Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)2017-07-252017-07-252016Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2017). 20 Years of Excellence 1996 - 2016. [Online] Available at: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf.2016/0010978-0-9947076-4-2http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf.2016/0010http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/75Cite: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2017). 20 Years of Excellence 1996 - 2016. [Online] Available at: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf.2016/001020 Years of Excellence 1996 – 2016 recounts the 20 years of ASSAf’s existence since the early 1990s when trailblazers in academia gave of their time and energy to realise a dream of establishing a fully representative, national academy of science to guide the democratic South Africa into a promising new era. From drafting a constitution for the Academy; putting in place the mechanisms, statutes and machinery needed to run a working national academy of science, ASSAf’s remarkable journey testifies to perceptive vision to ensure a legacy of knowledge. Since its inception, ASSAf has grown from a small, emergent organisation to a well-established academy. It has pursued its mandate of providing evidence-based science advice in support of policy development on issues of national significance to government and beyond. The book describes the early beginnings to define and form a unique crucible, through to creating a unitary academy of sciences, encompassing all science disciplines.enHistoryScience academiesMandateScience for societyTransformationAcademy constitutionFounder membersLaunchGovernanceMembershipElectionsNelson MandelaUnified Academy of ScienceThe National Academy of Sciences (NAS)United States National Academy of Science (US NAS)South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS)Scholarly PublishingBook10.17159/assaf.2016/0010