As per the PSSA Standards Handbook
PSSA is the officially recognised body representing photographers in South Africa.
PSSA is a company registered with the Registrar of Companies of South Africa. The management of PSSA is therefore governed by the South Africa Company’s Act.
Founding of PSSA
The late Rev. Dr A.D. (Kin) Bensusan was the driving force behind the founding of PSSA. Kin contacted the leading photographers of the time and held several meetings in order to gain support for the formation of a national photographic society, “to unite all persons interested in the promotion and science of photography”.
PSSA was to be registered in terms of the Companies Act, as a non-profit making body in the public interest, under section 21 of the Act. An attorney, Bob Murray and a chartered accountant, Brian Penny, who incidentally was also Chairman of the Krugersdorp Photographic Society, drafted the Memorandum and Articles of Association, which were required when registering a body such as ours.
This Memorandum and Articles of Association was then signed by about a dozen leading photographers in different parts of the country and it was agreed to hold a congress of photography in Durban in July 1954 at which time the Photographic Society of Southern Africa was endorsed. The first board of Directors was formally elected and Kin was appointed as the first President.
In 1978 PSSA was changed to a “Company not for Gain”. The new company’s act of 1973 made provision for a “company not for gain”, which was better suited to PSSA’s purposes.
In 2008 the name changed to the Photographic Society of South Africa.
In 2011 a new company’s act came into effect and our Memorandum and Articles of Association have now been replaced with the Memorandum of Incorporation. This is, in effect, our Constitution.
Vision
As the internationally recognised Society, the Photographic Society of South Africa (PSSA) actively embraces the future in its service to all photographers.
Mission
PSSA aims to:-
- bring together all people interested in photography
- promote the highest possible standards of photography
- embrace the future of photography while continually supporting the present
- promote the interests of photography in all aspects amongst all its members
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