ASSAf is pleased to announce the election of Dr Ismail Serageldinas an Honorary Foreign Associate Member of the Academy.

These Members are outstanding scientists/scholars, currently based in a foreign country, who were either born in South Africa, and/or have performed a significant part of their work here, and/or have contributed significantly to science and scholarship in the country, especially where this has been turned to public benefit. They are nominated by an ASSAf Council member.

Dr Ismail Serageldin, Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria, inaugurated in 2002, is currently, Emeritus Librarian, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Alexandria. He is also the Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee of the African Open Science Platform (AOSP) hosted by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and has played a vital role in launching AOSP in Alexandria, Egypt in 2019.

Dr Serageldin’s appointment brings the total number of Foreign Associate Members to five: 

Prof James Gibson, Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government, Washington University, St. Louis, United States of America and Extraordinary Professor, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Prof Mohamed Hassan, Past-President of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and NASAC and current Co-chair of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), Sudan.

Prof Mahouton Norbert Hounkonnou, President of the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), Full Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Republic of Benin.

Prof Lehana Thabane, Interim Chair: Department of Health Research, Evidence & Impact, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada.