issa is a documentation and information centre. It works in Bonn since 1971. It concentrates on the geographical area of the states forming the Southern African Development Community; the community assembles today 15 countries of the southern part of Africa from Tanzania to South Africa. Public archives collect incoming documents - news, expert reports etc - and files them according to geographical and thematic categories. The archives comprise nearly half a million of documents, furthermore 120 periodicals on and from the region as well as a specialised library containing about 6.000 volumes.