The need for systematic research into African problems was, in the Netherlands as elsewhere, increasingly felt after World War II, when the non- industrial world began to grow in importance. As a result, the interdisciplinary Africa Study Centre was founded in Leiden in 1947; it became a national foundation in 1958. The aims of the Study Centre are: (a) to promote the study of Africa, especially in the field of the humanities; (b) to promote the co-operation of all Dutch institutions engaged in the study of Africa; and (c) to promote the spread of academic knowledge about Africa.