The secretary-general of the East African Community, Z. H. K. Birgirwenkya, formally opened this year's Social Science Council conference—the largest to date, not only in terms of the numbers attending and the papers presented, but also in terms of the number of disciplines and countries which contributed. In addition to participants from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, papers were presented by academics from Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Observers from the Congo (Kinshasa) were also present. Representatives of the three East African governments also participated in several sessions. John Hutton, director of economic research at Makerere, was chairman of the planning committee which organised the over-all framework of the conference, while Mrs Anna Gourlay, as secretary, did immense amounts of work to ensure that all ran smoothly.