This Committee was formed in 1947 to organise relief work in Europe after World War II. It started to include Southern Africa in its operations from around 1960. It is one of the biggest fund raising agencies for relief work and development aid. It supported the liberation movements and the SACC directly and lobbied for divestments.
The UAG grew out of the Uppsala South Africa Committee (USAK) which was started in 1963 by the Uppsala Student Union. It reorganised itself in 1968 and became UAG which operated till 1994. It developed into a general membership organisations which also supported the armed struggle.
Bread and Fishes was established in 1972 as a Christian organisation, mainly engaged in social work. The main issue was international solidarity and it worked at a very practical level, selling second-hand goods to raise funds. It started to support the ANC in 1974 and, besides shipping goods and medical supplies to ANC camps and also gave direct financial support. It worked with the Africa Groups of Sweden (AGS).
The AGS was formed in 1974 by several local Africa groups, some of them already active in the early 1960s. It gave unconditional support to the liberation struggle. It began its work by supporting the struggles in the Portuguese colonies and continued to work on Southern Africa lobbying the Swedish government to institute sanctions. It initiated the establishment of the Isolate South Africa Committee (ISAK). In 1992 the AGS merged with the Africa Groups Recruitment Organisation / Afrikagruppernas Rekryteringsorganisation, and continues to operate as Afrikagrupperna.
The ARO was initiated by the AGS 1978, initially to recruit health care workers, teachers and administrators to work in the former Portuguese colonies. It expanded its work to ANC camps and schools and was active in these areas until 1992. When apartheid ended and Namibia became independent, ARO’s main task became to support the reconstruction of South Africa and Namibia. As a consequence, the activities of ARO and the Africa Groups of Sweden became similar, and the organisations merged in 1992 under the name the Africa Groups of Sweden (Afrikagrupperna).
This site provides archival lists of primary source materials that can be found at Nordic archival institutions, NGOs and archives of individuals who have been involved in the liberation struggles of Southern Africa. The website includes interviews, photographs, publications, posters and newspaper cuttings from 1960-1996. It also provides some archival materials in PDF format.
The AGS was formed in 1974 by several local Africa groups, some of them already active in the early 1960s. It gave unconditional support to the liberation struggle. It began its work by supporting the struggles in the Portuguese colonies and continued to work on Southern Africa lobbying the Swedish government to institute sanctions. It initiated the establishment of the Isolate South Africa Committee (ISAK). In 1992 the AGS merged with the Africa Groups Recruitment Organisation / Afrikagruppernas Rekryteringsorganisation, and continues to operate as Afrikagrupperna.
Bread and Fishes was established in 1972 as a Christian organisation, mainly engaged in social work. The main issue was international solidarity and it worked at a very practical level, selling second-hand goods to raise funds. It started to support the ANC in 1974 and, besides shipping goods and medical supplies to ANC camps and also gave direct financial support. It worked with the Africa Groups of Sweden (AGS).
This committee existed in 1990 and was an association of several Swedish organisations with the objective to organise the reception, in Sweden, of Nelson Mandela after his release.
The Samrådskommittén för Södra Afrika (Consultation Committee for Southern Africa) was probably formed in 1973 and based on two declarations, the so-called Oslo and ILO documents. It was an umbrella committee or a network of organizations which all in one way or another were involved in the support for the liberation movements in Southern Africa. The member organizations represented various sections of the Swedish society, such as the labor movement, leftist and liberal political parties, youth organizations, the church and religious organizations, ANC and SWAPO representations, solidarity organizations for Vietnam, Cuba and Palestine and others. The committee arranged a campaign week in December 1973. The committee was probably dissolved in 1974.
ISAC was an umbrella organisation consisting of a variety of organisations in one way or another engaged in the support for the struggle against apartheid and colonialism in southern Africa. ISAC started in 1979 when it organised its first annual campaign to isolate South Africa and to support the liberation movements and political prisoners. It became an influential lobby group and often worked together with other Nordic countries. Its campaign work expanded from the annual campaign to year-long activities. It ceased to function in 1995.
The SSF started in 1974 and worked closely together with the Africa Groups of Sweden (AGS) and the Stockholm Africa Group. At that time the AGS was mainly involved with the former Portuguese colonies. It became a working group at the ANC office in Stockholm in 1979, and ceased to be an independent organisation in the same year.
The Labour Movement Archives and Library hold substantial collections of the Swedish labour movement from around the 1950s. It holds records from political parties and other organisations as well. It concentrates on archives of the central and Stockholm-based local organisations. It holds a big Africa collection.
The SSAC was formed in 1961 as an umbrella organisation of NGOs to start campaigning for a consumer boycott of South African products. It pressured the Swedish government to apply sanctions and later supported the ANC’s armed struggle. The committee dominated the anti-apartheid work in Sweden during the 1960s but its activities decreased as other organisations became more active.
Mr Mandela is being honoured for his long fight for equal rights for all the children of South Africa. 7,137,222 children voted for Mrs Machel and Mr Mandela.
Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela visit OR Tambo in the hospital in Stockholm after his stroke. The first photograph was taken at Haga castle the day Mr Tambo and Mr Mandela had just met for the first time in 28 years. This picture is from the mingling afterwards at Haga castle, the others from the hospital and a young doctor Beth von Schreeb (at that time she went by the surname Henriksson).
