Overview:
Leaders in the Northwest Department used the Port-de-Paix patronal feast to draw attention to a region often overlooked and under-resourced. For the first time, the local chamber of commerce and industry (CCINO) organized a week-long event full of cultural, economic and sporting activities, along with panel discussions on public insecurity and environmental challenges.
PORT-DE-PAIX— Port-de-Paix marked the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this year with an extended series of social, cultural and economic activities aimed at showcasing the Northwest Department’s potential — a region often sidelined in national planning and lacking basic infrastructure.
At the center of the festivities was La Huitaine, an eight-day program launched Dec. 1 by the Northwest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCINO). The initiative featured conferences, artistic performances, sports events and community discussions— focusing on local development, public safety, entrepreneurship and the environment.
“For eight days, we celebrated our local businesses, our cultural creativity, and the strength of our entrepreneurs,” said Jordan Hérard Verdule, president of CCINO. “The Huitaine is not just a series of events — it is a collective commitment and a promise to our community.”
CCINO leaders said the goal was to shift national attention toward the Northwest Department, which they described as a region rich in human talent, natural beauty and economic potential—but hindered by decades of state or policy neglect.
“This initiative aims to show that the Northwest is not a forgotten or marginalized space, but a vibrant, talented, and ambitious territory — capable of producing, innovating, and inspiring the entire nation,” Verdule added.
Panel discussions brought together local academics, business leaders and civil society actors to examine the urgent issues shaping daily life. Topics included entrepreneurship, environmental degradation, public security, youth development and opportunities for local investment.
Security and the environment: central concerns
Professor Yves Martial opened the conference series with a session on “Public Security and the Environment.” He emphasized how insecurity, displacement, and environmental destruction reinforce one another and deepen poverty nationwide.
“This is a current topic — we live with it every day,” Martial said. “Institutions are weakening, citizens are increasingly vulnerable, and we are not paying enough attention to our human environment.”
He noted that state institutions remain too fragile to address the crisis and warned that mass displacement driven by armed groups continues to worsen.
“To overcome this, decisions must be made,” he said. “We need people with character and vision, capable of generating synergy. All citizens must work together. Things have to change.”
Martial also assigned responsibility to international actors.
“The international community is complicit in Haiti’s current situation,” he said. “No foreign country has truly prioritized us.”
He urged young people to seize leadership, calling them the country’s “greatest strength.”
Residents attend a conference on public security and environmental challenges hosted by the Northwest Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. Photo courtesy of Parallel Media Group.
Festivities also included a five-kilometer marathon organized by CCINO in partnership with the Port-de-Paix Football League (LFP). The run celebrated Haiti’s national team’s historic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and drew thousands of participants, who chanted and danced in the streets.
Residents of Port-de-Paix participate in a five-kilometer marathon honoring Haiti’s national soccer team for its historic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday, Dec. 7, 2025. Video by Kervenson Martial/The Haitian Times.
Rock Juvens Clavel, president of the LFP, urged residents to support Les Grenadiers and avoid displaying foreign flags during the World Cup, specifically those of Brazil and Argentina—the two most popular national soccer teams among Haitian fans.
“I don’t want to see flags of Brazil or Argentina flying on rooftops,” he said. “It’s important that we raise the Haitian flag — that is how we show support for our Grenadiers.”
Clavel called on the government to provide adequate funding to the Haitian Football Federation (FHF) and local leagues.
“This peaceful march is a way to ask the state to support football,” he said. “We’re showing Les Grenadiers that the Northwest stands with them — and so does the entire country.”
Sports, cultural and artistic programming
Beyond conferences and street festivities, the week-long event featured theatrical performances, traditional dances, soccer matches, and a food and craft fair celebrating local artisans and creative industries.
“Our department faces real challenges — fragile infrastructure, precarious economic conditions, and limited public services,” Verdule said.
“But we also have extraordinary human resources. Our mission is to create spaces, opportunities, and bridges for the economic, social, and cultural development of the Northwest. The Northwest stands tall, it is creative, and it is ready to reinvent itself,” he added.
Community members participate in a traditional dance performance during the Huitaine cultural events in Port-de-Paix on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Photo courtesy of Parallel Media Group.
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