What It Takes to Put Northern Haiti on a Path to Development

Delivered a French-language presentation titled “Ce qu’il faut pour mettre le Nord en chantier,” focused on the strategic conditions required to place Haiti’s Grand Nord on a long-term path of development, investment, and institutional transformation. The presentation proposed a three-step framework for regional development: first, assessing the current state of the North and defining the desired long-term future; second, identifying the collective attitudes and behaviors required from public, private, civic, and community actors; and third, adopting a holistic approach capable of coordinating interventions across sectors. The presentation highlighted the North’s strategic assets, including natural resources, beaches, historical sites, cultural identity, cuisine, and artistic heritage, while also addressing major constraints such as informal urbanization, weak land-use planning, poor waste management, limited basic infrastructure, insecurity, and vulnerability to natural disasters. A central message of the presentation was that isolated and fragmented actions are not enough. Sustainable transformation requires a shared vision, coordinated planning, patriotic entrepreneurship, human-centered leadership, and a practical framework that helps local, national, and international actors align around priority development areas. The presentation concluded with a call for greater ambition, collective responsibility, and patriotic commitment to build a stronger and more prosperous Northern Haiti.