Madagascar Opens First Youth Exchange Hub; 70 Young People Complete Two-Week Program
Implementing partners deliver Madagascar's first regional youth exchange program with 70 participants across four territories.
Fofikri, a residential facility outside Antananarivo, hosted nearly 70 young people for twelve days last August. Madagascar’s inaugural Village Copain du Monde, organized from August 16 to 27, 2026, brought together participants aged 10 to 17 from mainland France, Mayotte, Reunion, and Madagascar itself, marking the first time the Secours populaire français has run this type of gathering on the island.
The operational backbone was a network of established local partners. Fifanampiana Malagasy, a longstanding collaborator with the French humanitarian organization that supports children and families facing severe hardship across Madagascar, served as the primary implementing partner. Aina Madagascar, the Secours populaire du Puy-de-Dôme, and regional associations K-pab6t from Reunion and Horizon from Mayotte rounded out the delivery structure. Fofikri itself, designed specifically for collective youth stays, provided the residential infrastructure the program required.
For Fifanampiana Malagasy, the Village represented a meaningful expansion of scope. The organization had previously run Journées des oubliés des vacances, smaller local gatherings, but the creation of a dedicated Copain du Monde club in January 2026 opened the door to this larger regional initiative. Setra Rezafi, CSM-FIFA member and director of the Village, described what the gathering meant in practice: “The Fifanampiana Malagasy is a close partner of the Secours populaire for a long time. We were very happy to welcome the young people and animators from other territories; there is enormous exchange and cohesion.”
Environmental protection ran through the entire program. A visit to Lemurs’ Park, a facility dedicated to preserving Madagascar’s endemic lemur species, proved particularly striking. For most of the Malagasy participants, it was their first encounter with the animals. Safitsoa, a 15-year-old student at the CSM-FIFA school, came away with something specific: “We met lemurs, they are very cute. I learned that they live in families, with their mother and father, and that when they grow up, they can leave to form a new group.” Marikha, a 15-year-old from Puy-de-Dôme with three years in the Copain du Monde program, retained the harder facts: “We learned that there were several species of lemurs, that their society was matriarchal and that some species were endangered.” The visit connected to recycling workshops, nature walks, and film discussions on conservation that ran throughout the twelve days.
A day at Akamasoa, the Antananarivo association led by Father Pedro that serves families in severe precarity, became a defining moment. The young participants were not passive visitors. They organized activities for Akamasoa children, painted a mural carrying messages of mutual aid, and distributed snacks and handwritten notes of encouragement prepared the previous day. Marikha’s notes carried direct messages: “Believe in yourself,” “Have confidence in yourself,” “Above all, don’t give up,” “Pursue your dreams.” Tiana, a 17-year-old member of Fifanampiana Malagasy’s youth section, framed the day as a call to action: “I think young people should do more social actions like this. Solidarity is really very important, especially because Madagascar is going through many difficulties.”
Living together for nearly two weeks meant navigating real language and cultural gaps. French and Malagasy mixed freely, sometimes producing misunderstandings that ended in laughter. Assita, a 14-year-old from Clermont-Ferrand, described the dynamic simply: “We manage to understand each other even if we don’t speak the same language. They are very kind.” Youth exchanged words across languages and compared music, food, and home life. Tiana found unexpected common ground with participants from Mayotte: “We realized we had almost the same language and some dishes in common.” Safitsoa, sharing a room with Lily from Reunion, put it plainly: “I made a friend who comes from Reunion. She is wonderful, she is very kind.”
The Madagascar gathering is one piece of a wider regional rollout. A second Village is planned for Mayotte in October 2026. Rezafi set out the longer ambition for Madagascar directly: “Madagascar needs to welcome new Copains du Monde in the years to come and we are ready to receive them. The objective, in the end, is for Copain du Monde to be present everywhere in Madagascar.” Whether the network can build the local club infrastructure that goal requires, across a large and logistically complex country, will be the real test of the program’s reach.
Q&A
Which organizations implemented Madagascar's first Village Copain du Monde and what was the residential facility used?
Fifanampiana Malagasy served as the primary implementing partner, working with Secours populaire français, Aina Madagascar, Secours populaire du Puy-de-Dôme, K-pab6t from Reunion, and Horizon from Mayotte. Fofikri, a residential facility outside Antananarivo designed for collective youth stays, hosted the program.
How many participants attended the gathering and what was the age range and geographic composition?
Nearly 70 young people aged 10 to 17 participated. They came from mainland France, Mayotte, Reunion, and Madagascar, marking the first time Secours populaire français ran this type of gathering on the island.
What were the main program activities during the twelve-day gathering?
Activities included a visit to Lemurs' Park for environmental education, a day at Akamasoa where participants organized activities for vulnerable children and painted a mural, recycling workshops, nature walks, and film discussions on conservation. Participants also engaged in cross-cultural exchange through language learning and sharing food and music.
What are the implementation plans for expanding the program beyond Madagascar?
A second Village is planned for Mayotte in October 2026. The longer-term objective is to establish Copain du Monde clubs across Madagascar, though building the local club infrastructure required for this expansion across the large and logistically complex country remains the critical test of the program's reach.