As chairman of the board of directors of the Haitian Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development (FOHPDD), Samuel Colin is fully committed to the search for a lasting solution to the Haitian crisis. Since November 2020, he has initiated the inter-Haitian dialogue which mainly aims to reflect on ways and means to end the sad episodes of insecurity in Haiti. Inhibiting the fluidity of local and foreign investment, this long political instability has blocked the engine of development and wealth creation in the country. With the support of a dynamic staff, Samuel Colin organized several meetings on an international scale including a large diaspora convention held in Montreal in August 2023. From this summit meeting which brought together several Haitian professionals a road map emanated to help curb the crisis.
Thanks to his keen sense of diplomacy, entrepreneurship and leadership, Samuel has established cordial relations with numerous international institutions and influential personalities around the world. Equipped with a mindset focused on management by results, Samuel always encourages his collaborators and partners to offer the best of themselves. In the workplace, he inspires his colleagues to think and take pragmatic actions to successfully fulfill their mandates. Attitude that he wishes to animate the political sphere and the circle of international organizations. He advocates a sense of public service and frank cooperation to definitively identify the best approaches to confront the main obstacles to Haiti’s development.
An ardent desire to supervise, to promote, to serve
Serving Haitian artists, students and professionals in the diaspora, Samuel believes that the country’s image is enhanced when a Haitian receives the necessary support to shine in a foreign land. Haiti has so much to benefit from such evidence of leadership and social engagement at the public policy level. An open mind, Samuel also promotes mutually beneficial partnerships between Haiti and the rest of the world. He designed the project “A Haiti Day in France”, which aims to promote fruitful bilateral cooperation between France and Haiti. Several delegations from the Haitian community, particularly from the Haitian Parliament, worked on this project with the France/Haiti friendship group.
Constantly, and particularly over the last five years, Samuel Colin plays a unifying role by leading workshops and discussions likely to lead to the stability and development of Haiti. He meets Haitian experts both in Haiti and in the diaspora, as well as political figures in Europe and America to debate and propose possible solutions to the political crisis in Haiti.
At the moment when the political crisis was most acute, Samuel Colin took up his pilgrim’s bastion, leaving his European comfort to stay in Port-au-Prince for more than fifteen months. He was intensely involved in it, in search of social peace and political understanding between the protagonists of the crisis. He thus participated in many discussions and meetings to galvanize the energies of political actors towards national salvation. He generously offered his collaboration in the drafting of several documents to plan a transition towards political rebalance.
Speaker and supporter of good governance
On the airwaves of several local radio and television stations including Radio et Télé Métropole, Samuel advocates governance focused on innovation and social justice actions. He has made interventions on local and international media platforms such as FrameTV, VOA Kreyol, Haiti Démocratie, LadyCha Klass, MCU to nourish the hope of a dream Haiti where serious economic and social inequalities are banished. This dream, he believes, cannot come true without a modern vision that favors the promotion of social inclusion and a judicious combination of internal and diaspora human resources.
Samuel maintains that professional integration and social reintegration can greatly contribute to eradicating the problem of insecurity while promoting inclusive development. In concert with AFPEC, in May 2022 it held meetings on professions in Haiti to raise awareness among stakeholders about the country’s various potentials. He has initiated several conferences and debates on subjects that concern actors living in Haiti and the diaspora.
He encouraged Haitian experts to reflect and propose solutions on various subjects, including the situation of Haitians in the Dominican Republic, the commemoration of historical dates, the transfer of knowledge in Haiti, the authentication of the actions of diaspora organizations. Also among his subjects of interest are the diaspora and tourism in Haiti, the question of dual nationality and the diaspora vote. At the same time, he supports the plea for diaspora transfers to be converted into a real source of wealth, by being oriented more towards investments rather than final consumption.
As evidenced by economic and social indicators, the picture is gloomy on all levels. How to republish a new page? Consistent efforts and sacrifices must be made so that Haiti rises from its ashes. It requires that the internal and external brains of the nation come together with the aim of creating a saving synergy, in the interest of the community. At the same time, human capital is decisive for development. How can we encourage the engagement of international expertise in the development of Haiti, where 85% of the best trained brains reside abroad? The answer lies in modern leadership that values and integrates qualified human capital into the country’s development axes.
Aware of the importance of human capital in development, Samuel Colin has demonstrated an immense ability to unearth Haitian talents in various fields to put them at the service of the country. His knowledge, his modern leadership skills and his dedication to defending the Haitian cause can certainly move the lines, for the benefit of society.
It would be reducible to argue that a government would have to gain by benefiting from the expertise and social capital that Samuel Colin carries. It is rather Haiti, at home and in the diaspora, which would emerge the winner.
Carly Dollin
