The seminal idea of creating a continent-wide academy of sciences was hatched during the inaugural meeting of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in Trieste, Italy, 5–10 July 1985. The idea received further boost from the concurrent proceedings at the same venue of the International Conference on South-South and South-North Cooperation in Science, attended by about 250 delegates from 50 academies of science and research councils from various parts of the world. Consequently, a task force, chaired by the late Professor Thomas Risley Odhiambo, was charged with the planning and establishment of the proposed continental Academy. This task force presented its recommendations in a follow-up meeting in Trieste in December 1985.

The gathering unanimously adopted the recommendations of the task force, turned itself into a general assembly and formed a founding constituent assembly for the establishment of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) on l0 December 1985. The 33 participants at the gathering became the founding fellows of the new Academy and went on to elect its first officers.

The inaugural meeting of the Academy was convened in Nairobi, Kenya, on 3–6 June 1986, during the International Conference on Drought, Desertification and Food Deficit in Africa, which was jointly sponsored by AAS, TWAS and the United States National Academy of Science (USNAS). The broad policy outcomes of this conference have acted as the templates for the core programmes of AAS ever since, with the focus areas being;- biotechnology; soil and water management; improved food production and value addition, as well as the associated goals in capacity building, information dissemination; networking; science and technology policy change and advocacy, and adoption of new modalities for obtaining sustained government and donor support for AAS efforts in problemsolving research and development.

The Mission

The Academy's mission is to serve, first, as an honorific society with the primary function of honouring African science and technology achievers and, second, as a development oriented mobiliser of the entire African science and technology community with the fundamental role of facilitating the development of scientific and technological capacity for science-led development in Africa, promoting excellence and relevance in doing so.

African Academy of sciences primarily focusses on

• Capacity building in science and technology
• Mobilisation and training of the African Scientific community
• Publication and dissemination of Scientific materials
• Research, development and public advocacy
  

The uniqueness of the Academy

The functioning of the Academy as a pan-African honorific society, together with its organizational structure, programme impact and track record, has contributed to its success in the last 20 years. Indeed, AAS has through its activities succeeded in building networks and partnerships within Africa and throughout the world. With its pan-African outlook, the Academy has been able to influence issues of global concern on the continent, coordinated the activities of several national scientific organisations for the benefit of the whole continent, and gained credibility as a rallying point for the overall development of science and technology in the continent.

The fact that AAS fellows are drawn from all over the continent has created a large pool of highly motivated expertise in a wide range of scientific, technological and social science disciplines working together in a trans-disciplinary manner to tackle many of Africa's developmental problems.

The main objectives of the Academy are:

• To promote and foster the growth of the scientific community in Africa by recognizing, supporting and promoting excellence in the scientific research undertaken by African scientists
• To stimulate and nurture the spirit of scientific discovery and technological innovation in Africa in order to promote socio-economic development through research and development
• To promote collaboration among African scientists and between them and the world scientific community in order to facilitate regional integration and to serve the cause of global peace and security
• To facilitate, coordinate and undertake the publication and dissemination of scientific and technological achievements in Africa
• To improve Africa's capacity for management of research, development and public policy by bridging the gaps among natural, applied and social scientists, the productive sector and the government
• To provide information on, and support for, public awareness and understanding of science and technology, a science culture in Africa