NETWORK FOR HUMANITARIAN AID
Working closely with the United Nation’s Development Programme, Fundación Amistad sent two ship containers full of medical supplies to Cuba.
Luly Duke personally delivered much needed medical supplies to Cuba’s most vulnerable population—young children, expectant mothers and the elderly—and met with Alfredo Petit Vergel, Auxiliary Bishop of Havana, to discuss how FA can help to provide critical assistance to the Catholic Diocese in Havana and to the elderly in Santiago de Cuba. To raise funds and increase visibility for these crucial programs. Fundación Amistad is working with Caritas-Cuba, the aid agency of the Cuban Catholic Church that is the only independent aid organization allowed by the government
INCOME FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DICRETIONARY FUND
Fundación Amistad provided travel funds needed for seven Cuban archaeologists to join their counterparts from America and Great Britain at a symposium on Cuban archaeology, at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from April 26th-30th, 2006. Cuban participation in the annual meeting breaks down the barriers to academic exchange between Cuba and the U.S. and forges important intellectual and social bonds.
l Following the devastation visited on Cuba by Hurricane Wilma, a category 5 storm that was one of the most intense ever recorded in the Atlantic, the President’s Discretionary Fund supported a collection campaign of funds and supplies for the hurricane relief effort, and worked with the UNDP and Caritas-Cuba to ensure that those affected by the hurricane and other natural disasters receive vital supplies.
ANNUAL EVENT
In 2007, Fundación Amistad will celebrate its 10th anniversary by once again hosting its Images of Cuba event in East Hampton—a spectacular of fireworks by Grucci, barbecue, music and dancing on the Duke family lawn. This annual event was launched on July 23rd, 2006, with more than 400 guests and over 100 boats participating. Proceeds benefit Fundación Amistad’s programs. In April 2001, the East Hampton Town Board approved the town’s plan to become the sister city to Playa, the area of Havana with over 130,000 residents, beaches, marinas and universities.
BRIDGES TO CULTURE
The Multi-Arts Production Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, awarded Fundación Amistad a major grant to support turning the literary work Revolution of Forms, based on the real-life events surrounding the creation of Cuba’s National Art School, into an opera by Robert Wilson, Anthony David and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Along with the development of Revolution of Forms, FA is working on several other initiatives to bring Cuban art and culture to New York City. These include:
Crossing the Line: Cuban Art of the 80s, 90s and Today, an Exhibition of work by Cuban, Cuban expatriate and Cuban-American contemporary artists. The exhibition will explore the cultural and political circumstances of the artists while tracing the parallels and intersections of their creative development.
Habana/ Harlem is a collaboration with Harlem Stage/ Aaron Davis Hall that will premiere the first installment of what is poised to become a national and international series. The program will explore modern trends in contemporary Cuban music production.
Joined by a group of colleagues, Luly Duke visited the historic Calle Cardenas site in Havana, and met with the team responsible for the project, including representatives of the Office of Coordination of the Historian of the City of Havana, which is in charge of all documentation of the project and reporting to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Fundación Amistad. Calle Cardenas, a 20th Century architectural area, lies along the outer edge of Old Havana, linking the 20th Century with Old Havana’s historical architecture from the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. With support from the J.M Kaplan Fund and others, Fundación Amistad continues its work to restore and preserve the historical value of Calle Cardenas, and is also working with the UNDP to provide transitional housing for residents of Calle Cardenas.
Fundación Amistad is consulting and collaborating with the restoration team at Museo Hemingway, house in Finca Vigia, which was Ernest Hemingway’s home in Cuba.
Fundación Amistad sponsored a visit to the United States by Celida Alvarez, the librarian of Casa de las Americas, a prominent cultural and education institution in Havana. Ms. Alvarez visited over twenty libraries and museums across the country, for the purpose of setting up collaborative relationships between Casa and these American institutions. Initially this will include American libraries exchanging publications with casa and supporting Casa in the continued development of their collection.
Posted by
Luly Duke on Wednesday, 01.17.07 @ 01:18 PM EST
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