WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2024 41 INDICATIVE MEMBERSHIP DEMOGRAPHICS AS OF AUGUST 2024 West Africa Outside (Diaspora) Eastern Africa Southern Africa North Africa Central Africa GrandTotal Corporate 1 1 2 Honorary Life Member 1 1 2 Individual 19 33 27 29 10 8 126 Individual-5 4 4 Individual-E 2 2 Lifetime 3 3 Student 4 2 3 1 10 Student-C 143 15 33 20 7 3 221 Grand Total 162 63 62 52 19 12 370 PERCENTAGE 44% 17% 17% 14% 5% 3% 100% sessions on aquaculture. These are generally well-received by WAS members and other aquaculture audiences. WAS-AC leadership completed drafting all Presidential Columns for the World Aquaculture Magazine (WAM) for 2023/4. WAS-AC members are increasingly submitting research papers to the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society (JWAS) and the WAM. A functional WAS-AC Student Programme has existed since 2023. An informative and interactive WAS Students website and social media platform has become essential in connecting WAS students: https://www.wasstudents.org/ Notable Major Challenges and Setbacks Complex membership issues: Membership renewals are generally not rapid/efficient. There are also weak and unbalanced membership demographics and a lack of marketable membership packages for small-scale farmers. Other challenges include: • Potential members are failing/reluctant to pay their membership dues via online platforms. • Currency policies and external transacting issues are hindering renewals as evidenced in key countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, and elsewhere. • Still, many Africans regard the individual rate of $45 as expensive/or on the high end. Language barriers in Africa: Translation to other African official languages (English = 24 nations; French = 29 nations, Arabic = 10 countries, Portuguese (PALOPs) = 6 countries); and interfacing the three languages to English during events and meetings remains a long-term challenge and is sometimes costly. Increasingly high operational costs in Africa, especially mobility: Country-to-country cost of travel is relatively very high in Africa compared to other regions. Limited financial resources for the Chapter to deliver effectively: Besides Aller Aqua’s annual Gold Sponsorship (and regular income from WAS), no other entity has provided additional direct financial support to the Chapter during the year 2024. Most African countries do not have desirable convention centers and facilities to host AFRAQs to WAS standards. This has led to the deferment of the much-awaited AFRAQ26 in the West Africa region, Ghana. Chapter Leadership and Structures WAS-AC Office Bearers (2024) • Ms. Foluke Areola - President (Nigeria) Excom • Dr. Khalid Salie - President-Elect (South Africa) Excom • Dr. John Walakira - Immediate Past President (Uganda) Excom • Dr. Sherif Sadek - President Emeritus (Egypt) Excom • Dr. Festus Idowu Adeosun - Secretary (Nigeria) Excom • Dr. Bernice Mclean - Treasurer (South Africa) Excom • Dr. Nevine Shabana - Regional Director (North Africa), Egypt (re-elected 2023) • Dr. Lanre Badmus - Regional Director (West Africa), Nigeria (re-elected 2023) • Dr. Victoria Tarus - Regional Director (East Africa), Kenya (Newly elected in 2023) • Dr. Khalid Salie - Regional Director (Southern Africa) (Up for Election in 2024) • Dr. Francisca Delgado - Regional Director (Central Africa), Angola (Up for Election in 2024) • Mr. Blessing Mapfumo - Executive Officer: Secretariat (Zimbabwe/South Africa) • Support: Dr. Kevan Main - WAS-AC Advisor (USA) Outgoing Board Members (remain in BoD but without voting rights) • Dr. Harrison Charo Karisa - ex-Secretary (USA/Kenya), 2021 • Dr. Alexander Kefi - ex-Regional Director (Southern Africa), Zambia, 2021 • Dr. Nelly Isyagi - ex-Regional Director (Eastern Africa), Uganda, 2023 The WAS-AC Treasurer and AUDA liaison, Dr. Mclean, remains the Programme Manager. The Secretariat administers all the day-to-day business affairs and operations of the Chapter, and is actively involved in the implementation of Board decisions, reporting directly to the WAS Executive Director (USA), the Chapter President, and the Board. One of the key functions of the Secretariat is to coordinate and drive organisational formalities of the annual Aquaculture Africa Conferences AFRAQs (such as communications, liaisons, promotions, reporting, etc.) and to support the planning and execution of various regional events and activities.
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