The agenda topics for the Haitian-American Millennials Summit reflect issues affecting the general millennial demographic including wealth generation, civic engagement, and discussions revolving around the contributions that Haitians provide to American society. This is a major forum that will have panel discussions led by leading local academics, politicians, culture endorsers, and others, on how and why Haitian-Americans are having significant influence in the United States and Haiti. Partners include Commissioner Jean Monestime, Miami-Dade County Commission, District #2 and Miami Dade College, North Campus. The summit is scheduled from 9am-4pm.

Admission for the summit is free. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration and more info can be found at AvanseAnsanm.org/summit.

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About Avanse Ansanm
Avanse Ansanm is a movement to engage South Florida Haitian- American millennials in creating a shared agenda for the advancement of the Haitian community & increasing Haitian-American millennials volunteerism, commitment, connectivity, and investment in the Haitian Community in South Florida & in Haiti. Avanse Ansanm’s mission is to engage & connect Haitian-American Millennials, understand and harness collective economic & political power, preserve Haitian culture in Haitian- American Millennials, and cultivate a strong community bounded by a shared strategy to Advance All Things Haitian.

For more information, please contact Santra Denis at Santra@AvanseAnsanm.org

The capital city of Port-au-Prince will be a techies haven on June 6-7! The Haiti Tech Summit, founded by Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Christine Souffrant-Ntim, will include more than one-hundred speakers, including actress Vicky Jeudy, venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, Google Accelerator founder Roy Glassberg, uber-developer Matt Terrell of Facebook. The two-day event is being billed as Haiti’s largest techie event ever, and it’s not hype!

Haiti’s techies will not be left out of the event, thank you very much! Christian Roy Frombrun, a tech and marketing strategist is among the keynote participants, as are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ralph Dupoux, photographer and techie Samuel Dameus, Davidson Toussaint of Haiti Tourism Inc, Cleve Mesidor, Michael Verch, and radio host and multimedia personality Carel Pedre. Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis, a former official as well as Haiti’s current president Jovenel Moise are among the keynote speakers.

Many Haitian-Americans are also on board for the event, including Regine Vital, Guelma Emile Allen, Nancy Douyon, Guerlince Semerzier, Caroline Racine, Marc-Alain Boucicault, L’Union Suite founder Wanda Tima-Gilles, Gilles Sassine, Dori Alexandre, Sandra Florvella-Pierre of Haitian Businesses, LLC; Daphnee Charles of COCREAD, and many many more.

You need more names? Your wish is my command…Naisha Silva of Google, Angie Carrillo, Kairos CEO Ryan Brackeen, Elisa Page, founder of BlogHer, Adi Abili, entrepreneur/inventor Ryan Foland, Laura Pincus Hartman, the founder of Ecole de Choix, the multi-lingual school in Mirebalais, Haiti. And ooh, Black Enterprise’s tech editor Sequoia Blodgett is also be among the speakers, as will be Kyra Kyles of Ebony. And how nice to see that Rhonesha Byng of Her Agenda among those present. Actually am a fan of Her Agenda..

Look, my fingers are getting tired…very tired…so many great minds…so many awesome thinkers…like wow…

So many solid participants, so many speakers from every field imaginable. This isn’t a tech summit…it’s more like a two-day masterclass.

Lawd is all I can say! What a tech show!

And how wonderful that it’s Haiti Tech Summit! This event has so much potential…it gives me vertigo just thinking of what it can grow into.

This is the event’s first year, so can you imagine what organizer Souffrant-Ntim will endure to top herself for the sophomore event!

Haiti Tech Summit! In Port-au-Prince!

To get a more thorough picture of all the participants, go on the Haiti Tech Summit website by CLICKING here.

Hooray!

Miami Caribbean Code, the tech conference that bridges Miami to the rest of the Caribbean, is taking place on June 24th in Miami. Check out this interview with techie Henry Beaucejour, who will be one of the speakers at the event. Beaucejour is the editor of Haiti Tech News, and the Chairman of Haitian Caribbean Information Tech Council (Hacarabtech). Get a first-person handle on the conference through his eyes!

Kreyolicious: Tell us about yourself and what drew you to tech?
Henry Beaucejour is a dreamer, a visionary. I fall in love with anything related to technology. Understanding that technology is the backbone of organizations and companies around the world, especially developing countries. A couple of years ago, as I emigrated from Haiti to the United States, I found myself in a situation to bring [about] some changes. What drew me [to tech] was the passion to innovate and look at a better future for the youth. Our young people represent the future of this generation.

Kreyolicious: How did you get involved with Miami Caribbean Code?
I got involved after a briefing with Firmin Backer, one of the co-founders of the Haiti Renewal Alliance, a non-profit that promotes business development and investment in Haiti. Once Firmin Backer was in it…with his expertise in technical innovation, strategy development, along with his history in investment management, I thought it was something special.

Kreyolicious: Why do you think attending an event like this is important?
An event like this will allow the attendees to have a better exposure [to] and better understanding [of] how technology can bring people together…How technology can change the world to make it a better place to live as human beings, and also how new technology is being used to save lives.

Kreyolicious: What do you think attendees will learn from your session?
I am certain [that] after those attendees leave the session, they will change their minds, be more awakened to the vision that I have been sharing to the world for years in newspapers, different articles and social media. And they can also learn about the experiences of Haitian radio hosts Carel Pedre and JUNO7 who used Twitter and [other] social media [platforms] to inform the world about the earthquake and the cholera outbreak which ravaged their country, Haiti.

Henry Beaucejour being interviewed on his favorite subject…tech!

Kreyolicious: From what you can observe, why is tech so important in the Caribbean and Latin America?
As I said in the beginning, this is a vision. I hope other leaders in the Caribbean and Latin America share that vision to make those places a reference where Microsoft, Google, and others to come and recruit the best programmers and developers.
The Caribbean—and especially my homeland Haiti—needs foreign and local tech investment and technological knowledge diffusion. Creating the requisite infrastructure—from [a] techno park to better interne—would be significant steps. Jacmel, for example, with [its] arts community, walkable architecture and beautiful beaches, might be an attractive place for concentrated technology hub and a tech incubator. Haiti can create a special economic zone to attract foreign companies, with the aforementioned conditions. In return for any incentives, tech giants companies can open doors in Jacmel or Cap Haitian and employ or train local Haitians. I wish the same for beautiful islands Aruba, Jamaica and Trinidad and so on.

CLICK HERE to go on the Miami Caribbean Code website to keep up with the movement and to purchase tickets to this year’s edition of Miami Caribbean Code.