Brigalia Bam (born 1933) is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

women's and social activist and writer.

Personal life

Brigalia Ntombemhlope Bam was born in 1933 in the former

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

, in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

. Although Bam trained and worked as a teacher, she received further training in South Africa and abroad in the fields of social work, communication, and management. She is a qualified social worker with a post-graduate degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Professional life

Bam has held various posts throughout the world. She was the Africa Regional Secretary and Co-ordinator of the Women’s Workers' Programme for the International Food and Allied Workers Association based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. She has co-ordinated the World

Young Men’s Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

's International Training Institute and Programme, as well as its affiliate, the Development for Human Rights. She was also Executive Programme Secretary for the Women’s Department of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

. Between 1997 and 1998, Bam served as General Secretary of the

South African Council of Churches The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is an interdenominational forum in South Africa. It was a prominent anti-apartheid organisation during the years of apartheid in South Africa. Its leaders have included Desmond Tutu, Beyers Naudé an ...

from 1994 to 1999. In South Africa, she was a founding member of the Women’s Development Foundation and became the Foundation’s President in 1998. She has been a board member of the Matla Trust as well as the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

. Since 1999, Brigalia Bam has become a familiar personality to South Africans as the Chairperson of the

Independent Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

of South Africa. From 2007 she was on the

Panel of the Wise The Panel of the Wise (PoW) is a consultative body of the African Union, composed of five appointed members who each serve three year terms. Its mandate is to provide opinions to the Peace and Security Council on issues relevant to conflict preven ...

. She is the

Chancellor (education) A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

Walter Sisulu University Walter Sisulu University (WSU) is a university of technology and science located in Mthatha, East London (Buffalo City), Butterworth and Komani (Queenstown) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which came into existence on 1 July 2005 as a result ...

. She is currently a member of the International Elections Advisory Council.

Awards

* In 1999 the

Order of Simon of Cyrene The Order of Simon of Cyrene is the highest award given by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to laity for distinguished service. It was established in 1960, during the tenure of Archbishop Joost de Blank, following a proposal by Bishop Ro ...

* The

Order of the Baobab The Order of the Baobab is a South African civilian national honour, awarded to those for service in business and the economy; science, medicine, and for technological innovation; and community service. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and i ...

in Silver * In 2000 The SAWW Award *The 2011 Shoprite Checkers Women of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award * Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation 2013 *Honorary Doctorate in Literature, March 2019, University of the Witwatersrand

Publications

*1971 What is Ordination Coming To? *1979 New Perspectives for Third World Women *1994 Women Voices Worldwide *1998 ''All about Eve: women of Africa'' in Anglicanism: A Global Communion *1986 ''Priorities for Women in South Africa'' in Speaking of faith: cross-cultural perspectives on women, religion and social change

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bam, Brigalia 1933 births Living people University of Chicago alumni People from the Eastern Cape Order of the Baobab 20th-century South African women writers South African religious writers 20th-century South African writers 20th-century non-fiction writers YMCA leaders