Historical Background of PAAA
The Pan African Association of
Anthropologists is the brainchild of 14 African anthropologists who met in
Zagreb, former Yugoslavia in July 1989 at the 12th International Congress of
Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (ICAES). After a series of
brain-storming sessions at Zagreb, a decision was taken to organise a
conference in Cameroon during which the association would be launched.
A Steering Committee was set up to organise the conference and prepare a
draft constitution. Chaired by Prof. Paul Nchoji Nkwi (Cameroon) and
composed of Prof. Adama Diop (Senegal), Dr. George Hagan (Ghana) and Dr.
Ocholla Ayayo (Kenya), the Steering Committee prepared a statement and
presented it to the Permanent Council of the International Union for
Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES). It reads:
“We take this opportunity to congratulate the organisers of this congress
who made it possible for so many anthropologists to assemble from all over
the world to interact and exchange ideas and viewpoints. We want to express
our deepest gratitude to the organisations and foundations that made it
possible for us to participate at this congress.
It is unfortunate that so few of us Africans could come and that African
Ethnology and Anthropology did not feature as prominently as it should have.
This is clear evidence that African anthropologists are confronted with
serious problems. Those of us who are here feel that we need to come
together and identify these problems more clearly.
For this purpose we have decided to explore possibilities of forming an
association of African Anthropologists. As an initial step, a steering
committee has been constituted. We seek the support of this world gathering
to this endeavour.”
Dr. Sydel Silverman, president of Wenner Gren Foundation was quick to
respond to our plea. Several discussions with her at Zagreb guaranteed some
funds for the organisation of the first conference. The Zagreb Founding
Fathers were the following:
On November 14, 1989, a letter was sent out to all Vice Chancellors and
Rectors of African Universities, asking them to identify African
Anthropologists in their respective Universities to attend the Yaounde
Conference. On September 3, 1989, 30 anthropologists from 25 Universities
met in Yaounde, Cameroon to discuss the theme “the Teaching and Practice of
Anthropology”. At the end of the conference, a draft constitution was
adopted and officials of the association were elected. Yaounde was then
chosen as the headquarters of the association because of its strategic
geographical location and its bilingualism.
The Yaounde conference was honoured by the presence of Dr. Sydel Silverman,
President of WennerGren Foundation, and Eric Wit, a renown American
anthropologist. Other anthropologists attending the conference were Prof.
Russ Bernard of the University of Florida and Alex Leonhardt, a Ph.D student
from Princeton and Kathy Higgens from the Summer School of Linguistics. They
became our founding associate members.
PERIOD : 1989 -1992
This first period was one of path-finding. The Zagreb founding fathers and
those who attended the inaugural Yaounde conference were concerned about the
future. The need to spread the news and to recruit new members was uppermost
in their minds. The secretariat continued to reach out to other institutions
and universities. In order to create visibility and bring the association to
the knowledge of many, some members of the executive committee attended a
number of international professional meetings, such as the annual meeting of
the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) and the
inter-congress in Coimbra and Lisbon respectively in 1990, The second
conference held in Nairobi in 1990 attracted over 80 anthropologists and
paved the way for more activities. The failure to hold the third conference
in Nigeria, and the abortive attempt made by Togolese anthropologists to
organise an annual conference in 1991, dampened the spirits of many members.
The third conference finally took place again in Yaounde in 1992, after many
host departments, unfamiliar with the organisation of such conferences,
failed to mobilise the resources required. The 1992 Conference saw the
revitalisation of the association with the decision to establish research
networks bringing anthropologists around common research interests and
reviewing the constitution. The following networks were established: the
Network of African Women Anthropologists (NAWA) and the Network of African
Medical Anthropologists (NAMA).
PERIOD 1993-1996
This period may be described as one of consolidation in membership and in
programme development. Membership increased from 280 to 450 members. More
networks were established, and systematic training programmes were
developed. Although, the fourth conference failed to take place in Togo in
1993 due to political unrest in that country, its holding in Cameroon at the
University of Buea in 1994 saw the participation of South African
anthropologists. For the first time, they were able to meet anthropologists
from other parts of Africa. By 1995, an exchange programme had been
established by the association in collaboration with the Association for
Anthropology in Southern Africa to permit South African anthropologists to
spend one month in any university in Sub-Saharan Africa and vice versa. The
fifth annual conference held in Nairobi again confirmed the total
integration of the vibrant South African anthropological community into the
continental body, the PAAA. When South Africa hosted the Sixth Conference in
1996 there was a record participation of over 200 anthropologists.
It must be admitted that without the sustained financial assistance of
Carnegie Corporation of New York, WennerGren Foundation, United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA), and others, the association would never have made
this significant progress.
PERIOD 1997-1998
These last two years have actually placed the association on the world map.
Not only has the association continued its training programmes, but it has
continued to develop more programmes and projects. The sustained funding
from Carnegie Corporation of New York has enhanced the participation of the
association in various forums. The need to streamline and strengthen both
administrative and financial management has been critical in handling the
increased demand for goods and services from the secretariat.
THE FUTURE
When the association celebrates its 10th anniversary in 1999, its strategic
plan and activities will be built upon the experience accumulated over the
decade. It will take stock of the experiences, set priorities and define
future directions. This report provides guidelines for the strategic plan
for 1999-2001.
