Founders Week

The Academy’s anniversary celebration which take place in November, are in the form of a presidential address delivered by the President of the Academy, a series of symposia involving Fellows and non-Fellows, and the Anniversary Lecture, renamed Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lecture since 2003.

A Fellow normally delivers the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lecture. These lectures address a wide range of issues on humanities and sciences. Hitherto, the three days between the Presidential Address and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lecture are devoted to symposia on topical issues.

Below are lists of the titles of the Presidential Addresses since 2001; the themes of the Founder’s Week since 1971; and the titles of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures since 2003:

Titles of Presidential Addresses since 2001

Founders Week

Year	Speaker	Topic
2001	Fred T. Sai	“Why is Africa Losing the Battle against AIDS”
2002	Fred T. Sai	“Environment, Poverty and Health”
2003	Nana S.K.B. Asante	“The Constitutional and Legal Framework for National Integration”
2004	Nana S.K.B. Asante	“Law as a Tool of Social Change”
2005	Nana S.K.B. Asante	“Transnational Corporations, Foreign Direct Investment Development”
2006	Nana S.K.B. Asante	“Water in Development: Personal Recollections and Reflections”
2007	Letitia E. Obeng	“Towards a Science Culture for National Development”
2008	Letitia E. Obeng	“Thinking Our Way to Development and Social Fulfilment: The Place of a learned Society”
2009	Reginald Fraser Amonoo	“Promoting Excellence in Knowledge: 50 years of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences”
2010	Reginald Fraser Amonoo	“Perpetual Change and the Role of Scholars”
2011	Francis K. Nkrumah	““The Role of An Academy of Science in National Development””
2012	Francis K. A. Allotey	“Ghana’s Urbanisation Challenge: Electricity Demand and Supply”
2013	Francis K. A. Allotey	“Education in the Age of Rapid Technological Advancement”
2014	Francis K. A. Allotey	“Science, Technology and Innovation Enterprise, A Platform for Economic Growth and Transformation of Ghana”
2015	Akilagpa Sawyerr	“Thinking Our Way to Development and Social Fulfilment: The Place of a Learned Society”
2015	Akilagpa Sawyerr	“
2015		“
2015		“
2015		“
2015		“
2015		“
2022	Emeritus Prof. Samuel Kofi Sefah-Dedeh	The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences: Upholding Unchanging Truth

GAAS Proceedings

Proceedings

Year	Theme
1971	Management, Administration and Development
1972	Education and Society: Education in Ghana at the Beginning of the 21st Century
1973	Food, Population and Politics
1974	Education and Manpower
1975	Traditional Institutions of Our Society
1976	Energy for Development*
1977	Education in Ghana at the Beginning of the 21st Century
1978	Science and Technology for Development*
1979	Agricultural and Industrial Production for National Survival*
1980	Human Rights and the Democratic Process
1981	National Development: Problems, Solutions and Strategies
1982	Health for the Community*
1983	The Political Economy of Ghana: Analysis, Perspectives and Options
1984	The Place of Learning in National Life
1985	Management and Development
1986	Education and Human Values in Nation Building
1987	Decentralization and National Integration
1988	Natural Resources and their Management: Present and Future Challenges*
1989	The Future of Our Cities
1990	Accountability in National Life
1991	Ghana in the Year 2000
1992	Sustainable Development and the Environment
1993	The Culture of Dependency
1994	Conflicts in Africa
1995	Management of Ghana’s Natural Resources*
1996	Financing Education in Ghana into the 21st Century

Year	Theme
1997	Land as a Resource for Development*
1998	The Notion of the State in Contemporary Africa
1999	Critical Issues and the Challenges of the 21st Century
2000	The Information Age*
2001	Some Critical Development Issues facing Ghana
2002	Globalization
2003	National Integration
2004	Gender: Evolving Roles and Perceptions
2005	From Stability to Growth: Challenges of National Development
2006	Water*
2007	National Development: The Past 50 Years
2008	The Challenges of Oil Discovery in Ghana*
2009	50 Years of Promoting Excellence in Knowledge
2010	Climate Change*
2011	Ghana’s Employment Challenge
2012	Ghana’s Urbanisation Challenge
2013	Education for National Development
2014	Transforming the Economy of Ghana
2015	Managing Ghana’s Oil Resources*
2016	Sustainable Land Administration in Ghana
2017	Managing Healthcare*
2018	Managing National Water Resources for Future Survival: Agenda 2063
2019	Beyond 60 Years of Scholarly Excellence: New Frontiers and Prospects
2020	This COVID-19 Pandemic*
2021	The 1992 Constitution: Fitness for Purpose in the 21 Century
2022	The Socio-Economic and Health Impacts of Covid-19 and Other Emerging Infectious Disease

*Science-oriented Presentations

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures

Memorial Lectures

Since then, the following Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Lectures have been given:

2006Vision and Commitment in National Leadership,Akilagpa Sawyerr

YEAR	TITLE	SPEAKER
2007	Ideology, Leadership and Aspects of Kwame Nkrumah’s Political and Social Agenda,	Modibo Tawiah Ocran
2008	The Foreign Policy of Kwame Nkrumah: The Legacy and what is in it for Us,	E. M. Debrah
2009	The House that Kwame Nkrumah Built,	Agyeman Badu Akosa
2010	The Real-politic of Kwame Nkrumah,	H. E. K. B. Asante
2011	Kwame Nkrumah and the Private Sector: Lessons in Economic Development for the Twenty First century,	Mr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi
2012	The Changing Face of Ghanaian Towns since Independence: From Nkrumah to Contemporary Times,	A. A. Adarkwa
2013	Science, Technology and Innovation for National Development,	Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere
2014	Political Leadership and Economic Transformation in Ghana,	E. Gyimah-Boadi
2015	People and Planet: The (Moral) Imperative to Change Course (Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Integral Ecology)	His Eminence Peter Cardinal K. Appiah Turkson
2016	The Future of the University in Africa,	Ernest Aryeetey,
2017	Kwame Nkrumah, the Man and his Legacy,	E. S. Ayensu,
2018	Saving Lake Chad and The Unification of Africa: The Inspiration of Kwame Nkrumah	Horace Campbell
2019	Engendering Scholarly Excellence: The Challenge for Knowledge Production, Policy and Practice	Takyiwaa Manuh
2020	Building a Lasting Democratic Culture Through the Exercise of Political Religious Tolerance	Peter K. Sarpong
2021	Reflections on the Ghanaian Regulatory State,	Prof. Joseph Roland Atsu Ayee
2022	Educational Reforms in Ghana and their Impact on the Youth	Prof. Ivans Addae-Mensah