Two new Ivo-toerana Mirohy community centers opened in Madagascar’s Mahalevona Valley in 2026, expanding a local network that brings digital tools, learning opportunities, and practical information closer to communities.

The center in Masindrano opened on 18 April with local communities, KIF members, and local authorities. A second center opened in Ankovana on 4 July, becoming the fourth Mirohy Center in the valley.

The centers grew out of the Mahalevona Valley 2030 Vision, which local communities and other actors developed together to define priorities for the valley. In this remote area bordering Masoala National Park, access to information, training, markets, and public services can be difficult. The Mirohy centers are one response to that challenge.

Rather than simply providing access to computers or the internet, the centers are intended as places where knowledge can be exchanged and put to use. Residents can develop digital skills, use learning resources, watch educational videos, and take part in workshops responding to locally identified needs.

They also provide a way to connect research with the people and places it concerns. Research carried out in the valley can be shared with communities in accessible formats, helping keep knowledge generated locally available to the people who live there.

The new centers build on growing use of the existing network. In 2025, the community centers recorded 6,814 visits for skills development and access to digital tools. Across the Madagascar Solutionscape, 945 people took part in training related to digital literacy, livelihoods, governance, and employability.

The Mirohy centers are part of the Full Circle Initiative (FCI), the program implemented by the Wyss Academy for Nature and the Laboratoire de Recherches Appliquées.

As the network grows, an important question is how people use these spaces over time – and whether better access to knowledge, skills, and digital tools helps them address practical needs and take part in decisions affecting the valley.