This Institute is one of those rare projects which both look good on paper and, once initiated, far exceed the hopes of their originators. Starting in Nairobi in October 1963, in a single office, with the publication of a journal and the sponsorship of seminars, it today has five separate departments, all of which are growing rapidly.

The Institute is the result of a meeting held in Berlin in early 1963 between representatives of foundations and a group of prominent East Africans, including Tom Mboya, who wished to establish a private organisation which could serve as a discussion forum on problems of regional public interest. From this idea emerged the East African Institute of Social and Cultural Affairs, which is fortunate to have as its patrons President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, and Dr Milton Obote, Prime Minister of Uganda.