Societal Advisory Council

Before the ASCL became an interfaculty institute of Leiden University in January 2016, it was an independent academic research centre that was governed by a Board of Governors (‘Curatorium’) in which five societal pillars were represented: science, policy, the private sector, the media, and diplomacy.

Since January 2016 the new ASCL Board and Director are advised by an Academic Advisory Council and by a Societal Advisory Council. Once a year the societal partners of the ASCL in the Netherlands are invited to a discussion in Leiden on the relationship between the African Studies Centre and ‘the outside world’, and are asked to make recommendations to the ASCL. The Societal Advisory Council has a flexible composition and represents Ministries, knowledge platforms, NGOs, the diaspora, the private sector, the media/publishing sector, LeidenGlobal and the city of Leiden.