April 5, 2010

We represent a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students at the University of Miami School of Communication.  Along with the rest of the world, we have been deeply moved by the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, and its aftermath.   Born of our desire to take action from the ground up and respond to this disaster as a concerned communication community, the Koze Ayiti Communication Initiative was formed.

Since January, we have met regularly to explore the role of communication in the rebuilding of Haiti.  We feel that we cannot let stories of Haiti disappear from the global scene and agree that there is a void of Haitian produced media.  The plan that has emerged is to create a website that serves as a stepping stone for world news and information about Haiti to reach a Haitian population that is isolated by geography, lack of technological infrastructure and language.  The site includes expert opinions and commentary aimed at contextualizing news and events as well as following the lives of Haitians through the rebuilding process.  The site provides a two-way avenue of information between Haiti and the world.

The site is named Koze Ayiti – conversations with and about Haiti. The effort has evolved on a voluntary basis with participation in Miami from the University of Miami, School of Communication community, the wider University community and members of the Haitian Diaspora.  The success of this effort will be evidenced in the wide dissemination of world news through Creole Haitian media and in the distribution of stories about the rebuilding of Haiti in international media outlets.

Koze Ayiti will focus on enabling young Haitian media makers and journalists to develop and distribute stories through its website to media in Haiti and the world.  Through these efforts, the site will give Haitians a forum for their own media about underreported issues in their country.

There is a lot of work to be done in Haiti. While Koze Ayiti has, thus far, been a voluntary effort on the part of all participants - looking forward, this effort will require significant fundraising to support its ambitious agenda.  With this initiative, we hope to incubate, promote, and contribute to the conversations that come out of Haiti’s rebuilding process for years to come.

Please visit us and join this ongoing and evolving discussion.

Sincerely,
The Koze Ayiti Team