The First Annual General Meeting of the FSE was held on 6 September 2008, at the Randfontein Golf and Country Club.
The meeting was formally constituted and chaired by Carin Bosman.
CEO Mariette Liefferink reported on the activities of the FSE in the past year,
The current status with regard to directors was established. It was noted that Carin Bosman has resigned as director but continues to serve as technical advisor for the FSE. Dr. Koos Pretorius, Tony Ferrar, Brand Nthako, Pogiso Bothomane and Mariette Liefferink were re-elected as directors.
The provisional minutes of the meeting may be downloaded here.
Mrs Liefferink quoted George Monbiot to set the stage fro her feedback: “Victories can be achieved by small groups of local people and roving campaigners, armed with a tiny fraction of their opponent’s budgets. They haven’t liberated the working class from oppression, but they have restrained the power of the oppressors. These are victories for the common people against the new aristocracy.” (Mail and Guardian, 8-15 April 2004)
Environmentalists must also realise that they have to link their campaigns. Instead of trying to prove whose struggle is more important, it is important to realise the strong linkages that exist.
For a long time environmentalism was perceived as only about those wanting to save the whales, flowers and trees. The reality is that the concept has evolved such that “environmentalism and social justice have become indivisible.”
Reference was made to the FSE’s Website, http://www.fse.org.za and the fact that it had been, at the time of the AGM, visited by 27 275 persons since its creation in November, 2007.Mercia Komen was cordially thanked for her design of the website and her subsequent managing of the website, which she does gratuitously.
The NGOs were listed which are affiliated to the FSE. It includes the new wave of civil society organizations which are not confined to conservation interventions but which also challenge industrial environmental malpractices in significant ways as well as nature conservation organizations and associations, civil society organizations, legal associations, scientific associations, academic institutions, international research organisations and individual members comprising of inter alia academics, scientists, historians, lawyers, environmentalists, conservationists, ecologists, technical experts, historians and ordinary persons.
A brief overview was given of NGO funding strategies. It included:
1. Networking
2. Preparing the homefront
3. Do your homework
4. Moving forward