2nd editionSummer Student Encounters Festival – Poetry around Art and Literature

For the second consecutive time, Laviwonndede Literary and Artistic Agency (LALA) organized its Summer Poetry Student Meetings Festival (FREEP).

For the second consecutive time, Laviwonndede Literary and Artistic Agency (LALA) organized its Summer Student Poetry Meetings Festival (FREEP). Held from June 2 to 12, 2026, in Port-au-Prince, this cultural, literary, and scientific initiative aimed to bring together students, academics, intellectuals, artists, and the general public to reflect on the major challenges facing Haitian society. For this edition, publisher Christophe Philippe Charles was given free rein.Built around a Scientific and Literary Reflection Fortnight, the 2nd edition of the Student Encounters Festival – Summer – Poetry (FREEP) has immediately established itself in the Haitian cultural scene, explains the event coordinator, Frantzley Valbrun. “This experience allowed us to create a strong connection between FREEP and the Haitian student youth, including young schoolchildren from thousands of disadvantaged families in the capital of Haiti. A connection specifically designed to fill the cultural gaps left by the country’s major cultural institutions,” notes the poet.

According to the organizer, the FREEP is once again establishing itself as a major scientific and cultural event in Port-au-Prince. If we believe Valbrun’s words, the program of the 2nd edition included conferences/debates, training workshops, exhibitions of books, paintings, and other artistic works.

Aimed at university students, teachers and researchers, writers and poets; artists and youth organizations, this event welcomed a large number of participants. “On one side, there was a conference with Professor/Dr. John Picard Byron on scientific reflection, particularly Haitian anthropology, where young people actively participated in the discussions. The Artist Without Shelter workshops, for their part, focused on the decoration concerning the exhibitors, books, and young people in the DNL garden.”“On the other side, the festival offers young people three training modules focused on Cultural Journalism led by Claude Bernard Sérant (Journalist at the daily Le Nouvelliste); Traditional Dance presented by Haïti Tchaka Danse; Cinema by Mr. Arnold Antonin; and Entrepreneurship and Leadership by Mrs. Roslaine Florexile, a marketing and leadership coach,” he continued.

Several cultural and academic spaces hosted the different activities that took place during these meetings. These included, among others, the National Book Directorate (DNL), Pyepoudre Cultural Center… To close this festival, the audience turned out in large numbers for impressive artistic performances with extraordinary artists like Fameuse Maude (singer), Nadile Cornélien – Ralba (performer) as well as traditional dance performances with the Haïti Tchaka Danse Company.Led by Laviwonndede Literary and Artistic Agency (LALA), “the FREEP is more than just a festival. It serves as a space for reflection, exchange, and creation where students and young intellectuals can analyze Haitian realities, propose solutions, and put culture at the service of national development. Through this major event of scientific and literary reflection, we organize trainings for young people, such as: Cinema, Traditional Dance, Cultural Journalism, including Entrepreneurship and Leadership.”

It should be noted that FREEP is supported by several partner organizations, including Haïti Tchaka Danse, the National Book Directorate (DNL), Pye Poudre Cultural Center, the Rectorate of the State University of Haiti (RUEH), and Séjourné S.A.