Haitian mosaic with imagery of the environment and forests. Photo Credit: Alex Fischer, CIESIN

Blogs from the Earth Institute, Columbia University

The Haiti Research and Policy Program at the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development continued its Spring 2013 Dialogue Series with Kimberly Green, president of the Green Family Foundation. This discussion explored the importance of and areas where small foundations are supporting Haiti’s cultural vibrancy and innovation. In the post-earthquake period, most foundations and policy lost sight of cultural development, instead consistently presenting bleak outlooks that frame most narratives of Haiti in donor reports and the media.

Green was joined by Tatiana Wah and Alex Fischer of the Haiti Research and Policy Program at CGSD to discuss how her foundation has focused large portions of its efforts on cultural, historical, artistic and creative endeavors in Haiti’s contemporary society. To do this, the foundation emphasizes different ways to support innovation and creativity building from Haiti’s rich history, ranging from supporting internationally celebrated Haitian artists, to promoting Haitian musicians, to collaborating with the talented Haitian filmmakers who are making important contributions to their respective fields.

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From the Huffington Post

When Green Family Foundation President Kimberly Green somewhat jokingly suggested getting San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to keynote Americans for Immigrant Justice's annual dinner, even she thought the idea a tad far-fetched. Castro, of course, is the man who stepped up to the Democratic Convention's prime-time podium and proved he could stand and deliver with the best of 'em, including Obama himself, who'd been given the same chance to show he was worthy of anointing.

Better yet, like the president, His Honor exhibited the kind of rock star cool which becomes most evident when the heat is on. And upon convention's end there wasn't a household in the nation that didn't somehow get hot at the prospect of having the Stanford/Harvard-educated chico from San Antone be the Dems next best shot at the White House.

But Kimberly Green, Ph.d. didn't build GFF into the sorta place which saves lives, rescues archives, and guides the light by being near-sighted. And she sure didn't come to establish a program that's the "core component" of what's projected to make the state an annual $78 million and create an estimated eight to 11,000 new jobs in Miami-Dade without fielding some good old-fashioned far-fetched. So with the theme of this year's AIJ dinner in her head, and a little extra skip in her step, Green did indeed "dare to dream." The rest, as we'll see, proves the best and the biggest and the brightest of dreams all begin with a dare.

What makes Mayor Castro such a good fit to host the 2013 Annual AIJ Dinner?

Well, besides his delivering an inspiring and, dare I say, hip Democratic Convention keynote speech, and him being one of the party's most rapidly rising stars, Mayor Castro also presides over the country's seventh most populous city, in the second most populous state. Equally important is that his story's so rooted in immigrant advocacy, which, as the name states, has always been the primary objective of Americans for Immigrant Justice. Oh yeah, and His Honor just so happens to be a member of the fastest growing voting bloc of the American populace. Just ask Obama.

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