Stay tuned for Conference Video!

Haitian college and high school students from all over the eastern seaboard, came to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to participate in the 6th Annual Haitian Students conference. The HaitiXchange staff arrived at Amherst amidst freezing rain and sleet, which was ironic since this conference, originally scheduled for February, was postponed due to bad weather. However, this did not keep people from showing up. Despite the weather, we received a warm welcome at Umass's Campus Center and scheduled events were just "heating up" inside.

The first event we participated in was the Soul of Survival Talent Search, where we got to see some exceptionally talented brothas and sistas, sing, rap, and read spoken word poetry. A lot of the talent was phenomenal and we would not be surprised to see one of the contestants "blow up" in the near future. This talent search was a testament to how well young Haitians have integrated within American society. Later that evening, everyone went to see Carimi perform at the Keefe Campus Center, where they seriously rocked the crowd 'till about 3:30 or 4 in the morning. "Yo lage konpa-a net!"

During the course of the conference, other events included a keynote speech by Rene Godfroy, an incredible motivational speaker who uses his experiences as a poor child growing up in Haiti and coming to America and becoming a successful speaker, writer and businessman, as inspiration for people to blaze their own trails and control their destinies. Mr. Godfroy was funny and also captivated everyone's attention as he recounted his tails and gave us all inspiration.

A panel discussion followed regarding "The Roles of Women in Haitian Society". The panel was composed of Magali L'Amour, a community activist, Elda James, a successful lawyer practicing in Boston, and Sophia Pasquis, who was one of the members of MTVs Road Rules Season 10 (didn't know she was Haitian..did you!) The panelists gave their opinions on the roles of women in Haitian society and answered questions from the audience dealing with everything from how to be more confident to how to control one's perception of beauty. The interesting thing about this discussion was that even male audience members participated, giving their side of the issues. This panel was followed by a "What's Happening to Haitian Music" panel where the roots of Haitian music were discussed as well as the influence of American music on Konpa. The panel members included Carimi.

On Saturday afternoon, Wyclef Jean joined the conference and was almost bum-rushed by excited members of the audience who insisted on taking pictures with him even before he got to the stage. He proceeded to discuss getting into the music industry and was asked all types of questions by the crowd. Among the most memorable, was the young woman who gave him her resume on the spot, making Wyclef keep his promise of lending a hand to anyone who could provide him with something to work with. Throughout the discussion, Wyclef cracked jokes, answered questions, and reminded people that there was much more to the music industry than just being a performer. He fielded questions on everything from people asking for a help, asking if they could give him demos, and people asking permission to audition and sing for him on the spot! Throughout it all, Wyclef was a great sport, showed much Haitian pride, and ended with a phat freestyle in Kreyol.

Wyclef rocks a freestyle in Kreyol during one of the panel discussions.	Wyclef entertains the crowd during the HASA Dinner Celebration.

Saturday night was capped off with a semi-formal dinner celebration where Wyclef entertained the crowd as a DJ spun the latest Kanaval, Konpa, and Reggea jams. The party was hot! On Sunday morning, Wyclef joined us again for a screening of "The Agronomist", a movie by filmmaker Jonathan Demme, based on the life of Jean Dominique, the famed Haitian radio journalist whose life was cut short by an assassin's bullets. The movie was deep and the audience was riveted. Everyone was pleasantly surprised to see that Michele Montas, the widow of Jean Dominique, was there to answer questions from the crowd. All in all, the conference was a huge success and provided young members of the Haitian Diapora a platform for voicing their opinions, holding on to their culture, and getting a little closer to Haiti Cherie!

Members of the group Carimi pose with a fan.	Wyclef Jean & Michele Montas answer questions about "The Agronomist", a about the life of her late husband, Jean Dominique.

HaitiXchange would like to send a special shout out to all the members of the UMass Haitian American Students Association for all their support in helping us support them. Special "Big Up" to Frantzline Monestime and Jeff Belizaire.

Stay tuned for Conference Video!