Marie Michèle Razafintsalama (Madagascar)

Marie-Michèle Razafintsalama is a Madagascan entrepreneur born in the 1970s. She is a key figure in Madagascar’s publishing industry, known for her commitment to promoting reading in the Malagasy language and her work in the children’s publishing sector.

Youth and early career

Marie-Michèle began working at a very young age to finance her higher education. Unable to continue her studies, she took the bold decision to set up her own business in 1995 with two partners. They founded a bookshop specialising in technical and professional books, also selling foreign press by subscription.

Creation of the “Jeunes Malgaches” publishing house

In 2004, after a political crisis in 2002 jeopardised her business, Marie-Michèle decided to stop importing books and set up the Jeunes Malgaches publishing house, dedicated to publishing works for young people in the Malagasy language. Her aim was to promote reading among Madagascan children, the vast majority of whom do not have the financial means to buy books.

Training and Professional Development

In 2008, Marie-Michèle received training in children’s publishing from the International Board on Books for Young People (Ibby) and the French Centre national du livre pour enfants. She has also received training in drafting publishing contracts from the Centre Africain de Formation à l’Édition et à la Diffusion (CAFED) and attended online sessions on intellectual property and copyright from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Initiatives and Contributions to the Publishing Sector

Marie-Michèle has played a major role in the development of publishing in Madagascar. She founded the Association des éditeurs de Madagascar in 2010 and organised several training sessions for publishers, funded by various international bodies. She also noticed a lack of training for Madagascan librarians and took the initiative of training them in Malagasy.

Actions to promote reading

Marie-Michèle has set up various initiatives to encourage children to read. She has organised meetings with authors in schools, street libraries called “Boky Mitety Vohitra” (BMV), and reading points in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. In 2019, in collaboration with local associations, 15 reading points were set up to support children in their reading habits.

International recognition and influence

Under his leadership, Jeunes Malgaches has become a leading publisher of children’s books in Madagascar. It has been recognised by UNICEF and has helped to publish 13 titles in Malagasy for young children. Marie-Michèle was also president of Afrilivres, an association of African publishers, where she worked to improve the circulation and visibility of African books.

In 2023, she was awarded the prestigious “Aliou Sow” international prize for the best career of a publishing professional in Africa, at the Salon international du livre jeunesse et de la bande dessinée de Yaoundé (SALIJEY).

Commitments for the future

Marie-Michèle continues to fight for better recognition and sustainable development of publishing in Madagascar. She campaigns against the donation of books, which is detrimental to local publishing, and promotes co-publishing to make books more accessible. She remains an influential voice for the professionalisation of publishing in Africa, and remains committed to training and promoting reading among the younger generation.

In short, Marie-Michèle Razafintsalama is a pioneer of publishing in Madagascar, dedicated to preserving and promoting the Malagasy language and culture through children’s literature.