PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – The government of Spain has announced that it will be providing scholarships and exchange programs to the Haitian Creole Academy in a move to help integrate the country’s mother tongue into professional settings.
The announcement was made by Spain’s Ambassador to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, Estime Sergo Cuesta, who was speaking at a forum on Kreyol earlier this week.
“Literacy in the mother tongue is needed to ensure children’s academic success,” Sergo Cuesta said in french during the event, titled “The Kreyòl, a scientific language.”
“It doesn’t make sense that some people don’t know French and have difficulties talking with their administration, the Haitian administration,” he added.
Cuesta did not provide details on the proffered scholarships and exchange programs.
“We believe a lot in Spain’s support and desire to integrate Haiti and its language because a country is developed when its language is valued,” said Rogeda Dorcé Dorcil, the Haitian Creole Academy president.
The Haitian Creole Academy was founded in 2008 to support the development of the Creole language.
The Spanish Embassy organized the conference in collaboration with the University State of Haiti, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Initiative MIT-Ayiti), Basque Agency Cooperation, and the Haitian Creole Academy.
The event is part of the Edukayiti project of the European Union but was carried out by the Spanish cooperation to strengthen Creole in education.
During the forum, Jon Sarasua, a professor at the University of the Basque Country in Spain, spoke about how the Basque language went from being an oral language to be integrated into secondary and higher education in the 20th century. It was also recognized as a scientific language, which means instructors thought in Basque and scientific works were written in Creole.
Creole encountered its first challenge at its formation in colonial times, Dorcil said.
“This is an opportunity for the ministry to recall the importance of the mother tongue in any learning process,” said Minister of National Education Nesmy Manigat.
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