Technology

Haitians looking at Estonian E-Governance system

Recently, a team of Haitian delegation headed by Uder Antoine, General Coordinator of the Office of Management and Human Resources (OMRH) has left for Tallinn in Estonia to get an overview of the functioning and management of the Estonian E-Governance system "X-Road" which is the backbone of e-Estonia and to seek required technical advice on its installation process in Haiti. Since 2009, Estonian experts, with the support of the Soros Foundation, have been advising the government of Haiti on the development of an electronic-governance system, or "e-governance". "X-Road" is a rapid information exchange software which is convenient, cost effective, people oriented, real time public services and sharing of information through electronic media. "X-Road" is expected to be functional in Haiti by the end of this year.

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A newly created web application for mobile devises to revise the BAC or secondary Education (APPES) in Haiti

New Mobile App developed for Secondary Schools

Through Nesmy Manigat's request, who is Minister of National Education, a web app for mobile phones has been developed for Secondary Education students.

The app has several menus devoted to topics as final exams, content on educational and vocational guidance, video resources, and disciplinary fields.

Jean Charles Joseph Mackendie, Project Manager; Joseph Job Maurice, Director of Secondary Education; and Computer Information Technology professional, Gerald Belizaire, worked as a team to develop the app.

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Here is a picture that you might want to start getting familiar with if you are living in Haiti. Telemedicine or medecine via web cam has been introduced in Haiti that provides doctors at a Haiti hospital with access to around-the-clock medical support.

New Videoconferencing Program trains Haitian Doctors in Trauma and Intensive Care Treatment

The University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine is helping trauma room doctors in Haiti treat patients, who are suffering from many types of critical injuries and conditions. UM has begun a telemedicine service that offers 24-hour medical support via instant video communication. The videoconferencing is a cost-effective method, needing only a laptop with a webcam. The service, which began in December of 2014, has UM trauma specialists interact with emergency room (EM) doctors, working in the trauma and critical section of Port-au-Prince's Bervard Mevs Hospital.

Haiti's healthcare infrastructure is underdeveloped, and only made worse by 2010's earthquake, which it has not yet recovered from. Haitian doctors don't receive sufficient training in trauma treatment, and supplies can be difficult to obtain.

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President Florvil Hyppolite was credited for many infrastructure accomplishments during his short government in Haiti. One of them is the establishment of telephone lines. He also created a diligent Ministry of Public Works, under which Haiti's famed Iron Market was built.

Haiti's famed Iron Market has received some reasonable amount of press in the last few months due to the timely renovation of the historical attraction. What hasn't garnered equal fame is the Market's founder, President Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite. President Hyppolite was born in Cap Haitian in March of 1828 and became the leader of the country after defeating and overthrowing Legitime. What we will remember today, however, is not Hyppolite's birth, not his Iron Market, not his rise to power, but rather, his Panama Hat.

Many Haitians took this as a sign of his impending death. There were tales of strange objects, such as a cock's head and a dried human liver, being found sewn into his coat. His persona as a ruthless man, as well as the President of Haiti, meant that rumors of poisoning also abounded. Whatever the true cause of his death, the song that immortalizes it, ending with the line, "Whoever wants can go 'head and pick it up for me," has kept up throughout Haitian history.

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Here is a view of the new website launched by the Haitian government that is expected to make life much easier for the public. The Administrative Information Centre (CRA)

Administrative Information Center Delivers Easy-to-Use Experience for Citizens

The Haitian government has implemented a new service for citizens to use public services without getting caught in a bureaucratic maze. Called the Administrative Information Center (CRA), it is a website portal directing users to public services information.

Inter-American Development Bank funded CRA for $900,000 USD. Ronald Decembre, Tax Reform Secretary says CRA adds ". . . to the quality of services offered to the population . . ." Haitian-Canadian company, GENINOV, engineered and built CRA.

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Here is a picture of Mr. Reginald Fils-Aimé, AKA Reggie. He is the current President and COO of Nintendo of America

An accomplished business executive with a Haitian root, Reggie Fils-Aime was born to Haitian immigrants, who moved to the United States due to the political view of his grandparents. He was hired by Nintendo of America in December 2003 as the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Fils-Aime became President and Chief Operating Officer of the video game company on May 25, 2006. Nintendo is one of the most influential in the industry and Japan's third most valuable listed company. It has a market value of over US$85 billion,

The President and Chief Operating Officer of the North American division of the hugely successful Nintendo franchise, Reginald Fils-Aim, was born in the Bronx, New York after his Haitian parents were forced to emigrate because of the political atmosphere in Haiti at that time. Before his current post, Fils-Aimé worked with VH1, where he met his current wife, and then began working at Nintendo where he would become the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing before taking on his current role. In 2004 at an E3 press conference, he became a popular figure among gamers around the world following his appearance.

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Surtab has unveiled its brand new touch-screen tablet, the first of its kind to be manufactured in Haiti. Adding to this patriotically attractive feature, is the equally appealing price-tag. With a factory price of US$85 or US$100 retail, the Wi-Fi version should prove an economically viable option for most Haitians, young and old, who can realize their goal of owning a tablet, with the Android OS at their fingertips, brought to them by the effort of their fellow Haitians.

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Prime Minister Lamothe got a sneak peek at Google's new self-driving vehicle during his visit to the company. Google plans to roll out a fleet of self-automated (SA) vehicles as soon as drive-testing is completed. With hundreds of thousands of miles driven, no malfunctions have occurred.

Tesla and Nissan also have plans to release SA vehicles. Tesla wants to design an auto that will perform 90% of driving tasks; Nissan wants to offer affordable SA vehicles to consumers by 2020.

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Hollywood actor and supporter of Haiti, Sean Penn is hoping to capitalize on the popularity of Instagram, an internet photo and video sharing phenomenon that, following its start in October of 2010, racked up 100 million photographs by July of 2011. His hope is to bevy up new interest in his J/P Haiti Relief Organization. The effort, which had its start almost immediately after the 2010 earthquake, has re-housed a majority of those who lost their homes.

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If the Haitian government could have his way, he would ban the use of new technologies such as Skype and MagicJack in Haiti. These new technologies represent a problem for them as the government had big plan to collect fee on long distance phone calls.

The Director of the National Council of Telecommunications (Conatel), came out to say it that the impact of internet calls with devices such as magicJack, Skype in Haiti is not positive for the government.

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