The African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) was established in 2013 during the climax of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon, to promote Africa’s own specific contributions to the advancement of knowledge about the peoples and cultures of Africa and the Diaspora. The ASAA is currently the only multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary professional association on the continent dedicated to the study of Africa from an Africanist perspective, what Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, referred to as studying our societies and experiences in an African-centred way.

The ASAA’s goals are to:

  1. Promote and support networking and interdisciplinary exchanges among Africanist scholars, centres and institutes of African Studies on the continent.
  2. Promote research and discussions on topical issues of concern to the wellbeing of Africans.
  3. Promote and encourage research by African scholars on the continent.
  4. Promote and encourage Africa-centred education - an informed understanding of Africa through museums, archives, schools, policymakers, NGOs, media, business, learned societies, and other interested communities.
  5. Promote links with Africans and institutions in Africa and the Diaspora involved and interested in African Studies.
    Encourage partnerships with existing Associations of African Studies and other organizations interested in promoting African affairs.

The first biennial conference was held at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ibadan in October 2015. The ASAA also mounted a panel during the ASA conference held in Washington, D.C in November 2016.

Akosua Adomako Ampofo and Seth N. Asumah are Conference Program Co-Chairs for Africa and the Diaspora respectively for the 2nd biennial conference.