A HUGE opportunity we should take advantage of!!

I just got this email forward from Chris Benner, the chair of the Community Development Grad Group. Check it out:

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"I was in Haiti shortly after the earthquake providing medical relief with a FEMA Disaster Medical Assistance Team. Since I have been back, I have been trying my best to keep the needs of the Haitian people from fading from the public consciousness. This has included numerous speaking engagements, news interviews and preliminary partnerships with several NGO's.

As you may be aware, the University of California did not officially participate in relief efforts following the earthquake in Haiti. However, a number of concerned students and faculty from the various UC campuses felt strongly that as one of the premier institutions in the world, the University of California has an obligation to utilize the talents of its students and faculty, as well as its enormous resources, to provide long-term assistance in the re-development efforts underway in Haiti. Despite being amidst the greatest budget crisis of our time since the Great Depression, the University is committed to advancing work in international development.

On April 24, 2010 at UC San Francisco, the UC system will hold a 10-campus, system-wide summit to deliberate on a long-term plan of engagement between the UC system and Haiti. Based on needs assessment reports from non-profits and ideally official representatives of Haiti, faculty and students in various disciplines will fine-tune potential projects, educational and training partnership opportunities, and community-based initiatives. As community members of UC, we are intending to find ways to partner with the people of Haiti, via education and training, to facilitate locally-derived solutions.

The plan of the summit is to have some preliminary general discussions and then to break into "interest groups" that will come up with specific proposals in areas such as medical care, agriculture, economic development, politics, public health, etc. Our College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences has some of the top talent in the country, and their input would be invaluable in the Agriculture component of the proposal. I will be leading the interest group in the Healthcare component of the proposal, and am coordinating the participation of UC Davis faculty, staff and students.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could forward this email to the faculty and staff of the College. If any of your faculty or staff have an interest in participating in the summit, they should contact me at dsgross@ucdavis.edu or 530-219-8960 as soon as possible, and include their area of expertise/interest. I have attached a tentative version of the Summit Proposal and schedule. Thanks."

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What do we think?? Should we jump on this? Lets discuss further at the next meeting. Keep posted.

g