On Wednesday 17th November 2021 a special session was held during the online Pan-African Conference on Crystallography (ePCCr). This session, jointly organised with the African Light Source and the African Physical Society, was held to officially constitute the African Crystallographic Association and to hold its inaugural Council Meeting.
The session, chaired by Prof. Delia Haynes (Stellenbosch University, South Africa) was a fantastic celebration of crystallography in Africa and the hard work that has gone into creating this new crystallographic association. Addresses and congratulations were given by Dr Hanna Dabkowska (President, IUCr) and Prof. Marijana Đaković (President, ECA), before presentations from Prof. Andreas Roodt (U. Free State, South Africa), Prof. Claude Lecomte (U. Lorraine, France), and Dr Patrice Kenfack-Tsobnang (U. Dschang, Cameroon) provided the history of AfCA and PCCr and how this association had been created. This was a testament to the hard work and commitment from a huge number of people from Africa and beyond.
Prof. Haynes then chaired the inaugural Council Meeting of AfCA, where the Statutes and Constitution of the Association were approved alongside the first Executive Committee.
Inaugural Executive Committee of the African Crystallographic Association (picture courtesy of Delia Haynes)
A final address from Prof. Walter Oyawa (International Science Council), where he gave his congratulations and encouraged the continued growth of this community, finished this special session which was attended by members of the global crystallographic community. Representatives from other crystallographic associations, from crystallographic journals, from instrument manufacturers, and a host of other organisations were all present to enjoy this celebration.
We at ECA wish our AfCA colleagues all the very best, and we hope to see you all at a crystallographic meeting soon!
Attendees at the inauguration of the African Crystallographic Association (picture courtesy of Susan Bourne, U. Cape Town)