1. Intoducing the Exhibition

1997 has been designated Scotland-Africa Year in an initiative by St Andrews, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Stirling Universities together with the Royal Africa Society. The aim of the organisers is to celebrate Scotland's long history of connections with Africa. Our exhibition, through objects and photographs, focuses on some of the links that St Andrews has had, past and present, with Africa.

Scots went to Africa as soldiers, administrators, educators, missionaries or commercial agents; many were also seeking adventure or following family tradition.

Today our images of Africa are largely shaped by contrasting media portrayals. On one side are natural and man made disasters and the exploitation of people and the environment. On the other is the tropical idyll promoted in tourist brochures of unspoilt beaches, safari adventures, friendly people and warm sunshine.

Africa is all of these images. It is a huge continent which covers over 30 million square kilometres of diverse lands. Though more than half the continent is arid or semi-arid, there are equatorial rainforests and barren deserts as well as `exotic' coastlines and huge mountain ranges.

Today over 1000 ethnic groups live within Africa, and almost as many different languages are spoken.