AGM 2025

Professor Michael De Jongh will be the guest speaker at our upcoming Annual General Meeting.

His talk is titled:

“𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙤 – 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩-𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨.”

Professor Michael de Jongh is Professor Emeritus in Anthropology and Archaeology at UNISA. Renowned for his research into South Africa’s “forgotten” and often invisible communities, his work sheds light on the history and present realities of the Karretjie People of the Great Karoo, the Hessequa of the Southern Cape, and others who have long lived on the margins.

His award-winning books include:

Roots and Routes: The Karretjie People of the Great Karoo (which was listed for the Alan Paton Prize for Non-fiction and won the Hiddingh-Currie Literary Award for academic excellence and service to society)

A Forgotten First People – the Southern Cape Hessequa

The Forgotten Front – Untold Stories of the Anglo-Boer War in the Karoo

The Land Speaks

Truly South African – Frontier Legend Coenraad de Buys and his Descendants

Prof Christina Landman describes his storytelling as both compassionate and empowering, noting how “people come to life in photos, maps, statistics and figures, but also through their own stories retold with compassion by De Jongh.” His work highlights the resilience and self-worth of the poorest of the poor and calls for justice through advocacy rooted in human rights and the Constitution.

Now based in Plettenberg Bay, Professor de Jongh continues to write, hike, mountain bike, and play the occasional round of golf.