cooking without charcoal; Jacmel’s historic district, the arts and promotion of tourism; and the planned multipurpose community at Belle Rive.

Participants were struck by the magnitude of damage but also the possibilities for revitalization.  The resilience of the population, the hospitality and competence of the hotel, the vision and compassion of business people, the vitality of a nearby art foundation for homeless children, all contributed to a sense that serious efforts were merited and will bear fruit.   The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Al Jazeera TV and the Haitian magazine Rebelle Haiti as well as local Jacmelian press covered the event. 

Representatives of a dozen organizations discussed prospects for manufacture of ethanol stoves in Haiti and provision of fuel on a commercial basis, leading to planning and tentative agreements among Project Gaia, SImACT, Dometic, Inc., PPAF, the Haitian-American Association of Engineers and Scientists and others.   Representatives of the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children also participated in these discussions.  Since the Jacmel Workshop, Project Gaia has announced that 1,440 donated stoves are about to be shipped and that the Brazilian government will make available donated fuel to start pilot efforts.    

Similarly, guarantors and potential providers of funds for the Belle Rive site were impressed by SImACT’s planning and initial investments, the excellence of the site, and the potential in three markets — Haitian diaspora, decentralization from Port-au-Prince and development managers. 

The motto of SImACT is “To provide means to achieve, opportunities to live and reasons to dream.”  Strong steps were taken toward these goals at the Jacmel Workshop.

An article on the workshop, “Jacmel Woos Foreign Investors to Rebuild Shattered Resorts.” appears in the Globe and Mail (Toronto), written by Jessica Leeder, who writes “Project Jacmel,” an ongoing series. 

In order to assist businesses to work in the redevelopment of Haiti, several organizations have held or will hold events to bring prospective investment, commercial and related interests together.  Here are a few:

June 10-11, 2010 – AMCHAM DR / AMCHAM Haiti Conference– Montrouis, Haiti

About 600 people attended the “Building A New Haiti” conference organized by the American Chambers of Commerce of the Dominican Republic and Haiti and the U.S. Commercial Service.   Speakers included the Haitian President Rene Preval and the Prime Minister, Max Bellerive.  Partial lists of attendees and presenters and PowerPoint presentations of selected speeches are available on the AmCham DR website:  http://amcham.org.do  David Stillman of PPAF and a team from SImACT attended, with Lesly Kernisant making a presentation in the Tourism segment.  PPAF has posted a few photos from the event.

June 12-13, 2010 – PPAF/SImACT Workshop, Jacmel, Haiti    

About 50 participants from the AmCham conference, plus about 20 from Jacmel and elsewhere participated in the PPAF / SImACT workshop “Reconstruction and Business Opportunities in Southern Haiti.”  Billed as an add-on to the AmCham conference, this workshop focused group discussions and site visits on several practical possibilities.  The Minister of Tourism Patrick Delatour gave a keynote address.   (See article, press and photos.)

June 21, 2010 – “Building a New Haiti” Debriefing and Planning meeting, Brooklyn, NY

About 20 people attended the meeting, held at the offices of the Brooklyn International Trade Development Center of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.  Several shareholders and friends of SImACT participated, as well as the PPAF Executive Director.   Thoughts, comments and suggestions of those who attended the June 10-11 conference in Montrouis will be used to shape the July 10 forum and the September trade mission (below) and for communications with government officials.  

July 10, 2010 – Meeting to Plan a Trade Mission to Haiti, Brooklyn, NY

Participants in the July 10 meeting will help plan for a trade mission to Haiti.  The meeting is being organized by the New York State Association of Minority Contractors and the NS and J Advisory Group.  It will be held Medgar Evers College.  PPAF and SImACT have been invited as presenters.  Contact events@nsandj.com  to reserve a place.

September 8-10, 2010 –  Proposed Trade Mission to Haiti 

A trade mission, jointly led by NS&J Advisory Group and SImACT, is being planned for September, to Jacmel and other sites in Haiti.  Details will be available after the July 10 meeting.

While videos don’t replace a visit to Jacmel, here are some that give a flavor of its history and charm, its devastation after the January 12 earthquake, and a glimpse into opportunities for the future.

Jacmel, Haiti (Documentary)  – March 11, 2008 (en francais) - Productions Fanal.   This documentarty is about the town of Jacmel located in the southeast of Haiti. The film talks about Jacmel’s history and its contribution to haitian culture, art, literature, and so on. (in French)

Reviving Jacmel: Haiti’s Cultural Capital - February 16, 2010 – Time Magazine

The Power Brokers  Meet a few of the key players in Jacmel. - April 6, 2010, Globe and Mail – embedded in the article.

Jacmel, Tourist Area in Haiti, Decimated by Quake - January 18, 2010, Associated Press

 Jacmel – Haitian Port City Shattered, Forgotten - January 17, 2010, Miami Herald

The World Summit for the Future of Haiti was held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on June 2, 2010   It was hosted by Dominican President Leonel Fernandez who opened summit along with Haitian President Rene Preval,  U.N. special envoy to Haiti former president Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.  This was a follow up to the summit held in New York on March 31 in which a total of almost 10 billion dollars was pledged by the various countries and international organizations that attended.

The June 2 summit was organized in effort to begin to review the funds that had already been pledged in the months following the New York summit. The day was spent discussing ways to create and implement initiatives aimed at rebuilding the Haitian infrastructure after the devastating earthquake of January 12. The focus was on projects that would restore some of Haiti’s most basic systems such as water, sewage and electricity, as well as building housing for the many displaced Haitians.

Fifty-four donor countries and 35 international organizations attended the summit. According to President Fernandez, by its close, a total of 7.81 billion was promised to help aid in the reconstruction of Haiti- still short of the 10 billion originally pledged in New York.  Most of these funds have not yet been delivered.

“ All this leads to the figure of US$6.71 billion. If we add the US$1.30 billion offered by the United States in the Summit in New York to that, we’ve already identified US$ 7.81 billion in pledges for Haiti’s reconstruction” (President Fernandez) .

 Former President Clinton and Prime Minister Bellerive are charged with using $ 5.3 billion of those dollars to fund various reconstruction projects over the next 18 months. The new Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (ICRH), will have their first meeting on June 14th to discuss further details.

Another concern was the safety of the million or so Haitians who are now homeless and susceptible to the 2010 Hurricane season which began June 1. Efforts are being made to ensure their protection and secure housing for the refugees in order to shield them from the effects of the harsh season and prevent further tragedy.

“We have more than one million people that are currently living in very precarious conditions, in camping tents,” stated Clinton, who is the United Nation’s Special Envoy to Haiti. “We can not allow for people to die during this Hurricane Season because they inhabit temporary dwellings.”