Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development

Building on interest expressed in Orlando,  David Stillman and Daniel Faustin of SImACT met in Washington on March 14-15 with Lord Kevin Lumb, President of Global Investment Summits, for a series of meetings to plan the Haiti Reconstruction and Sustainability Summit, scheduled for mid-September.  This included meetings with prominent Haitian-Americans and at the Inter-American Development Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and UN Foundation (Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves).  Foundation board member Carol Dabbs joined a lunch meeting with the president of the Haiti Renewal Alliance and another Haitian-American who owns land in Haiti.

A next step will be meetings in Haiti, planned for mid-April.   

Over a hundred members of the international aid and development community gathered in Orlando, Florida for the inaugural Disaster Response & Recovery Summit, which took place at the Caribe Royale Hotel & Convention Center on 1-2 March 2011.   The summit was organized to bring key decision makers in the aid & development community together with government policy-makers and partnering contractors looking to assist in the aftermath of disasters around the globe.

About one-third of the speakers dealt with Haiti.  David Stillman’s presentation consisted of a photo essay as well as a speech on “Lives, Livelihoods and Environment in Haiti.”  To request a  copy of the speech, email: ppafoundation@gmail.com

Dr. David Stillman, Lord Kevin Lumb

The summit covered key issues during the morning presentations and enabled delegates to meet with UN, business and NGO officials in the afternoons.   Twenty roundtables were set up for this purpose, with over 300 meetings taking place over the two days.

Proceedings were opened by Lord Kevin Lumb, Chairman of Global Development Summits. 

Dr. David Stillman represented the Humpty Dumpty Institute as keynote speaker at Sustainability Dialogue Day at Maricopa Community Colleges in Phoenix, Arizona.  The ten colleges have an enrollment of over 260,000 students.    Chancellor Rufus Glasper opened the event, which comprised about 100 faculty and senior staff.  

Thomas Williams, V. Chancellor Maria Harper-Marinick, Pushpa Ramakrishna, Chancellor Rufus Glasper, David Stillman, Eric Leshinskie, Robert Morales

Stillman spoke on “International Perspectives on Sustainability” and led a workshop on “International Resources for Sustainable Development.”    Chancellor Glasper is a signatory to the American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment.  

Handouts will be available on the PPAF website or by request to ppafoundation@gmail.com

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.

We join with all friends of Haiti in commemorating the tragic events of 12 January 2010.  We extend our sympathies to relatives and friends of those lost, and our hope and determination for a brighter future.  We are working with individuals and organizations to contribute toward rebuilding Haiti.

She wrote, “The Martha Stewart Show is a daily series that informs and inspires viewers on subjects from cooking and entertaining to crafting and gardening, hosted by Martha Stewart. This episode — dubbed “The Giving Show” — will ‘embrace the spirit of the holiday season with creative ideas for giving back.’

 Martha Stewart has a large and loyal following, both of her show and on social media channels.   We anticipate increased web traffic to the Alliance website, www.cleancookstoves.org, which should translate into increased traffic to your own sites or phone calls to your offices….” 

The UN Foundation appeared on an 8-minute segment alongside EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to discuss the challenges posed to nearly half the world’s population by cooking on traditional stoves or open fires. The goal with this appearance was to begin engaging a broader segment of the general population in the Alliance’s mission to drive solutions to this important issue.

Leslie Cordes (center, with scarf), explains Dometic/Project Gaia stove (at left) and others to Martha Stewart Show producers.

 The ethanol-based Clean Cookstove that the Public-Private Alliance Foundation, Dometic, Project Gaia, SImACT and other partners promote was one of four brought to the show.   Leslie Cordes writes that she described the stove’s qualities and unique attributes to Lisa Jackson and Martha Stewart.

Participants at Haiti benefit event

A celebration of Haitian paintings, culture and rum set the tone for the “Partners Against Poverty” benefit organized by the Public-Private Alliance Foundation on Thursday evening November 4 at Affirmation Arts in mid-town Manhattan.  The Foundation promotes collaboration by a mix of partners in a business approach to improving lives and livelihoods, with a focus on rebuilding in Haiti since the January 2010 earthquake. 

Affirmation Arts currently has on exhibit until November 24 an extraordinary collection curated by Gérald Alexis, an historian of Haitian art, which includes some pieces rescued from the rubble.  The Foundation thanks everyone who came to the benefit, and all who were unable to attend but donated.

Executive Director Dr. David Stillman welcomed the guests and focused attention on the Foundation’s work, especially in Haiti.  Tony Plana, the actor/director, hosted the event, urging guests to become involved in supporting the foundation.  Jocelyn McCalla, senior advisor to the Special Envoy of Haiti to the United Nations, described the status of Haiti reconstruction and the various players in this lengthy, difficult process.  Ian Williams, noted pundit and rum historian, spoke of the role of rum in Haiti’s history and economy and also led a tasting of Haiti’s famous Barbancourt rum.  Dr. Lesly Kernisant, president of SImACT, Inc., a Haitian diaspora investment group, talked about the partnership of SImACT with the Public-Private Alliance Foundation for several projects in Haiti.    

The event highlighted the Foundation’s recent focus on promoting improved cookstoves and fuel in Haiti. With several partners, the Foundation is working to create a sustainable industry of locally-grown and distilled sugar ethanol to fuel cookstoves manufactured, marketed and distributed in the country. The project aims to improve lives and health, especially for women and children, reduce the heavy reliance on wood and charcoal that has stripped the country of forest and topsoil, and improve the livelihoods of farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs.

Affirmation Arts, Crillon Importers and Eben Bronfman of Jared Samos Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Private Wealth Management were supporters of the event.  For photos go to:  www.flickr.com/ppaf/show

Malagasy children - All deserve to hear

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation is pleased to announce the first steps for a project to provide long-term hearing aid support to Madagascar.  It will involve government, business, non-profits and the community. To facilitate this, PPAF board members and a senior fellow have met with Starkey Hearing Foundation President and CEO, Bill Austin and its Executive Director Brady Forseth.  Discussions with Ambassador Zina Andrianarivelo-Razafy of the Madagascar Mission to the United Nations have led to follow-up by Rotary Clubs and the Government in Madagascar.  Information on Starkey, a well-known American NGO, can be found at:  www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org   It began in 1984 and works in countries around the world.   

Mr. Austin has recently sent a letter to the President of the Transitional Authority of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina and Mme. Rajoelina, offering assistance and outlining how the foundation would work.  The letter notes that Starkey is already working in the region, in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana and Mozambique. 

Mr. Frederic Rondeau, International Director of Starkey, will visit Madagascar from November 25-30, for high-level meetings with the Government and Rotary, initial training of volunteers and identification of patients and other preparations toward implementation early next year.

In a meeting held in Antananarivo on November 10, representatives of Rotary Clubs, the Ministry of Health and other participants agreed to make “Aid for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing” as a Rotary program with Starkey Foundation.  Three Rotary Clubs in Antananarivo:  Ainga, Dean and Mahamasina, will take the lead.   A Memorandum of Understanding will be established between the Ministry of Health and Rotary.

The World Health Organization has estimated the number of deaf and hard-of-hearing in Madagascar to be approximately 1.8 million people.  Background information can be found in a very informative article and accompanying video from French TV:  Deafness in Madagascar    The video asserts that while about half of all Malagasy school-age children attend school, only about 1% of deaf children are in school.   Gallaudet University, the premier American university for the deaf, maintains a list of deaf organizations and schools by country, including in Madagascar.  The Public-Private Alliance Foundation previously facilitated donations of medical supplies and equipment to Madagascar through Project C.U.R.E., and corporate funders, which resulted in delivery of nine 40-foot shipping containers to several hospitals and clinics.

You are invited…. It’s not too late to register~

“Partners Against Poverty” Fundraiser

to benefit the

Public-Private Alliance Foundation and its work in Haiti

Thursday    November 4    6 – 8 pm

Since the January 12 earthquake PPAF is helping Haitians revitalize their country by partnering with business, the Diaspora, non-profits, the Government, the United Nations and individuals on key projects that improve peoples’ lives and help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. The fundraiser will help advance this. The Foundation also works in the Dominican Republic and Madagascar.

The setting for the event is the outstanding exhibit of Haitian paintings on display at Affirmation Arts, on 37^th Street in Manhattan.

 The Foundation welcomes  actor/director Tony Plana (of “Ugly Betty” fame) and pundit Ian Williams to its November 4 Benefit.   Ian will turn mixologist for samples of Haiti’s internationally famous Barbancourt Rum.   Michael Yarema, Executive Vice President and National Sales Manager at Crillon Importers will comment on the importance of Barbancourt Rum to the Haitian economy.

A current main focus for the Foundation is collaboration with several partners to promote improved stoves and fuel in Haiti.  Locally-grown and distilled sugar ethanol will fuel cookstoves manufactured, marketed and distributed in the country.  The project aims to improve lives and health, especially for women and children, and reduce the heavy reliance on wood and charcoal that has stripped the country of forest and topsoil.  Livelihoods for farmers and small scale entrepreneurs will likewise be improved.

Come enjoy the artwork, learn more about the Foundation’s work, and help Haiti build back better.

WHEN:   Thursday, November 4, from 6 to 8 pm

WHERE: Affirmation Arts, 523 West 37^th St., Manhattan (1/2 block from the Javitts Center; nearest subway is Penn Station)

REFRESHMENTS: Wine, soft drinks hors d’oevres and a tasting of Barbancourt Rum!

TICKETS:  Students and under 30’s — $30; supporters — $50; sponsors — $250 and up.  Go to: www.ppafoundation.org and click on the “Donate” buttons for PayPal or JustGive.  (This will save waiting in a line!) Donations also accepted at the door but please RSVP.

 RSVP:  Tel: 914-924-1413 or e-mail ppafoundation@gmail.com