Founded in 1990 as Council of Churches in Britain and Ireland, renamed Churches Together in Britain and Ireland in 1999 (forerunner: the British Council of Churches, founded in 1947).

The WCC brings together churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 500 million Christians and including most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches. While the bulk of the WCC's founding churches were European and North American, today most member churches are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. There are now 348 member churches.

For its member churches, the WCC is a unique space: one in which they can reflect, speak, act, worship and work together, challenge and support each other, share and debate with each other.

The West End School of Cookery, Glasgow, Scotland, was founded in 1878 and opened to the public on 29 October of that year. In 1908, the School amalgamated with the Glasgow School of Cookery to form a Scottish central institution under the title the Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science (Incorporated), later named The Queen’s College, Glasgow.

The founder of the West End School of Cookery was Margaret Black (1830-1903), who had been a teacher at the Glasgow School of Cookery and left in 1878 to open her own school. When Margaret Black died in March 1903 she was succeeded as Principal by her niece, Mary McKirdy (1874-1957).

The School’s first premises were in the Corporation Galleries at 2 Dalhousie Street, Glasgow. Initially the School provided private classes in cookery and although it had been running classes in Glasgow and Govan Board Schools, it was not until 1885 that the Scotch Education Department recognised it as a teacher training centre. In September 1903 the school moved to larger premises at 346 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, and also at 1 Scott Street, Glasgow. The subjects taught at the School were extended and by 1905 teachers’ diploma courses were being offered in cookery, housewifery and laundry, along with certificates to housewives, housekeepers and cooks. Prior to amalgamation in 1908 the School was known as the West End Training School of Cookery and employed 5 teachers.

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

Stuart Weaving a UK businessman founded the Weaving International Friendship Foundation in 1968. It embraces the Friends of the Springbok and Friends of the Lion and helps reunite families and friends in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and North America.

A letter from Victor Gollancz to The Guardian in February 1951 led to the founding of War on Want. His letter asked people to join an international struggle against poverty. Harold Wilson MP coined the name.

War on Want has always been at the forefront of many of the debates on global poverty and injustice. As early as 1961, War on Want raised concerns about 'third world' debt and warned it would be a central issue in the future.

John Vorster was born December 13, 1915 in Jamestown, South Africa. in 1966, one week after Verwoerd was assassinated, a National Party caucus chose Vorster as his successor. In 1978 he resigned his post for health reasons and on October 10 became his nation's president, a largely ceremonial position. In November the so-called Muldergate scandal came to a boil. In 1979 he resigned the presidency.

Established more than 200 years ago 'for the good of mankind', the University of Strathclyde is renowned for excellent teaching, research and strong links with industry, government and business.

Its roots can be traced back to 1796, when Professor John Anderson’s legacy established a 'place of useful learning' – the only higher education institution to be created in Scotland during the Enlightenment. This tradition remains at the heart of our ethos today, as a leading international technological university.

Founded in 1413, St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest university in the English speaking world. There is no official campus as the university is integrated with town: ancient buildings juxtaposed with state-of-the-art science facilities.

Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow has dedicated more than 560 years to inspiring great minds, from economist Adam Smith and pioneer of television John Logie Baird, to the writer and producer of Doctor Who and Sherlock, Steven Moffat.

The university has inspired the talents of seven Nobel Laureates, one Prime Minister, Scotland's current First Minister and the country's first female medical graduates.

Glasgow’s beautiful, historical campus features more than 100 listed buildings.

The university was established by a Royal Charter granted by James VI in 1582.

For more than 400 years the university has played host to scientists, philosophers and politicians who have shaped the modern world.

Fellow graduates signed the United States’ Declaration of Independence, founded Ivy League universities, brought modern medicine to China, post-colonial government to Africa, and wrote some of the world’s most widely read books.

The University of Aberdeen is Scotland's third oldest university and the fifth oldest in the UK, founded in 1495. It was the first chair of medicine in the English-speaking world.

There are five Nobel laureates associated with the University of Aberdeen.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.

The United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more.

The UN also provides a forum for its members to express their views in the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and other bodies and committees. By enabling dialogue between its members, and by hosting negotiations, the Organization has become a mechanism for governments to find areas of agreement and solve problems together.

USDAW are a union that recruit, organise and represent workers in the retail, distributive, manufacturing and service sectors for the purpose of securing the best possible terms and conditions and providing support and protection at work.

Over one hundred and twenty five years ago, representatives of workers met in Manchester and Birmingham to establish trade unions which grew during the latter part of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, to form, in 1947, what is now the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. In 1991, Usdaw celebrated a 'Century of Service' to those workers in shops, factories, offices, warehouses and other areas where the Union has representative and negotiating responsibilities.

In 1978 Desmond Tutu was appointed general secretary of the South African Council of Churches and became a leading spokesperson for the rights of black South Africans. During the 1980s he played an unrivaled role in drawing national and international attention to the iniquities of apartheid, and in 1984 he won the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts.

The TUC's objectives are to raise the quality of working life and promote equality for all. Their mission is to be a high profile organisation that campaigns successfully for trade union aims and values; assists trade unions to increase membership and effectiveness; cuts out wasteful rivalry; and promotes trade union solidarity. They represent more than 5.8 million workers in 51 unions.

Toivo ja Toivo is a Namibian anti-apartheid activist, politician, co founder of South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) and former political prisoner, held on Robben Island for 16 years, in the same section as Nelson Mandela (1968-1984). Toivo ja Toivo spoke at the Glasgow Green Rally in 1988 which marked the start of the march down to London as part of the Freedom at 70 campaign.

The Leninist was a factional publication in the 'official' Communist Party of Great Britain, published from 1981 until 1992, and the predecessor both to today's CPGB and the Weekly Worker. Its purpose was to carry on an open polemical struggle against the opportunists who ultimately liquidated the official party, and reforge the CPGB as a principled Marxist organisation.

The politics of the organisation have evolved considerably since 1981, but were formed by the struggles of that decade.

Born on October 13, 1925, in Grantham, England, Margaret Thatcher became Britain's Conservative Party leader and in 1979 was elected prime minister, the first woman to hold the position. During her three terms, she cut social welfare programs, reduced trade union power and privatized certain industries. She also opposed international calls to introduce sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa and fought a bitter battle with campaigners in Britain. Thatcher resigned in 1991 due to unpopular policy and power struggles in her party. She died on April 8, 2013, at age 87.

Tambo was President of the ANC. He visited Glasgow to greet marchers from the Glasgow City Chambers balcony during the march from Glasgow to London held as part of the Freedom at 70 campaign in 1988.

Tait was the full-time organiser of Sechaba Festival and Conference held in Glasgow in 1990.

Sweeney is a prolific Scottish composer . He wrote the composition for 'I Will Wait' - based on the poem by Wally Serote which was performed at the Sechaba Conference Gala in 1990.

Stuart co-edited 'The End of a Regime? An Anthology of Scottish-South African Writing Against Apartheid' with Brian Filling.

Standard Chartered Bank was formed in 1969 through the merger of two separate banks, the Standard Bank of British South Africa and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China.

These banks had capitalised on the expansion of trade between Europe, Asia and Africa.

During the apartheid regime in South Africa the anti-apartheid movement led an investment boycott. The number of British companies investing in South Africa fell by 20 percent during this period Standard Chartered, the second largest bank in South Africa pulled out.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a Regional Economic Community comprising 15 Member States; Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Established in 1992, SADC is committed to Regional Integration and poverty eradication within Southern Africa through economic development and ensuring peace and security.

The SAC was a Coalition of more than 60 organisations and churches, representative of many millions of British people, with the common objective of increasing public understanding of the need for the decisive measures to end apartheid and, through a programme of information, education and action, of seeking to secure a fundamental change in British government policy towards South Africa.

Southern Africa Church News provided a service faxing news predominately to the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund press desk. It was located in London and run by Reverend John Evenson.

The South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) was founded in Windhoek, South West Africa (presently Namibia) on 19 April 1960 by Herman Toivo ja Toivo. The party was originally formed to advocated immediate Namibian independence from South Africa and became the country’s leading party following independence in 1990.

The SWA territory was entrusted by the League of Nations to South Africa under an administrative mandate after the First World War. After the Second World War, South Africa extended its apartheid policies to this territory and became a military occupier. After South Africa refused a United Nations order to withdraw from the trust territory in 1966, SWAPO turned to armed struggle.

SWAPO emerged as the sole liberation movement in the early 1960s because it had the support of the Ovambo, the largest ethnic group in Namibia. More a military organisation than a political one, SWAPO launched military operations against the South African government’s military positions. On 26 August 1966 the first major clash of the conflict took place, when a unit of the South African Police, supported by South African Air Force, exchanged fire with SWAPO forces. This date is generally regarded as the start of what became known in South Africa as the Border War.

Initially SWAPO suffered heavy losses against the South African Army but later SWAPO was backed by the Angolan ruling party, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, the Soviet Union, the Norwegian government and the African National Congress. SWAPO used Angola as a base for guerrilla warfare on Namibian soil; operations were carried out by SWAPO’s guerrilla force, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Beginning in 1978 South Africa made periodic retaliatory land and air strikes into Angola. Herman Toivo ja Toivo, the founder of SWAPO, was imprisoned in South Africa for a 20-year term in 1968 but was released in 1984. Nujoma returned to Namibia in September 1989.

In 1978 the UN recognized SWAPO as the sole representative of the people of Namibia. Both SWAPO and South Africa agreed to a UN plan for a cease-fire, withdrawal of South African troops, and free elections to be guaranteed by UN security forces. After years of diplomatic maneuvering, South Africa finally accepted a UN resolution to that effect in December 1988. Sporadic fighting continued. In 1989 Nujoma was elected president and SWAPO won a majority of the delegates selected by the country’s voters to write a constitution for an independent Namibia. The following year a new constitution was adopted and Nujoma took office and in the same year South Africa completely withdrew unconditionally from Namibia.

SWAPO continued to dominate the political scene into the 21st century, transforming itself from a liberation movement into a governing party. SWAPO won the first and second election five years later.

The South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee (SAN-ROC) was formed in South Africa in 1962. One of SAN-ROC's founders, Dennis Brutus, was arrested and jailed, placed under house arrest, and banned from all literary, academic and political activities. Brutus went into exile in 1966. In 1966 SAN-ROC began operating in exile in London and led campaigns to isolate South Africa on the sports field. In 1970 Brutus moved to the United States and SAN-ROC was then based in the United States and the United Kingdom. Sam Ramsamy (based in London) was Chairman from 1976-1990. Dennis Brutus was President (based in the United). SAN-ROC led the international sports boycott of apartheid South Africa.

Historically the term 'Springbok' was applied to any team or individual representing South Africa in international competition regardless of sporting discipline. This tradition was abandoned with the advent of South Africa's new democratic government in 1994.

Because of South Africa’s Apartheid policy, the Commonwealth members signed the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, a punitive measure which discouraged the international community to have any sporting contacts with South Africa. From 1990 to 1991 the legal apparatus of apartheid was abolished, and the Springboks were readmitted to international rugby in 1992.

SACTU was founded in 1955 by those who were critical of the decision taken by the Trade Union Congress of South Africa (TUCSA) that only registered (non-African) unions could join the congress. Its basic approach was that in South Africa industrial relations could not be divorced from politics and it openly engaged in political activities rather than confining itself to conventional trade union action. This made it an easy target for the authorities. SACTU was closely associated with the ANC and joined the Congress Alliance as its trade union wing. Its membership, almost exclusively black, grew rapidly in the aftermath of the Defiance Campaign but many of its leaders were banned and it was forced underground in 1960.

The South African Communist Party was founded in 1921 and has always been in the forefront of the struggle against imperialism and racist domination. The SACP is a partner in the Tripartite Alliance consisting of the African National Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Union. The Youth Wing of the SACP is the Young Communist League.

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is an inter-denominational forum that unites 36 member churches and organisations.

The SACC is an instrument and servant of its members and is committed to expressing, through proclamation and programmes, the united witness of the church in South Africa, especially in matters of national debate.

The SEA has a long and proud history. It goes back to the formation of the National Association of Labour Teachers in the 1920s and was widened out and renamed the “Socialist Educational Association” in 1959. There membership has included teachers, lecturers and academic researchers, school support staff and administrators, students, Councillors, Governors, parents and others with a general interest in education. They have a fund of expertise and experience on all aspects of education. This has enabled them to participate in national and local discussions about education at all levels and in all forums. They seek to inform and influence the development of education policies by the Labour Party, to which we are affiliated.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a centrist political party in the United Kingdom.

The SDP was founded on 26 March 1981 by four senior Labour Party moderates, dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams, who issued the Limehouse Declaration. Owen and Rodgers were sitting Labour Members of Parliament (MPs); Jenkins had left Parliament in 1977 to serve as President of the European Commission, while Williams had lost her seat in the 1979 general election. The four left the Labour Party as a result of the January 1981 Wembley conference which committed the party to unilateral nuclear disarmament and withdrawal from the European Economic Community. They also believed that Labour had become too left-wing, and had been infiltrated at constituency party level by Trotskyist factions whose views and behaviour they considered to be at odds with the Parliamentary Labour Party and Labour voters.

During apartheid Wally Serote was an ANC Cultural Attache and poet. He wrote the poem 'I Will Wait' and is know as one of the Soweto 'township' poets.

He is politically active and was held without trial in solitary confinement under the regime's Terrorism Act and, later exiled from his home country of South Africa after earning an MFA from Columbia University while on a Fulllbright scholarship.

He has won numerous awards and has served as a member of the South African Parliament.

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is a completely independent and autonomous trade union centre for Scotland. It is not a Scottish regional organisation of the TUC. It was established in 1897 largely as a result of a political dispute with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of Great Britain regarding political representation for the Labour movement. A number of meetings were held by the various Scottish trades councils to discuss the situation, resulting in the formation of the STUC in Glasgow, Scotland, in March 1897. From the outset, the STUC was not in competition with the TUC, nor was it a political movement, but sought to ensure that "in any scheme for the government of Scotland provision should be made for the same industrial legislation being applied throughout Great Britain." Close contact was retained with the TUC with reciprocal arrangements existing for mutual assistance and co-operation when the occasion warranted.

The STUC originally had a rented office at 58 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland, in a building belonging to the Scottish Council for Women's Trade. Between 1900 and 1949 they had offices in various locations in Glasgow city centre and the Govanhill area of Glasgow before moving to Woodlands Terrace in the west end of the city in 1949. In 1998, the offices moved to Woodlands Road.

The Annual Congress is the Governing Body of the STUC. From the earliest days, the Congress concerned itself with a wide range of economic and social questions, lobbying British Members of Parliament, and from 1999 the Scottish Parliament and executive, on major issues. Hours and conditions of work and the battles around these issues were always a central preoccupation of the Congress, but it also concerned itself with wider issues such as housing, education, transport, peace, racism, social and economic issues, and international affairs as well as promoting and supporting joint trades union councils (later re-named trade union councils). Internationally it has historically supported aid for the Spanish Civil War, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the peace activities against the Vietnam War and the Chilean people's plight after Allende was overthrow in 1973 (to name but a few areas of international solidarity).

The struggle for independent working class political representation was one of the concerns on which the Congress was founded and in 1900, the Congress was instrumental in establishing the Scottish Workers' Parliamentary Election Committee, a forerunner of the Scottish Council of the Labour Party, which would nominate and support candidates for Parliamentary elections. The Congress was also involved with the Scottish Workers' Representation Committee which continued to function until 1909 when its duties were taken over by the national Labour Party. A Scottish Council of the Labour Party was formed in 1915. Despite this involvement in the process which established the Labour Party, the STUC is not, and has never been, affiliated to any political party.

The STUC has always had active women members. In 1897 a female delegate, Miss M H Irwin, obtained the highest vote in the election of the first Parliamentary Committee (later re-named the General Council), the governing body of the Congress. She was nominated for chairman but declined nomination on the grounds that to appoint a woman chairman at that time was too premature. However, she acted as the Parliamentary Secretary and was also Secretary of the Scottish Council for Women's Trade. The first female President, Miss Bell Jobson, presided at the 1937 Congress. In 1926, the Organisation of Women Committee (later the Women's Advisory Committee, now the Women’s Committee) was established by the Congress, specialising in issues relating particularly to women.

In 1937 the Congress agreed a motion to establish youth fellowships as a way of attracting young people to join the unions, and therefore encourage union membership regardless of sex or age. It was realised that to create separate youth fellowships was restrictive, suggesting that the old and young should work separately. Therefore, in 1938, it was decided to establish the Trade Union Youth Advisory Committee (now called the Youth Committee) encouraging youth sections within the existing unions. The Committee is elected by an annual conference of young trade unionists dealing with youth related issues, and elects a delegation to the Annual Congress which submits 3 motions and amendments like other affiliates. It also organises day and weekend schools and other activities for young trade unionists.

From the 1930s onwards, probably the most important concern of the Congress has been the Scottish economy. The STUC has played its part in the legend of Red Clydeside 1910-1922; the period of militancy and protest by the working people of Glasgow and elsewhere. It has played a role in many historic struggles of the Scottish people including the General Strike of 1926, the post-war reconstruction of Scottish industry, and more recent events like the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in of 1971-1972, the 1984-1985 miners strike and the defeat of the poll tax in the early 1990s. The Congress was instrumental in bringing the motor industry to Bathgate and Linwood, Scotland, in the 1960s and the STUC played a central role for many decades in the campaign which established the Scottish Parliament.

By 1947 the STUC consisted of 83 affiliated trades unions with a membership of 671,630. In addition 51 trades councils were affiliated. Membership was made up of members of the Scottish unions and Scottish members of unions covering the British Isles. The period 1977 to 1980 saw membership of the STUC peak to over one million with 80 affiliated unions and 45 trades union counils. A gradual decline of membership then occurred.

The focal point of the STUC is its Annual Congress held in April and attended by delegates from affiliated organisations. It is the Annual Congress which sets down the policy of the STUC and which elects the General Council (known as the Parliamentary Committee until 1923). Between Congresses, it is the General Council which implements policy. The affiliates are divided into seven sections: transport, mining and distribution; steel, engineering and electrical; manufacturing; municipal, general and building; financial, scientific and technical services; civil and public services; education and cultural services; and trades union councils. Each of these sections is represented on the General Council (with a number of places in each section reserved for representatives of women workers), approximately on the basis of its proportion of the total STUC membership. There are also 2 places on the General Council for representatives of black workers, and 2 places for representatives of young (under the age of 26) workers. Whilst the General Council is elected by the whole of Congress, candidates are restricted to standing for election to the section to which their organisation belongs.

In 2013 the STUC has its main office in Woodlands Road, Glasgow and an additional office, close to the Scottish Parliament, in Edinburgh. In 2013 it states its purpose is to co-ordinate, develop and articulate the views and policies of the trade union movement in Scotland and, through the creation of real social partnership, to promote: trade unionism; equality and social justice; the creation and maintenance of high quality jobs; and the public sector delivery of services. The STUC represents over 630,000 trade unionists, the members of 37 affiliated trade unions and 22 Trades Union Councils.

The South African Consulate in Glasgow set up the Scottish-South Africa Club, a Scottish-South Africa society in reaction to the renaming of St George's Place was renamed Nelson Mandela Place in 1986.

The SNP was originally established as a single-issue, minor party. It grew in strength emerging as the government of Scotland in 2007 and realised its vision for an independence referendum in the Autumn of 2014.

The Scottish Immigrant Labour Council worked with the Indian Workers Association, Pakistan Social and Cultural Society, shop stewards committees and Labour and Communist Party branches to challenge racist and fascist ideas and to build links between black and ethnic minority communities and the trade union and labour movement. They carried out campaigning against the growing trend of restrictive and racist immigration legislation, supported the struggles of Asian workers in Loughborough, Bradford and Grunwick and held International nights to celebrate the diversity of working class cultures.

The Scottish Education Department (SED) came into being as the body responsible for schooling in Scotland when it was formed from the Church of Scotland's Board of Education for Scotland in 1872.

The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 made education compulsory and took over the running of schools from the Church of Scotland. Burgh as well as parish schools now came under School Boards run by local committees. It was originally called the Scotch Education Department, was a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, and had its offices in London. In 1885 the department became a responsibility of the new ministerial post of Secretary for Scotland, under whom the Scottish Office was set up in Dover House, Whitehall, London.
In 1918 the department was moved to Edinburgh and the name was changed to the Scottish Education Department, in accordance with Scottish usage. The Secretary for Scotland became the Secretary of State for Scotland in 1926. The department was renamed the Scottish Office Education Department (SOED) in 1991, and the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department (SOEID) in 1995.

With devolution in 1999 the new Scottish Executive set up the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) to oversee school education whilst the Scottish Executive Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department – now Enterprise Transport and Lifelong Learning Department (ETLLD) – took over responsibility from the former SED for further and higher education.

SEAD has two main aims. Firstly to challenge the causes of poverty, social injustice and environmental degradation and secondly to support the community-based movement for positive social change – people collectively tackling challenges which have both a local and global perspective. Their work is based on the principles of: people-powered solutions; a rootedness in mutual solidarity; and an ability to learn from each other.

SDN was a left of centre, Glasgow based daily newspaper aimed at the Strathclyde readership. It was formed by a cooperative of workers as Britain's first worker controlled, mass circulation daily. It ran from May 1975 until the November of the same year.