Jackson Kundasai Njau

Preliminary abstract: The East African Association for Paleoanthropology and Paleontology (EAAPP) will hold its sixth biennial conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from July 30th to August 2nd, 2017. The goal of this conference is to bring East Africans, international researchers, and cultural heritage managers together in a forum to share current research findings and knowledge about the status of human origins research. This forum provides a unique opportunity for scientists, scholars and policy makers to hold collegial discussions about research developments, conservation, and curatorial management of paleoanthropological resources. The EAAPP will enable scholars from African nations to present their work, enhance international exposure, provides opportunity to share experiences and forge collaborations with scientists from other countries. At the core of this conference is raising public awareness and interest in science and conservation of fossils and archaeological resources. In the last twelve years EAAPP have rotated the conference in three countries that have captivated strong public interest and inspired students participation in the region. While the conference has promoted cooperation among research groups in paleoanthropological hot-spots in East Africa the EAAPP membership has tripled in the last twelve years. EAAPP bridges research, conservation and education by bringing together museum leadership through the Curators Forum.