MANSA was organized to increase and encourage communication between
scholars interested in all topics of study involving the Mande peoples of
West Africa, and the neighbors with whom they interact on a regular basis.
This is accomplished through the publication of MANSA Newsletter three
times a year, the convening of an annual business meeting, sponsorship of
scholarly panels at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association,
and the convening of periodic international conferences on Mande studies.

A primary goal of MANSA has been to promote the participation of our West
African colleagues. Recognizing the difficulties involved in international
transferral of funds, our West African members residing in Africa are
exempt from paying membership dues, while enjoying all rights and
privileges of the organization. This is possible because from the time of
the organizations founding, many MANSA members have paid an annual
sponsoring membership in order to cover the costs of sending the
newsletter to West Africa.

MANSA itself is not a funding agency, because our sources of revenue are
almost entirely limited to membership dues, with a small additional amount
accruing from T-shirt sales. The organization is therefore unable to
entertain applications for grants, travel funds, and other kinds of
support. Nevertheless, a fundamental goal of MANSA is to develop
strategies to increase the direct participation of our West African
colleagues in international scholarship. When opportunities arise,
invitations for conference attendance, lecture tours, and teaching
appearances at members institutions in Europe and North America are issued
to our West African colleagues. Individual members regularly provide help
to their African colleagues by writing letters of reference in supprt of
applications for travel grants and other funding from American and
European government agencies and NGOs in order to finance their attendance
at workshops and meetings in the United States and Europe, especially on
the occasions of international conferences organized by MANSA.

MANSA has organized international conferences on Mande studies in Bamako,
Mali (March 15 - 19, 1993); Leiden, The Netherlands (20-24 March, 1995),
and Serrekunda, The Gambia (13-17 June, 1998). On each of those occasions
the organization succeeded in acquiring travel funds for a limited number
of African colleagues, receiving support from government agencies and
academic research institutes of the The Netherlands, the United States
government, the Bremer Stiftung fr Kultur und Sozialanthropologie of
Bremen, Germany, and two anonymous benefactors.

An important part of MANSA membership is a committment by our American and
European participants to return the results of their research to Africa.
Members regularly take or send copies of their articles and books to
colleagues and institutions in our West African host countries. Books have
been deposited at the University of Mali (formerly ENSUP), the University
of Conakry, the University of Kankan, the Institut des Sciences Humaines
(Bamako), the Guinean National Archives (Conakry), the Gambian National
Library (Banjul), and the USIS libraries in Conakry and Bamako.

For the future, in addition to continuing to strive for the goals set at
MANSAs founding, early preparations are under way for another
international conference to be held in a few years time. The first issue
of The Journal of Mande Studies will appear in 1999, and additions to the
MANSA web page are in the works. Plans are also being made to expand the
list of West African institutions that regularly receive book donations.

David C. Conrad, President
Mande Studies Association

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