The Sudan Studies Association (SSA) (Arabic: جمعية الدراسات السودانية) is the US-based professional association for scholars of Sudan and South Sudan, with members from the United States, Canada, Sudan, South Sudan, and elsewhere.[1] The SSA was founded in 1981 to pursue knowledge about all aspects of life in Sudan (and now South Sudan) and to "foster closer ties among scholars in the Sudan, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere."[2] The association seeks to promote research about the dynamics that shape Sudan and South Sudan and their relationships with neighboring countries. Conferences are held annually in North America. In addition, international conferences have in recent years been convened in collaboration with the Society for the Study of the Sudans UK (SSSUK) in Durham, England (2000), Washington DC (2003), Bergen, Norway (2006), Pretoria (2009) and Bonn (2012).[3]