Africa Society

Africa Society

"The mission of The Africa Society is to be the premiere entity that engages and educates Americans about Africa and to create, through partnerships a better understanding of its peoples, diverse cultures, histories and economies."

"A national, nonprofit, nonpartisan, and diverse organization, The Africa Society is a logical outgrowth of the National Summit on Africa, which was launched in 1997 with grant support from the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The initiative soon resulted in the largest mobilization of Africa-interested individuals in the history of the U.S., with delegations from every state and territory. After contemplating how best to meet the needs and demands of nearly 20,000 constituents, the Summit's Board of Directors and Secretariat voted to establish an organization devoted to educating Americans of all backgrounds, ages, and statuses about the continent of Africa. The Society was subsequently launched in January 2002 at an event sponsored by one of our primary partners, Discovery Communications, and has since developed a wide range of educational programs targeting every age group and academic level."

"The National Summit on Africa (NSA) was a four-year effort, generously funded with almost $8 million by the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The NSA approved a 254-point platform—a sometimes-contradictory laundry list of policy recommendations—the "National Policy Plan of Action for U.S.-Africa Relations in the 21st Century.""


 * Bernadette B. Paolo - President & CEO
 * Leonard H. Robinson, Jr. - Former President (until death in 2006)

Directors
Accessed March 2009:


 * Chairman Emeritus - Ambassador Andrew Young - Chairman, GoodWorks International

Executive Committee
 * Noah Samara - Chairman; Chairman and CEO, Worldspace Corporation
 * Judith McHale - Vice-Chair; Former President and CEO, Discovery Communications, Inc.
 * Timothy Bork - Vice-Chair; President, Skye, LLC
 * Leroy P. Gross - Treasurer; President and CEO, Intel Med Inc.
 * Ayalew Mandefro - Secretary

Members
 * Steven Badger - Vice President, MARS Inc.
 * Peter Gishuru - President & CEO, African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest
 * Ken Hackett - President, Catholic Relief Services
 * Luddy Hayden
 * Ali Mazrui - Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University

Contact

 * Web: http://www.africasummit.org

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Carlton A. Masters