# Haitian National Day of Climate Change Education, a civic commitment and a social approach

Quetya Aubin

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Quetya Aubin. Haitian National Day of Climate Change Education, a civic commitment and a social approach. 2024. hal-04723077

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# Haitian National Day of Climate Change Education, a civic commitment and a social approach

Quetya AUBIN

Haiti-Antilles cluster, Haiti Sciences and Society (HaSci-So), Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Email: quetyaaubin25@gmail.com)

## Summary

Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, is one of the island states of the Caribbean and the Antilles. Like its neighbours in the Caribbean region, it is exposed to telluric hazards (earthquakes, landslides, etc.), cyclones, hurricanes, tropical storms, floods and climatic risks. As part of the research areas of the LMI-CARIBACT international joint laboratory, which is coordinated in Haiti by the Geosciences Research Unit (URGéo) of the Université d'État d'Haïti, the Quisqueya University Climate Change Research Team (ERC2) and its partners signed the Turgeau Declaration in 2023, adopting 1er September as Haiti's National Climate Change Education Day. As part of the citizen-based approach to this decision, this presentation looks at 1er September from three angles: (i) the contextual aspect of the organisation of the round table commemorating the first edition of this adoption; (ii) a look at this day from the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and (iii) the Turgeau Declaration and the significance of the concepts of global and national days.

**Key words:** Haitian national day, education, climate change, Turgeau declaration, civic engagement, social approach, sustainable development goals.

## Introduction

It's quite a challenge for a journalist who doesn't specialise in science journalism to be asked to take part in a round table discussion to celebrate Haiti's National Climate Change Education Day with teachers and researchers in the human and social sciences (SHS), senior technicians and scientists in the field of environmental sciences and, more specifically, climate science. However, it cannot decline such an invitation, which could give rise to two ethical problems.

The first problem would be a failure to honour the institution she represents, the non-profit association "Haïti Sciences et Société" (HaSci-So). HaSci-So's mission is to develop, promote and disseminate scientific culture in Haiti through social activities and cultural events firmly rooted in the sciences. HaSci-So's ambition is to become the Science-Society interface in Haiti, by strengthening the spirit of enquiry in accordance with republican ethics and deontology.

The second problem is that it could be interpreted as a disavowal of the profession of informing or training/educating the readers and listeners of the Haitian press on the basis of theoretical reflections by specialists in the human and social sciences and science and technology on societal problems arising from climate change.

This speech, which sees Haiti's National Climate Change Education Day as a social initiative and a civic commitment, is structured around three main points. In the first point, it looks at the day in the context in which it was organised. In the second point, it attempts to view the day from the
perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The third point is devoted to the
Turgeau Declaration and the significance of world and national days.

## Brief background to the organisation of Climate Change Education Day

This event is organised by the Climate Change Research Team (ERC2) at Quisqueya University, with the collaboration of its main scientific and technical partners. The different logos on the poster for this event seem to symbolise the desire of several institutions to work together to produce in-depth reflections on the issue of climate change, and even to open up new avenues that could make it easier to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, given Haiti's particular circumstances.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. "They are a global call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the Planet and ensure that all human beings live in peace and prosperity by 2030 (United Nations, 2015)." This somewhat idealistic definition is likely to leave many people stunned, particularly in Haiti, where there is a lack of concrete programmes and genuine actions that could help achieve the goals and dispel any feelings that might lead some readers to equate the SDGs with pious hopes.

## Haiti's National Climate Change Education Day and the achievement of certain SDGs

By tackling the problem of the effects of climate change and its impact on the environment and the population, on the one hand, and by declaring 1er September as a day of education for children, on the other, the initiators and partners of this Haitian social initiative have consciously or unconsciously invoked four of the 17 SDGs:

1. Objective 17 - Partnerships to achieve the objectives;

2. Objective 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure;

3. Objective 4 - Quality education;

4. Objective 13 - Measures to combat climate change.

A reading of the Turgeau Declaration, the arguments of the round table and an analysis of the poster for this event suggest a different understanding of the targets of goal 17, in order to build, in the light of the weight of innovation in goal 9, the infrastructure for reflection and action likely to enable Haiti to achieve, through the adoption of formal and informal education programmes, the targets of goal 4 and goal 13 of sustainable development.

This is therefore an opportunity to congratulate the organisers and co-organisers for their scientific and humanist commitment and for organising such an activity. The production and free distribution of the proceedings of this round table represent an act of calling on the Haitian government to include the National Climate Change Education Day in its list of national days and to promote it internationally.

## The Turgeau Declaration and the significance of world and national days

As part of this intervention, the information available on international or world days, as well as that on national days, is mobilised to try to better appreciate the strategy adopted by the promoters of the event to institutionalise the Haitian national day on climate change education.
The concept of an international day (or world day) refers to a day of the year dedicated to a particular theme, at international or global level. It generally refers to a cause or problem of international or global interest and is intended to draw attention to the theme it symbolises. Dehesdin (2013) counted 309 world days, or more than two-thirds of the year. The United Nations and its agencies have established most of these days. The others are days declared by churches, NGOs, associations and professional unions.

Out of this large number of international days, 5 dates have been selected as examples for the purposes of this study.

* 1 January: World Day of Peace,

* 7 April: World Health Day (WHO),

* 18 May: International Museum Day,

* 1 September: World Day of Prayer for the Integrity of Creation,

* 17 October: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (UN).

A national day is a day of the year dedicated to a particular theme at a national level. Among the main national days in Haiti, the following dates have been chosen to illustrate this point:

* 1er January: Independence Day,

* 7 April: Death of Toussaint Louverture,

* 18 May: Flag Day,

* 1 September: Haitian National Climate Change Education Day

* 17 October: Assassination of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, founder of the Haitian nation.

Some national days are declared directly by the State. In the literature on national days, it is reported that: "There are no regulations on the term national day and anyone can propose a national day and ensure sufficient communication on the subject for as many people as possible to be aware of it" (Dehesdin, 2013).

A comparison between the dates of the World Days and those of Haiti reveals several similarities. An analysis of these facts should challenge specialists in the humanities and social sciences and mobilise several sociological and historical theories to better understand, once again, Haiti's great contribution to what is still left of humanity on the planet. However, there is a certain link between the intentions of three world days and Haiti's National Day of Education on climate change:

1. International Education Day - 24 January - proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in a resolution, to celebrate the role of education for peace and development (United Nations, 2018).

2. World Climate Day is celebrated on 8 December. Created at the initiative of several NGOs, this day is an opportunity to remind people of the very real threat of global warming and the need to take action to limit its effects (IUCN France, 2017).

3. World Day of Prayer for the Integrity of Creation - 1 September - In his message of 6 August 2015, Pope Francis took the initiative of instituting this world day, in line with the publication of his encyclical *Laudato Sì*. "I wish to communicate to you my decision to also institute in the Catholic Church a "World Day of Prayer for the Safeguarding of Creation". Starting this year, this day will be celebrated on 1 September, as is already happening within the Orthodox Church (Francis, 2015)."
Without wishing to go into religious mysticism, it is important to quote the Holy Father's analysis of the climate: "*The climate is a common good, of all and for all. On a global level, it is a complex system linked to many conditions that are essential for human life. There is a very solid scientific consensus that indicates that we are witnessing a worrying warming of the climate system [...] Humanity has a duty to protect the climate. [...] Humanity is called upon to become aware of the need to make changes in lifestyle, production and consumption in order to combat this warming or, at the very least, the human causes that are causing or exacerbating it* (François, 2015)."

During the months of June to August 2024, the country's population experienced a truly overwhelming heatwave. Several cases of dehydration were reported. The work of several scientists studying the negative effects of climate change on human health highlights the following facts: heatwave-related mortality in the over-65s, mortality associated with coastal flooding, diarrhoeal diseases in the under-15s, malaria, dengue fever and malnutrition (Hales et al., 2014).

"*The Republic of Haiti is a fragile area suffering from vulnerability to the effects of climate change.* x changes climate change, like all the other territories making up the island geography of the Caribbean, is also likely to see an increase in the prevalence of endemic infectious diseases, including vector-borne diseases (Apply et al., 2021).

## Conclusion

Enjoying their civil and political rights and freedom of expression in the exercise of their profession, the signatories of the declaration creating the Haitian National Climate Change Education Day have initiated a social and civic initiative to save a common good. It would be interesting if Haiti's highest authorities were to take this initiative on board politically and provide the necessary support from the Republic to make 1er September an official National Day of Education on climate change.

## References

Apply A., Benjamin F., Raymond L., Michel D., St Louis D. & Emmanuel E. (2021). *Social Representations Of Diseases Linked To Climate Change In The Population Of A Slum District: A Case Study From Haiti*. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 17(15), 262. Ant la https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2021.v17n15p262

Dehesdin, C. (2013). There are 309 world days a year! https://www.slate.fr/story/4329/il-y-190-journees-mondiales-par

Francis, P. (2015). Encyclical Letter Laudato Si of the Holy Father Francis on safeguarding the common home. *Vatican: Vatican Press*. 192p.

Hales S, Kovats S, Lloyd S, Campbell-Lendrum D. (2014). Quantitative risk assessment of the effects of climate change on selected causes of death, 2030s and 2050s. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 978-1-50769-1-0 https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/134014/9789241507691_eng.pdf

United Nations. (2015). Sustainable Development Goals. New York: United Nations.

United Nations. (2018). International Education Day. 73/25. [/(A/73/L.39 and A/73/L.39/Add.1)] Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 3 December 2018. New York: United Nations.
IUCN France, (2017). 8 December - World Climate Day. https://uicn.fr/events/journée-mondiale-climat/. Accessed 31 August 2024.

Wikipedia.

International

Day.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journ%C3%A9e_internationale