WIMSA was formed in 1996 after years of uncoordinated and externally driven San development assistance. The following history documents major events in the organisation of San communities throughout southern Africa.
Getting organised1981: The first recorded San organisation – the Ju|wa Cattle Fund – is established in Tsumkwe, Namibia. Over time, the fund takes on numerous new guises, eventually spawning a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia (1990) and a community-based organisation (CBO) called Nyae Nyae Conservancy (1998).
1986: Kuru Development Trust is formed in D’Kar, Botswana. The body has since become the Kuru Family of Organisations (KFO) with a membership of eight NGOs working with San in Botswana and South Africa.
1992: The first regional conference to discuss San issues is organised by the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation and Namibia’s Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation.
1993: A larger follow-up conference is organised in Gaborone by Botswana’s Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing. The conference resolves that “San peoples should be assisted to form committees to represent themselves at local, regional, national and international levels.”
1994: An extended series of consultations is carried out in five southern African countries by Axel Thoma and Braam le Roux. San community representatives express a desire to establish a regional networking organisation to facilitate linkages between their communities and San organisations throughout the region.
1995: San communities confirm their support for the findings of the 1994 assessment by Thoma and le Roux during a regional conference held in D’Kar, Botswana.
WIMSA – starting out1996: WIMSA is established, opening its secretariat in Windhoek, Namibia. The name WIMSA, or Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa, is chosen specifically to avoid use of the term ‘San’, which at the time was politically sensitive for some governments in the region.
A founding Board of Trustees meets for the first time in Schmidtsdrift, South Africa, to draft the WIMSA constitution. Its stated aims are to create a National San Council for each country with a San population, and a Regional San Council for southern Africa. The first WIMSA Annual General Meeting is held in Namibia. The constitution is approved. Because there are not yet any established San representative bodies, WIMSA membership is held by 12 San CBOs and San support NGOs.
The South African San Institute - also known as SASI - is established to support South African San.
1997: A WIMSA delegation to the African Caucus of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva provides valuable contributions to the creation of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), which soon becomes a network of 150 indigenous peoples’ organisations working in 20 African countries.
Growth and restructuring2001: The first independent National San Council is formed in South Africa. WIMSA gives the council a mandate to negotiate with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa on sharing benefits from its patent related to the appetite suppressant qualities of the hoodia plant.
2004: WIMSA membership grows to 30 San organisations.
2005: WIMSA’s founding coordinator departs; a second coordinator is appointed.
2006: At a conference in Maun, Botswana, the decision is taken that San support organisations, including community-based organisations, should remain separate from representative organisations, with WIMSA membership only being open for the latter. WIMSA identifies the need to refocus attention on the establishment of San Councils; the Namibian San Council is founded.
2007: Departure of the second coordinator. The Board tasks the Regional Education Advisor with responsibility for interim management, assisted by the Namibia Support Unit manager. A restructuring plan is drafted providing for constitutional and administrative changes.
2008: The Khwedom Council is registered as a national San council for Botswana. A third WIMSA coordinator commences duties. The AGM approves the WIMSA reconstruction plan tabled by the Board.
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