The South Africa Racial Amity Trust was an educational charity formed in 1965 to promote knowledge of the theory and practice of apartheid in South Africa through research and publication, particularly on the plight of children. It was renamed the Bishop Ambrose Reeves Trust (BART) in honour of its treasurer, the former bishop of Johannesburg, following his death in 1980. BART was dissolved in 1996.

Margaret MacKirdy was born in Rothesay, Isle of Bute, in 1830. Margaret was brought up in the Free Church and was actively involved in the School of Industry at Anderston, Glasgow, which had been established by elders of the St Matthews’ Free Church. It was whilst living at 150 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, in the early 1870s that Margaret married John Black, a shawl manufacturer. Their marriage was short-lived when he tragically drowned in the River Kelvin in 1874. The family had a strong friendship with Bailie William Collins, the Glasgow Publisher, also a member of the Free Church. He was on the sub-committee of the Glasgow School of Cookery responsible for finding a lady to be trained at the National Training School of Cookery. Margaret applied and was accepted for the post, teaching at the school from 1 June 1876 until 1878 when she left to open the West End School of Cookery. Margaret also wrote several books on cookery and household management which were published by Collins, including ”Household Cookery and Laundry Work”, “Superior Cookery” and “Hints to Young Housekeepers”. In September 1885, Margaret was created a Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland and in 1891 was elected on the the School Board of Glasgow as a temperance and free educationalist candidate. She was also secretary of the Womens’ Liberal Association, an office bearer of the National Temperance Association, and a Parish Councillor. Margaret died of pnuemonia on 1 March 1903 at her home at 2 Clifton Terrace, Glasgow.

Born on January 12, 1916, in Paul Roux, South Africa, P.W. Botha rose to prominence in the right-wing National Party, which instituted the strict racial segregation system of apartheid. Botha became the country's prime minister in 1978 and authorized deadly force against anti-apartheid agitators, including members of the ANC. He stepped down from power in 1989. He died on October 31, 2006.

Botha was a member of the ANC's 1994 Parliament. He had previously studied at the University of Strathclyde and Glasgow College of Technology. He introduced Brian Filling on stage at the Glasgow Green Rally in 1988, that was followed by a march down to London as part of the Freedom at 70 campaign.

British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for any of the Home Unions the national sides of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Lions are a Test side, and generally select international players, but they can pick uncapped players available to any one of the four unions. The side tours every four years, with these rotating among Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The 2009 Test series was lost 2–1 to South Africa, while the 2013 Test series was won 2–1 over Australia.

The BCC is the counterpart in the UK of the World Council of Churches, combining in a single organisation the chief agencies of the interdenominational co-operation.

The British Youth Council is the National Youth Council of the UK. They are a youth-led charity that empower young people aged 25 and under to influence and inform the decisions that affect their lives. They support young people to get involved in their communities and democracy locally, nationally and internationally, making a difference as volunteers, campaigners, decision-makers and leaders.

Buchan was a cultural and political activist who became a Strathclyde Councillor (1974-79) and then Glasgow MEP (1979-94). Her involvement with the SC AAM and it's cause was manifold, with special contributions including: speaking at the press conference that announced Chris Hani's assassination and speaking at the NALA conference in Glasgow when Nelson Mandela visited Glasgow to receive the Freedom of the Nine Cities. She was famously embraced by Mandela while welcoming him on his visit to Strasbourg.

Glen Buchanan was born on 29 October 1955 and grew up and attended school in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. He studied at Paisley College of Technology, graduating with a BA in Social Studies in 1977, followed by an MBA from the University of Bradford in 1978.
From 1979 to 1981 he worked for the Scottish Council for Single Homeless managing a project looking at the housing experiences and needs of single people in Scotland. This paved the way for a major expansion of housing options and opportunities for single people across the 1980s and thereafter. In 1981 he took up the position of research fellow in the Local Government Unit at Paisley College of Technology, where he first worked alongside John Pearce on the Local Enterprise Advisory Project (LEAP), and worked on the case studies of the community enterprises Flagstone Enterprises Ltd, Paisley, and Govan Workspace, Glasgow. In 1984 he began working for Strathclyde Community Business (SCB) as Training Officer, eventually becoming Depute General Manager for John Pearce. SCB was the major development agency for community businesses in the west of Scotland providing information and advice, development support, training and financial assistance. Throughout this time he was also a Director of Community Business Scotland Ltd (CBS) and from 1884 to 1988 was editor of ‘CB News’, promoting the wider social enterprise movement in Scotland and beyond.
From 1991 to 1993 Glen Buchanan worked as National Coordinator, Care and Repair Initiative, Glasgow, for Shelter Scotland. He was responsible for management of eight council-wide projects across Scotland and negotiating support for the national development of Care and Repair into the mainstream of housing practice. In 1993 he was appointed by Scottish Homes to coordinate national development of Care and Repair throughout Scotland, later working on local housing and planning strategy development. He worked for Communities Scotland when it took on the functions of Scottish Homes and widened its community regeneration remit and then for the Scottish Government as Policy Manager, Glasgow, from 2008 to 2010. In each role he worked on the provision of grant and development support to housing associations, social enterprises and other third sector organisations. He went on to work for various organisations in consumer rights, housing, health and social care, and social enterprise until his retirement in 2016.

Buchanan co-managed the South African musician Marah Louw's fundraising tour of the UK in 1994 with Angela Webb. The tour visited the cities which had given Mandela their Freedom as well as Edinburgh and Liverpool. The tour raised funds for the ANC's electoral campaign.