On Tuesday, 10 March, the Namibia Scientific Society (NSS) set in motion an exhibition to commemorate 30 years of independence for Namibia.
It featured rare political merchandise, which included vintage buttons, banners, party t-shirts and the oldest manifesto in the country. The exhibition also included a slide show on display which highlights Namibia’s independence through photography.
It was an enviable collection on display. One thing in particular that stood out was a rare independence concert t-shirt from 1990. The t-shirt included names of performing acts such as Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers.
Despite the marvel of witnessing authentic history on display. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that a scientific institute was hosting what looked like a creative political history class.
“The mission of NSS is often misconceived and bottled down specifically into vocation of natural sciences. Our mission as an organisation is quite an extensive one. We focus on researching, compiling data and expanding our archive on the history of Namibia in a scientific manner,” said Isdor Kamati, librarian and benefactor of NSS.
The organisation facilitated a trip for Isdor to travel to Berlin, Germany and attend the War and Peace History Festival in 2018. He had the honour of giving a Namibian history class there.
“We set up this installation in an effort to make people remember the hopes and struggles of the liberation period. It is a significant part of Namibia’s history. As we reach 30 years, we as Namibia Scientific Society say let’s look back,” said NSS general manager Waltraut Fritzsche.
The NSS’s operations were quite diverse. According to Kamati, the organisation offers scholarships for determined students to study information sciences at the University of Namibia (Unam), internship and networking opportunities.
There are a couple of fun facts about NSS. For starters, they boast the largest privately owned archive in the country. Thousands of books, journals, manuscripts, films and case studies on Namibia. Their photo archive contains 23 000 photographs, including undeveloped film that has been given to them by their members and the general public since their inception in 1925. They have leading experts and researchers leading talks in the fields of botany, astronomy, herpetology, geology and ornithology.
The NSS also caters for Namibian authors and writers seeking to publish non-scientific literature. They house Kuiseb Publishers. The manuscripts are reviewed by a qualified board to ensure quality. Some notable books include, ‘The Agency of Truth’ by Samson Ndeikwila and ‘Children in Exile’ by Jurgen Krause and Besse Kaplan.
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