18216: bateyrelief: BRA SPONSORS BILATERAL TALKS BETWEEN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND HAITI. (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: bateyrelief@mindspring.com

FROM: The Batey Relief Alliance
PRESSRELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Ulrick Gaillard at bateyrelief@mindspring.com or (917) 627-5026

BRA SPONSORS BILATERAL TALKS BETWEEN HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Haiti and the Dominican Republic: New relations in the 21st Century:
An in-depth expert analysis on the historical and future bilateral relations
between the two States.
How do Haitians and Dominicans really view each other?

The Batey Relief Alliance, in collaboration with the Columbia University and
Barnard College, is hosting its 2nd International Conference entitled, Haiti
and the Dominican Republic: New relations in the 21st Century. "The Foreign
Ministers of Haiti and the Dominican Republic have accepted our invitation
to gather and engage with academic leaders in an exchange of ideas with key
community organizers and activists, students and faculty, and the general
public about opportunities for bilateral partnerships in the achievement of
mutually beneficial solutions that honor and respect each society's way of
life, " said Ulrick Gaillard, Executive Director of the Batey Relief
Alliance.

The speakers are: Dr. Francisco Guerrero Prats, Dominican Republic's
Minister of Foreign Affairs; Joseph Antonio, Haiti's Minister of Foreign
Affairs; Dr. Ruben Silie, Executive Director of the Dominican's Facultad
Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO); and Lic. Nexcy DeLeon, former
editing reporter of Dominican's Daily Newspaper El Listin Diario and BRA
Dominicana's current Board President. Michele Wucker, author, "Why the cocks
fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the struggle for Hispaniola" and senior
scholar at the New School University, will be the event's moderator.

The forum will be held on Friday, February 27th, 2004, from 2:30 p.m. - 6:30
p.m., at Barnard College, The Julius S. Held Lecture Hall (304 Barnard Hall)
in New York City, New York.

The conference's registration fee is only $50. Students and Faculty pay a
special rate of $10. Registrants are invited to attend a pre-conference
cocktail at 1:30 p.m. and an after-conference network reception at 7:00 p.m.
at Sulzberger Parlor, Barnard College.

"This forum creates a unique opportunity for our panelists to: assess
historical realities and political misconceptions that have plagued the two
societies for more than a century; to highlight positive economic, cultural
and diplomatic initiatives that illustrate partnership efforts between the
two States; to identify the opportunities and challenges of expanding
bilateral collaboration with the support of an organized civil society and
the international community; and to offer a framework that helps create,
respect and sustain bilateral commitments, " added Gaillard.

The themes are: Main actors in the relations between Haiti and Dominican
Republic, by Joseph Antonio; Cooperation as a political axis with Haitė, by
Francisco Prats; Migration and frontier issues in the context of insular
relations, by Ruben Silie; Contributions and vision of the Batey Relief
Alliance to help improve bi-lateral relations, including efforts to enhance
the conditions of the inhabitants of the bateyes and other localities where
Haitian immigrants reside, by Nexcy DeLeon.

Seats are very limited. You may RSVP by sending your check or money order
payable to Batey Relief Alliance, at P.O. Box 300565, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230.
You may also register at the door.

The Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) is a not-for-profit humanitarian aid entity
that unites local grassroots organizations, government agencies,
universities and the international community in a strategic partnership to
help create a productive and self-sufficient environment for poor
marginalized populations in the Caribbean. Toward this end, BRA Dominicana
is actively involved in addressing the socio-economic ills facing thousands
of children, their families and others languishing in the bateyes, urban and
rural slums and the frontier zones of the Dominican Republic and Haiti - by
raising public awareness - facilitating thoughtful dialogues - and
delivering services in primary health care, HIV/AIDS prevention/education,
child development, domestic violence, improved water and sanitation, shelter
reconstruction, micro-credit projects, legal aid and education. For more
information about BRA, visit our website at www.bateyrelief.org.

·          P.O. Box 300565, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230-0565 USA
T (917) 627-5026, Email: bateyrelief@mindspring.com
·          Avenida Winston Churchill, No. 71, Edificio Lama, Suite 212,
Piantini, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dom.
T (809) 540-4947, F (809) 540-0786, Email: bra.dominicana@mindspring.com