CRSCAD
Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters
Section I. April 10, 2010 - An International Workshop: After the Cameras have gone: Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Haiti after the January 12th Earthquake
An event of the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at the University of Massachusetts Boston
April 10, 2010
The Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD), in concert with a number of non-governmental organizations, will host a one-day Workshop to examine ways in which we can rebuild the communities in Haiti sustainably, following the recent devastating earthquake that hit that country. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton notes that about three million people — a third of the country’s population - have been affected by the calamity and President Obama has promised $100 million for the relief effort in that country.
Objectives
Before the earthquake, Haiti was a “country with tremendous development needs and numerous impediments to development,” according to Congresswoman Maxine Waters. These impediments include an overwhelming burden of international debt; lack of personal and community assets; and very little or no internal and external capacities. In 2007, according to the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, the country owed “over one billion dollars to multilateral financial institutions, including $21 million to the IMF, $507 million to the World Bank, and $534 million to the Inter-American Development Bank. Much of Haiti’s debt burden was accumulated during the oppressive rule of the Duvalier regimes, neither of which used the money to benefit the Haitian people.” In fact, the IMF estimated that Haiti would “spend $56 million on debt service payments to multilateral creditors during the 2006-07 fiscal year.”
Against this background, the Workshop will, therefore, examine the following:
- The challenges of post earthquake rebuilding in Haiti
- New policy for urban/rural housing
- Social, economic, and infrastructural development (health, schools, higher education, water, roads, etc.)
- The reconstruction of state, public and commercial buildings
- Allocation of post-earthquake reconstruction financing to the various sectors of the economy
- Participatory post-earthquake reconstruction planning and development
- Choosing a Paradigm for Disaster Recovery
- The roles of government, institutions of higher education, the private sector and non-governmental and community-based organizations in post-earthquake rebuilding
- The participation of women and other special needs populations in the formulation and implementation of reconstruction policies after the earthquake
- The promotion of human dignity in the creation of sustainable environments that empower women, the poor and low-income households
- Clean and appropriate energy technologies
- Earthquake resistant design
- The role of the media in the reconstruction of Haitian communities
The Workshop will seek to propose strategies, policies and programs for implementation, by the Haiti government, non-governmental organizations and multilateral agencies, for the long-term reconstruction of the country.
Conference participants - who should attend
Haitian community leaders; officials of government, non-governmental, international and grassroots agencies; faith-based organizations; disaster preparedness professionals; crisis managers; emergency response workers and managers; employees of humanitarian relief organizations; academics and students; leaders of industry and the private sector; physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, architects; urban planners; public policy experts; health care workers; law enforcement officers; engineers; environmental risk managers; epidemiologists; hazard experts; transport providers; etc.
For further information, please contact:
Professor Adenrele Awotona
Director
Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD)
McCormack Hall, 3rd floor, Room 612
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Telephone: 617.287.7116
E-mail:
crscad@umb.edu
Website:
www.rebuilding.umb.edu
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Section II. July 12-15, 2010 - International Conference: Rebuilding Sustainable Communities with the Elderly and Disabled People after Disasters
An event of the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at the University of Massachusetts Boston
www.rebuilding.umb.edu/rscepd
July 12-15, 2010
Conference Objectives
While many conferences have examined challenges that the elderly and people with disabilities face in emergencies, no significant systematic post-disasters study has been undertaken with a focus on the long-term, sustainable community recovery and rebuilding needs of this population.
The conference will, therefore, address the following main issues:
- The status of the elderly and disabled people in various communities after disasters and the continuing need for superior research and appropriate data
- The role and input of the elderly and disabled people in post-disaster reconstruction planning and implementation processes
- The roles of governments, institutions of higher education, the private sector, and non-governmental and community-based organizations in post-disaster reconstruction
- The promotion of human dignity in the creation of sustainable environments that empower the elderly and disabled people in the aftermath of disasters
- Integration of the elderly and disabled people into the larger community after disasters
- The promotion of the human rights of disabled people through full participation, equalization of opportunity, and development
- The role of women with disabilities in the formulation and implementation of reconstruction policies after disasters
- The participation of children with disabilities in the development and execution of post-disaster plans and programs
This conference will bring together specialists and stakeholders from around the globe to share information and experiences and to develop strategies around some of the core issues concerning the place of the elderly and disabled people in local, regional, national and international post-disaster reconstruction policies, plans and programs.
The conference will seek to contribute to, and recommend, future policy formulation and implementation processes for local, regional, and national governments, as well as multilateral agencies and grass-roots organizations.
For disability-related accommodations, including dietary accommodations, please go to www.ada.umb.edu.
For further information please go to www.rebuilding.umb.edu/rscepd or contact:
Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD)
McCormack Hall, 3rd floor, Room 612
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Telephone: 617-287-7116
E-mail:
crscad@umb.edu
Website:
www.rebuilding.umb.edu
