We call on the South African government to investigate and pilot a national system for documenting the country's clans, lineages, traditional communities, kingdoms, traditional houses and related cultural heritage — voluntarily, accurately and with strong privacy safeguards.

South Africa has extensive population data, but there is no comprehensive national record of the country's living kinship structures.

We are calling for a national feasibility study and consultation process involving communities, traditional leaders, Statistics South Africa, government, historians, genealogists, universities and data-governance experts.

The objective is not to impose identities or create new racial classifications.

It is to preserve knowledge about who our communities are, where they come from, how they are connected and what heritage they carry for future generations.

We envision a National Kinship and Heritage Atlas: a living record of South Africa's diverse clans, lineages, traditional communities, traditional houses, migration histories and cultural heritage.

We are asking government to:

1. Investigate the feasibility of a National Kinship and Traditional House Census.

2. Consult communities and traditional leadership structures across South Africa.

3. Develop appropriate national definitions and classifications.

4. Conduct pilot projects before considering national implementation.

5. Establish strong privacy, consent and data-governance safeguards.

6. Publish appropriate aggregated, non-identifying findings.

7. Investigate the creation of a National Kinship and Heritage Atlas.

Our identity. Our heritage. Our future.

Sign the petition and help begin the national conversation.