The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) is a

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

for the arts and sciences based in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, Ghana. The institution was founded in November 1959 by

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

with the aim to promote the pursuit, advancement and dissemination of knowledge in all branches of the sciences and the humanities."The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences"
, The National Academies.

History

The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences began its life as the Ghana Academy of Learning,"Detailed information: Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences"
, International Council for Science. and was formally opened on 27 November 1959 by

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, at the Great Hall of the University College of Ghana, who became its first president along with Nkrumah. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament, the first of its kind in post-independent Africa. It was merged with the National Research Council in 1963 to become the Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1968, it was again split into (a) The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, which is a purely learned society, and (b) The

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

(CSIR), which undertakes research of an applied nature related to national needs.

Mission

The mission of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences is to encourage the creation, acquisition, dissemination and utilization of knowledge for national development through the promotion of learning.

Presidents

Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences Accra

The following individuals have served as President of the Academy:

Fellows

Fellows The society's members are elected fellows, who are entitled to use FGA as

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...

. A General Assembly of Fellows may elect as a Fellow any Ghanaian national or resident who, in the Council's judgement, has significantly contributed to any field of the arts or sciences. A list of current fellows is maintained online by the GAAS. Honorary fellow The Council may elect as an honorary fellow any person of eminence in the arts or sciences who is not a Ghanaian citizen and has made significant contributions to the advancement of the arts or sciences.

Notable Fellows

External links

Official site

References

1959 establishments in Ghana Education in Accra Members of the International Council for Science Members of the International Science Council National academies Organizations established in 1959 Scientific organisations based in Ghana {{ghana-school-stub