Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development

On March 4 David Stillman will be the keynote speaker at “Sustainability Dialogue Day” at Maricopa County Community College District (10 community colleges in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area, with about 250,000 students).   The audience will include the system chancellor and vice chancellors, college presidents and faculty.  The Chancellor is signatory to the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment.  http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/

Stillman’s presentation “International Perspectives on Sustainability” will include information on the work of the United Nations and its agencies in this area, as well as a case example of the work of the Public-Private Alliance Foundation and its partners to bring ethanol-burning cookstoves to Haiti.    He will also lead a breakout session on the topic “International Resources for Sustainability.”  

Stillman’s participation in the Day has been arranged by the Higher Education Alliance (HEA), a new program of the Humpty Dumpty Institute. The Institute forges public-private partnerships to find solutions to humanitarian problems.  HDI fosters dialogue between the United Nations and the U.S. Congress, supports mine-action programs, and works to alleviate both domestic and international hunger.

The HEA Program aims to assist universities and colleges across the United States to obtain a more global perspective for their students, including interaction with the United Nations and other international institutions, and possibilities for studies and internships abroad.  The program targets historically black colleges and universities and community colleges, as these traditionally have had less opportunity for such exposure.

On March 1-2 David Stillman will speak in Orlando, Florida at the Disaster Response and Recovery Summit, organized by Global Investment Summits, Ltd.  This will bring key decision makers in the aid and development community together with government policy-makers and partnering contractors looking to assist in the aftermath of disasters around the globe. 

 Morning sessions will introduce the presenters, while afternoon sessions will devoted to private consultations between attendees and participants to discuss key issues affecting disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

Stillman will participate in the panel on Aid and Relief.  His topic is “Lives, Livelihoods and the Environment in Post-Earthquake Haiti.”  Other panelists represent THW – the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (Germany), World Cares Center and Mercy Corps. 

The Summit will include panels on “Preparedness, Prediction and Assessment,” “Disaster Response,” “Public-Private Cooperation.” “Communications, Logistics & Supply Chain Management,” and “Reconstruction and Recovery.”     

In March 2010 Stillman spoke at a similar meeting, in Miami, “Haiti: Resources for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance Summit.”   

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation organized meetings from January 13 through 17 for representatives of Blume Distillation, LLC, which is planning to manufacture community-level distilleries for alcohol production that fuel clean cookstoves, motorbikes, etc.  The distilleries will accept sugar cane and a variety of other feedstocks and can receive support through distance monitoring.  The aim is to encourage agribusiness both in feedstock production and in co-products of the distillation process which can enrich the soil and support secondary markets.

Meetings were held with several potential private investors, with Ambassadors to the UN from Madagascar and Haiti, and with UN officials.  On the 15^th SImACT, a Haitian-American investment group, organized a session with more than 50 participants at their Brooklyn headquarters for discussions on both the clean cookstoves and the distilleries. 

On January 14, Blume Distillation represented and investors joined Stillman at the Conference for Teaching About the UN.  Blume staffed a display table at the conference along with Project Gaia.  Stillman addressed the conference on the topic “Fighting the Silent Killer in the Kitchen: Achieving the MDGs.”

Photos are available on the Foundation’s Flickr account.

SImACT, Inc. is an association of Haiti diaspora professionals which combines investment and social concerns to promote development in the Republic of Haiti.  SImACT (Societe Immobiliere d’Agriculture, de Commerce, et de Tourisme), was founded in 1996.  It currently has assets of about $8.5 million US.   www.simact.net   

At its November 14 meeting in Queens, NY, with about 50 current and prospective shareholders, SImACT directors outlined the status of the organization and developments including hotels, a residential project and a gold and copper mining project.   A highlight of the meeting was signature of an agreement with Choice Hotels Corporation for its support to an existing hotel and another which is planned.   Choice Hotels officials Caroline Racine, Director of Diversity Sales and a SImACT shareholder; Brian Parker, Vice President, Emerging Markets and New Business Development; and Jose Salvador Icaza, Director, Caribbean Franchise Development, all spoke about their positive view of collaboration with SImACT and the business potential.    Choice Hotels has over 6,000 properties worldwide.

SImACT and Choice Hotel Officers Sign Agreement

Jocelyn McCalla, Senior Advisor in the Office of the Special Envoy of Haiti for the United Nations, described the efforts of his office in coordination  with the Office of the Special Envoy  of the UN for Haiti – former President Bill Clinton – to encourage bilateral and multilateral assistance, foreign capital investment and Haitian Diaspora involvement.   

Dr. Lesley Kernisant, President and Board Chairman of SImACT, reviewed Haiti’s history and current prospects.  He introduced the proposed Belle Rive development in Jacmel, and SImACT’s management of the Cap Lamandou Hotel in Jacmel.   Other SImACT speakers included Dr. Daniel Faustin, Rodney Leon, architect, and Jean-Marie Wolff.

Dr. David Stillman briefed the group on PPAF’s work with SImACT and potential investors regarding the proposed construction project in Jacmel and elsewhere.   He also mentioned the work of PPAF in bioenergy, including business prospects for collaboration on the Dominican-Haitian border.   He emphasized the aim of PPAF to promote the UN Millennium Development Goals.    Jeanne Betsock Stillman, PPAF Board Secretary, who has previously worked in public health in Haiti, joined in the discussions.

Jacqueline Monfourny, a Canadian geologist and president of the mining company SIMACT Alliance Copper Gold Inc., presented a report on progress in 2009 toward exploration of copper, gold and associated deposits in Northeast Haiti.

Wallace Ford, a consultant to SImACT, acted as master of ceremonies for the afternoon.  Ford is principal and founder of Fordworks Associates in New York.

Frank Astacio, host of Sabado Agropecuario TV, interviewed Dr. David Stillman, Executive Director of the Public-Private Alliance Foundation, which was a co-convener of the First International Conference for Investment, Education and Transfer of Technology for Development of Aquaculture in the Dominican Republic.