22582: Stephenson: First ODCA-RDNP political training seminar, an exemplary success (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: PatrickStephenson <patrickstephenson@videotron.ca>

First ODCA-RDNP political training seminar, an exemplary success



As previously announced, on saturday June 26 , the first of the two
international seminars ODCA-RDNP was held, as announced.  The venue was the
Thérèse room of the Plazza hotel, ex-Holiday Inn in Port-au-Prince «
Champs-de-Mars », This was a joint project sponsored by the Organization of
the Christian Democracy of Americas, whose seat is in Santiago of Chile, and
the Gathering of the National Democrats Progressists of Haiti, whose
registered office is 234 road of Delmas, in Port-with-Prince.  This was
organized , in the framework of fraternal solidarity between the mother
Organisation  and the RDNP to the benefit of which the seminar was
organized, affiliated since the times of the regretted Aristides Calvani.



The Seminar originally was conceived and prepared for 80 young community
leaders of the RDNP, that were pre-registered to take part.  The organizers
were obliged to refit the initial plan to accomodate the spontaneous
multitude of young members of the party, not pre-registered, but present
with their RDNP ID cards in hands. Fortunately, the installation of the
Thérèse room could be widened  and finally,  152 participants could be
accepted in the intellectual part of the program. This success of multitude
was in line of the discipline recommended at the beginning by the
organizers, and it was finally for the best, with great  satisfaction warmly
expressed by all at  the seminar closure under  enthusiastic applause.



After the welcoming speech of the Secretary-general and political Leader of
the RDNP, the professor Leslie F. Manigat on the spirit and objectives of
this first seminar ODCA-RDNP organized in Port-with-Prince for the benefit
of the young community leaders of the RDNP, participants were accomodated by
the remarks of circumstance of Chilean Francisco Javier Jara, executive
secretary with the presidency of the ODCA, who traveled from Santiago
dispatched by the president of the ODCA Gutenberg Martinez. Within the
seminar lecturers, three coming from abroad, centered their talks as
announced  on the Principles of the Christian Democracy,.



The talk of  Dr. Ignacio Balbontin, of the Belgium, University of Louvain,
centered on "the guiding Principles of Christian Democracy, and stressed the
inspiration of Christianity in the old  as well as in the new testament, and
the social doctrines of the Church with patristics, then scholastique,  and
finally on the social progressim of modern and contemporary Christianity
whose positions are remotely opposed to atheistic Communism and néo-liberal
capitalism, two materialisms that have forgotten Humanism based on social
sensitivity to the Common Good.



The second lecturer, Dr. Rodrigo Vera, Executive Director of Latin-American
Center for the Relations with Europe (CELARE), organized his talk on the
guiding principles of contemporary democracy, its regulations and his
requirements as well as its problems and the need for improvement according
to degrees' of advancement of the countries in the process of
democratization.



Lastly, the third lecturer, the Mexican Rolando Garcia, Secretary of the
International relations of the SIDE (Partido Accion Nacional) of Mexico
developed the centre and reformist position (far from the extremes) which
divides today the Christian-Democrats with the Muslim moderate currents
spiritualists, boudhists and others, in a widening base on a respectful
common humanism and the rights of the person.



The relevance of questions from the floor that followed caused the delighted
astonishment of the lecturers who answered with happiness and appropriation,
while enquiring of the Haitian dimensions of these topics and particular
aspects.



The last part of the seminar was devoted to a debate of more than two
hours - since one was obliged to close the meeting at  19:00h   instead of
the announced 18 :00 H. - on "The Challenges of  Contemporary Haiti: Vision
of the RDNP ". This part, obviously, was given by the direction of the RDNP.
It was followed by  talks of the three associated secretaries-general of the
party. The geographer-political economist, secretary-General associate
responsible for the diaspora, presented food, agriculture and his
prolongations, in the vision of the RDNP. Mrs Mirlande Manigat, senior of
the Faculty of Law, political sciences and international relations of the
University Quisqueya, secretary-General associated for  international
relations and business, developed the vision of the RDNP in the
international relations of the country.



The assistance was to know one moment of galvanization to hear the ignited
intervention of Rodrigue Jean Charles, coordonator and organizer at the
central office of the RDNP on "the profile and the model of the militant in
RDNP vision ".. The organizers of the central office of the party were
congratulatted for the material success of the seminar. Documents were
distributed as well, both ODCA and RDNP material , and the 152 participants
could carry the basic texts of the ODCA and the documents of the RDNP
republished for the circumstance: the original program of government of the
RDNP, the Constitution and Statutes of the RDNP, the handbooks on the
political formation, the organizations of parties in Haiti (some obligingly
provided by the NDI and the IRI) and the layers, folders and stickers
ODCA-RDNP illustrated in color, courtesy of the head office of the ODCA in
Santiago.


The First seminar ODCA-RDNP, was imprinted by the passion of the young party
community leaders like a phenomenon  most revealing of the current revival
of the RDNP, was in the unanimous opinion a total and memorable success. One
pointed out that this first political training seminar ODCA-RDNP is a
prelude to  the preparation of the 7th National Convention of the RDNP
envisaged for  August 6 and 7,  2004, "the National Convention of the 25th
birthday" of the RDNP (1979-2004)