Inauguration of A.L.B.A.: A New Beacon of Education and Hope in Madagascar
New York, New York, United States, 12th Feb 2025, – Fr. Luca Fornaciari, an Italian missionary in Madagascar, together with the working group from Reggio Emilia (Italy), announces that a new Catholic University in Madagascar, in Farafangana, will be inaugurated this November.
Fr. Luca Fornaciari
It will be called A.L.B.A.: Athénée Lucien Botovasoa Atsinanana.
“The construction site of the university, which opened a year ago, is now proceeding apace thanks to funding from the bishops of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, and some donations from other benefactors, such as Marca Corona ceramics of Sassuolo, which donated the tiles,” explains Don Luca, who is coordinator of the project.
Also participating in the working group, active since October 2022, are the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UniMoRe) and, among others, Fabio and Paolo Storchi, Moreno Fornaciari, and Arturo Righetto.
The university will be built on the southeast coast of Madagascar. Here was present an old seminary that had been recovered from abandonment. ù“The Manakara and Farafangana area,” explains Fr. Luca, ”is a vast region with a population of 5 million. It is completely lacking in university facilities, despite the great potential at the level of soil fertility or the large number of natural resources, as well as the large percentage of the young population, which is constantly growing. A.L.B.A. will be, precisely, at the service of young people. We are certain that it will be the first step in an important renewal and could be the premise for the progress and emancipation of this people.”
Three faculties will be active starting next fall: agriculture, economics, and education.
“The educational model, among the most modern, will offer Malagasy youth a unique opportunity for human and intellectual growth,” Fornaciari adds. The goal is to leave no one behind.
Therefore, “The project contemplates scholarships offered to the indigent and benefits for the willing. Meanwhile, the working group is activating collaborations with other universities in Europe and Madagascar.” Particularly significant is the agreement with the Association of Catholic Universities of France, which is engaging in an accompanying path together with the teaching and academic commission, coordinated by Fr. Luke himself.
“We aim to draw up programs in line with European research, to bring A.L.B.A. up to modern standards. In addition, at the beginning of April, the first five Malagasy students who have been selected among the most deserving will leave Madagascar for Italy: they will be hosted by Unimore (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), which will train them through the remarkable choice of specialized degrees that its educational offerings provide; the young people who have obtained visas thanks to the support of the Italian Embassy in Pretoria, will be hosted by the Familiaris Consortio Ecclesiastical Movement families and will begin specialized courses in Agriculture and Economics next September.”
Fr. Luca describes the regions of Manakara and Farafangana as “among the poorest in Madagascar, which itself is one of the poorest countries in the world.” Yet something is changing: “We can really do something to help many and thanks to the support and help of many we will be able to offer our young people a new opportunity to grow intellectually, socially and spiritually; three different but interconnected dimensions for the integral formation of the person.”
Registration will open in August. The missionary predicts they will be numerous. In October the first courses will begin and in mid-November, the inauguration will take place with many representatives of the Malagasy Church and local and national institutions, as well as some foreign friends who are supporting the project.
More information at www.albafarafangana.org or on the ALBA-farafangana facebook page.
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