Old Fourah Bay College
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827, was the first Western-style university in sub-Saharan Africa, and was at the center of an endeavor to create a new and just society.
The First Western-Style University in Sub-Saharan Africa
In the nineteenth century, the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown was known as the “Athens of West Africa” for its vibrant environment of intellectual exchange, which was nurtured by excellent schools. Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827, was emblematic of this: the first Western-style university in sub-Saharan Africa, it stood at the center of an idealistic endeavor to create a new and just society out of the destruction wrought by the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. But over a decade of civil war from 1991 to 2002 took a toll on the college’s historic building, which was used as a shelter by refugees until it was devastated by a fire.
Our Work
Saving this Iconic Monument
Today, WMF is undertaking critical structural repairs to save this iconic monument and convert it into a performance space and museum in hopes of drawing more visitors to the area and spurring its regeneration.
Click on the image block to read more about our work at this site.
Old Fourah Bay College
World Monuments Watch
Through the World Monuments Watch, WMF collaborates with local partners to design and implement targeted conservation programs—including advocacy, planning, education, and physical interventions in the historic built environment—to improve human well-being through cultural heritage preservation.
Our Supporters
World Monuments Fund's work at Old Fourah Bay College has been made possible, in part, by the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) and the U.S. Embassy Freetown.