Carlos Miranda Levy's blog

In April we have been honored with invitations to present our Relief 2.0 model and the Markets of Hope project at two international TEDx conferences across the globe.

TEDxSilkRoad: Borderless Creativity and Commerce brought us to Istanbul, Turkey where we had the privilege of sharing the stage with distinguished speakers from IDEO, CuteCircuit and Universities from around the globe.

We were given the wonderful opportunity of sharing some of our experiences and perspectives on the role of media in disasters at the Media for Social Responsibility course by Ithaca College with live remote participation of students from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Korea, Liberia and USA. I spoke from the Ecole Supériore of Infotronique d'Haïti after riding my bicycle 55km.

As part of our efforts to connect youth and kids around the world and to create awareness among them about the actual issues that affect us at a local and global level, Relief 2.0 is having two video conversations via Skype with 6th grade students at César Chavez Preparatory School (better known as Chavez Prep) in Washington, DC.

Japanese kids from Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan sing for the children and youth of Haiti on a special video prepared for and presented at TEDxYouth@PortauPrince, November 20, 2011. Travailler ensemble!

Haitian kids participating on TEDxYouth@PortauPrince send a message of hope to the kids and the people of Japan: Ganbatte Japan!

Billions of dollars were pledged and a significant percentage of that has been spent in Haiti's disaster recovery related processes. But how much of that has made it to the people? With even the most conservative estimates, the money actually destined for Haiti should be enough to provide for at least 6 months or a year of income for the entire population in Haiti. A population that could be actively involved in the reconstruction of Port-au-Prince and restoration of the National economy instead of being systematically sidelined and excluded from the recovery process.

As a significant portion of the world's population receives the end of the calendar year amid family, religious and traditional celebrations, hundreds of thousands wait for the same dates with uncertainty, displaced from their natural homes by natural disasters or simply facing less favorable conditions than the rest of us in the coldest dates of the Northern hemisphere.