Official opening of the 2025-2026 academic year at ISDB
On Friday 26 September 2025, members of the academic community of the Institut Supérieur Don Bosco (ISDB) in Lomé gathered in the Salle Marie-Auxiliatrice to celebrate the new academic year Mass, a symbolic act marking the beginning of a new year under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This liturgical event officially marks the start of a new academic year. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by the ISDB Academic Director, Salesian priest Eklou Kpossi Didier, and concelebrated by a dozen priests. In his homily, Father Didier urged the entire academic community to be courageous and persevere in their work, and to focus on the essentials, the ideal way to achieve excellence, as stipulated in the institute’s motto: Usque ad verticem (All the way to the top). He wished them a “fruitful and joyful year, thanks to the grace of God and the involvement of all”. At the end of the mass, Father Bernard Gaba-Dovi, SDB, Representative of the Honorary Chancellor, solemnly declared the 2025-2026 academic year open, wishing the entire community a fruitful and happy start to the new academic year.
Following the solemn mass, the inaugural lecture took place on the same premises, moderated by Professor Octave Nicoué Broohm (Chairman of the Scientific and Pedagogical Council), before an audience of university lecturers and students. The theme that guided the discussions was: “African universities faced with the challenge of employability: what future for the humanities and social sciences? It was presented by Mr Komlan AZIALE, lecturer in philosophy at the University of Kara (northern Togo). After welcoming the Academic Director, the speaker stressed the urgent need to adapt university training to the real needs of African societies, and called on all those involved in education to face up to their responsibilities. His observations stemmed from the fact that the humanities and social sciences are accused of making little contribution to the development of societies, and are therefore neglected in favour of the technological sciences or sciences deemed more appropriate for helping young people enter the job market. As a result, university structures are failing to train useful resources. After presenting his arguments, the speaker felt that there was a need to restructure the training on offer in universities, in particular, and to rethink the social and human sciences in order to transform them into tools for the development of African societies and thus reduce the employment crisis. The quality of the analysis and the depth of the arguments aroused great interest among the participants, who made many contributions and also asked many questions. The lesson concluded with an opening up of avenues of research, which could provide food for thought for future scientific meetings of this kind. The question-and-answer session that followed the lecture brought the day’s proceedings to a close, marking the solemn opening of the 2025-2026 academic year.
Founded in 1986, ISDB is recognised by the Togolese government and accredited by the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education (CAMES). It trains students in Philosophy (bachelor’s and master’s degrees), Education Sciences (bachelor’s and master’s degrees), Communication Sciences and Techniques (bachelor’s degree) and Communication and Territorial Marketing (bachelor’s and master’s degrees). The ISDB is an integral part of the Salesian Higher Institutes and Universities (IUS).
Salomé Djossou et Minavoa Thibaut
Official opening of the 2025-2026 academic year at ISDB