award - Haiti Observer Blog

All the efforts of the Haitian Compas band Klass and its Maestro Richie this year have not been unnoticed. At the 34th Annual International Reggae & World Music Awards (IRAWMA) the group was awarded Best Haitian Entertainer of the Year.

The THELAR Management Group and Martin's International Culture have honored Haitian Compas band, 'Klass' "The Best Haitian Entertainer of the Year 2015" award at the 34th Annual International Reggae & World Music Awards (IRAWMA) ceremony. Nu Look, another Haitian Compas band based in Florida has been awarded "Florida Haitian Entertainer of the Year 2015" award during the same ceremony held on October 4, 2015 at Bailey Hall of Broward College Central Campus in Davie, Florida. The prestigious annual award ceremony was attended by many well known entertainers, dignitaries and personalities from the music industry of the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, the U.S and Africa. Every year, the experts in Haitian music from these countries participate in the nomination process and the whole process of awarding is overseen by the THELAR Group. Nominations are based on the works released between June 2014 and May 31st, 2015 and the winner is selected by considering the work's social relevance, originality, quality of performance, stage performance, sales at local/national/international levels, etc.

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On Friday, August 29, 2014, the Junior Chamber International Haiti (JCI Haiti) launched the fourth edition competition for "The Ten Outstanding Young Persons in Haiti". The competition has been set up under a theme "self representation of youths"-- to represent themselves as a recognizable role model. It has been organized under the patronage of the Embassy of Canada, Médiatexte and other partners with an objective to promote the innovative and creative capacity of young Haitians aged between 18 and 40 years who have proficiency and excelled in diverse fields of activities and studies like education, economics, politics, child welfare, culture, human rights, peace, science and technologies, personal achievements, leaderships and etc.

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The 2010 earthquake flattened Port-au-Prince, reducing to rubble many public buildings and homes, an estimated 413,000. The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), with the backing of the government of Haiti (GOH) repair program, restored 10,000 homes in the capital city and elsewhere since the disaster.

The Engineering News Record (ENR), a publication of the engineering industry, awarded the tripartite collaboration of Haiti's Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Telecommunications (MTPTC); PADF; and Miyamoto International (MI) for excellence in the Renovation/Repair bracket in the "Global Best Projects" (GBP) competition.

The GBP selection committee rated the entries according to recognized standards of safety, innovation, and participation in improvements to local/international construction requirements. Quality of workmanship and team coordination were also factors considered during the review. MTPTC, PADF, and MI will be given the award at ENR's Global Construction Summit in mid-May.

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After forging a substantive career in entertainment encompassing fashion and the cinematic arts, Haitian-born actor, Jimmy Jean-Louis began his humanitarianism, having gained a formidable platform from which to do good works, and has now been awarded the Excellence in the Arts prize for his contributions to entertainment as well as humanity through the foundation he founded, Hollywood United for Haiti.

Upon receiving the prestigious award from the Caribbean American Heritage Awards, Jimmy Jean-Louis joined the ranks of those Caribbean notables who have taken home a prize from the foundation which awards those Caribbean artists who have made significant contributions as immigrants to the United States. Past recipients include Jamaican Reggae Artist, Freddie McGregor, who has had hits including, 'Big Ship' and 'Just don't want to be lonely', though McGregor's award was for Lifetime Achievement.

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The Haitian film industry is about to experience a first. An independent, short-feature film, "Addiction", produced by Haitian-American filmmaker, Perri Pierre, is going to be screened for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the 2014 awards ceremony. AMPAS requires a film to be in release for a two-day, two-screening run to qualify. Pierre and Amis Entertainment are partnering with Laemmle Theatres in Southern California to make that happen.

"Addiction" tells the tale of a substance abuser, who wages war with his drug and alcohol demons, while searching for fulfillment in love. Early reports from industry insiders, who have gotten a first look at the film, say the character study of a young man's struggle against the undertow of drug addiction is poignant and compelling.

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Marie-Louise Jean-Baptiste, MD and Cambridge Health Alliance physician, was awarded with Charles McCabe Faculty Prize (2013) of Harvard Medical School. She received the award at Daniel D. Federman Teaching Awards Celebration that was held at Harvard Medical School's TMEC Walter Amphitheatre on Monday, 6th of May, 2013. The Charles McCabe Faculty Prize has been awarded to the most outstanding teachers of Harvard Medical School since 1982. The honor is given to a highly selected group of best medical educators of the school.

Marie-Louise Jean-Baptiste was honored with this prize because of outstanding teaching performance in primary care clerkship of Cambridge Health Alliance and its Cambridge Integrated Clerkship or CIC of Harvard Medical School. CIC was launched in 2004 and it is the medical school's principal medical year's complete redesign. The CIC is considered to be a national and international model for reforms in clinical education.

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Since 1994 there have been 19 recipients of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders; one for each year since its inception. The winners have ranged from people to organizations, living and working in many different countries across the world. Titled for Amnesty International's past secretary general, the award isn't so much celebratory, as an investment in the safety of the individuals who, through their work in their home countries and their efforts to defend human rights, find themselves in danger.

The award committee achieves this by giving protection through publicity, through shining light on the issues, and by drawing the attention of the media on the individuals who are often risking their lives while fulfilling their undertakings.

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Great writers write what they know, and to know one must have experienced. It is perhaps the wealth of experience to be had growing up with the flavorful culture of Haiti, combined with the inherent 'growing up female' narrative to mold them why women Haitian writers number so many and are so excitingly prolific in their works. This undeniably compelling group of ladies has received an honor even greater than the awards recently issued to 8 among their field with this further acknowledgement of the worth of their words.

The setting was the Municipal Palace of Delmas, the day, Monday April 1, 2013, our protagonists, 8 wonderful writers whose dedication to their various forms of writing, as poets, short-story and novel writers, art critics and educators, was honored by the Ministry of Culture in a ceremony alive with music from the Congolese 'Drums of Brazza'. Edith Lataillade, Marilisse Neptune Rouzier, Marianne Lehmann, Marie-Alice Théard, Evelyne Trouillot, Marie-Marthe Balin Paul, Charlotte Barlatier Cadet and Paula Clermont Péan were given plaques of merit honoring their literary contributions that have benefited the literature of Haiti by enriching it and giving voice to the issues faced by women in Haitian society.

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Against the wishes of many, Haiti, led by then president René Préval, began dealings with Cuba and Fidel Castro. As part of a trilateral cooperate between the two countries and Venezuela, Castro facilitated an aid package to Haiti that would include oil and energy solutions, medical and disaster support, education, etc.

During Préval's first turn as president, after the September 1998 hurricane Georges had ravaged the country and left a cholera outbreak, 500 Cuban doctors were sent to give aid. Described by Préval as second only to God in their healing abilities, the gift was looked on suspiciously by others claiming the intention was to either steal jobs or spread the 'communist influence'. Following Rene Preval's personal experience of the Cuban health system and a second visit of the doctors in the wake of 2010's cholera outbreak, Préval awarded the Cuban Medical Brigade, and by extension Castro, with the country's highest honor, the National Order of Honor and Merit in the grade of Grand Officer. Hundreds of thousands had been infected; the death toll nearly 5000, but the efforts of the Cuban doctors had saved the lives of over 73,000 Haitians.

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Haitian Minister of Culture, Josette Darguste awarded the winners of National Carnival, 2013 during the award ceremony held at Ibo Lele hotel. The award ceremony was marked by the presence of President Michel Martelly along with Sophia Martelly (his wife), Minister of Tourism, Stéphanie Villedrouin. Various other big-shot personalities were also present at the award ceremony. The three winners of the National Carnival were:

• Anbyans - received the 'Award of originality in the creation'.
• Djakout #1 - received the 'Award of best popular animation'.
• Orchestre Septentrional - received the 'Award of the perfomance'.

The winners were awarded with USD 15,000 check each. The groups Barikad, Zatrap, Team Lobey, T-Micky and T-vice were awarded with medals while Fils, Vorbes and NATCOM were awarded with certificates for the invaluable support they provided to National Carnival Cap-Haitien 2013.

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