Bank Windhoek Socratic Forum
Bank Windhoek Socratic Forum

Bank Windhoek Socratic Forum

The next meeting of the Bank Windhoek Socratic Forum takes place on 4 September 2018 at Safari Hotel Namib 2 at 18:00. The topic of the meeting is Humiliation as an opportunity to address land issues and will be introduced by Adv. Alan Nelson SC from Paarl in the Western Cape.

Herewith a photograph and short bio-sketch of Adv. Nelson, as well as an abstract of his presentation.

Alan Nelson went to school in Johannesburg and then studied law at Stellenbosch University where he met Marguerite, the love of his life. Together they turned a dream into reality when they in 1987 bought a 130-hectare farm in the beautiful Paarl valley and with the help of loyal staff and their children, turned it into the Nelson Wine Estate on which every vine has been replaced and a state of the art winery, three superb function venues and a lovely country lodge have been built. Alan’s spare time is taken up carriage driving with his Friesian horses and he is currently developing Olympic standard facilities for hosting carriage driving competitions on the estate.

He three years ago handed over the farming and winemaking business to his children, making it possible for him to pursue his passion for the law and especially mediation. As a senior advocate, Alan Nelson challenges the conventional wisdom that litigation offers better justice than mediation. He practiced as an advocate for 40 years and also acted as a judge of the Cape High Court. This experience has driven him to fearlessly carry the message that mediation should always precede court action, even before summonses and applications are issued.

Alan is sensitive about the complex history of South Africa and especially the agricultural sector, where conflict could, amongst others, threaten food security. His dream is to see community mediators trained as peacemakers throughout South Africa and he is the first founder of the Mediation Foundation for Peace and Justice and of the Nelson Peace Centre.

Humiliation as an opportunity to address land issues

According to Advocate Alan Nelson SC, land expropriation without compensation could result in a civil war and even genocide in South Africa. As the first farmer in South Africa to donate a portion of his farm to his workers twelve years ago, he also gave them the free use of all of his farm equipment and of his wine cellar for a period of three years. Although initially very successful, the project failed.

Alan will as jurist, in general comment on the land issue and share his views on why he decided to donate a portion of his farm to his workers, why his decision made business sense to him as a business man and farmer, what went wrong, what lessons can be learnt from this project that may be useful in resolving the land issue in South Africa and why he regards humiliation as an opportunity to address land issues.

Media Partners – Namibia Media Holdings, The Namibian

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