At the request of Ketleen Florestal, the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE), the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) organized a two-day seminar at the Karibe Hotel on the obligation of probity in the civil service. The initiative aimed to strengthen the culture of transparency and integrity among the ministry's managers and employees.

Minister Florestal and Mr. Hans Jacques Ludwig Joseph, Director General of the ULCC, recalled that the Haitian public administration is facing a "profound integrity crisis," marked by repeated cases of conflicts of interest and acts of corruption. "This training session should contribute to positively influencing your actions in the management of public property," he stated, emphasizing that the fight against corruption involves as much repression as awareness and prevention.

For her part, Minister Florestal delivered a strong message, calling on civil servants to adopt impeccable conduct in the performance of their duties. Illustrating her remarks with the metaphor of the hummingbird**, she made a vibrant call for collective responsibility. "If each of us decides to be a hummingbird, things can and must change," she insisted, particularly urging the Ministry's junior executives to embody this integrity in their professional and civic lives.

The seminar's program included several lectures led by experts on crucial topics such as :

• The regulatory framework relating to breaches of integrity in the Haitian civil service;

• Ethics in the Haitian civil service;

• The risks of conflicts of interest in the management of public affairs;

• Mechanisms for preventing risks of breaches of integrity.

Personalities such as Magistrate Marie Ange Jean, Attorney Samson Beucia, Attorney Winnie Hugot Gabriel, Attorney Renoix Laventure, and Attorney Jean Carlo Nordeus shared their expertise and recommendations with the participants.

This initiative is part of the MPCE and the ULCC's commitment to building a more honest, transparent public administration worthy of citizens' trust.

**Hummingbird Metaphor :

The hummingbird metaphor, inspired by a Native American legend popularized by Pierre Rabhi, symbolizes the importance of individual action, even modest ones, in the face of ecological or social crises. In the legend, there was a huge forest fire. All the animals, terrified and dismayed, watched helplessly as the disaster raged. Only the small hummingbird remained active, fetching a few drops with its beak to throw onto the fire. After a while, the armadillo, annoyed by this trivial commotion, said to him : "Hummingbird ! Aren't you crazy ? You're not going to put out the fire with these drops of water !" And the hummingbird replied : "I know, but I'm doing my part." This metaphor encourages everyone to take action on their own scale, because the accumulation of small gestures can generate significant change.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre