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Mission Statement

It is recognised not only as the pioneer African social research organisation but also as the apex non-governmental centre of social knowledge production on the continent.

Its objectives are to:

• Promote and facilitate research and knowledge production in Africa using a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach. The Council is committed to combating the fragmentation of knowledge production, and the African community of scholars along various disciplinary and linguistic/geographical lines;
• Promote and defend the principle of independent thought and the academic freedom of researchers in the production and dissemination of knowledge;
• Encourage and support the development of African comparative research with a continental perspective and a sensitivity to the specificity of the development process in Africa;
• Promote the publication and dissemination of research results undertaken by African scholars;
• Strengthen the institutional basis of knowledge production in Africa by proactively engaging and supporting other research institutions and their networks of scholars within its programmes of activities. As part of this goal, the Council also actively encourages cooperation and collaboration among African universities, research organisations and other training institutions;
• Encourage inter-generational and gender-sensitive dialogues in the African academy as a further investment of effort in the promotion of awareness and capacity for the use of different prospectives for knowledge production;
• Promote contacts and dialogue between African researchers and researchers on Africa elsewhere in the world, as well as interaction between the Council and similar international organisations.