Official 90th Birthday Book for Madiba
Tribute will be used to raise funds for Foundation’s work
CEO Achmat Dangor and Anne Pratt, managing director of Memela Pratt, which will help to publish the coffee-table book
June 12, 2008 – The Nelson Mandela Foundation has announced that it will launch an authorised book in tribute to Madiba in his 90th year.
The “birthday book” will include rare archival material assembled by the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Centre of Memory and Dialogue and will serve as a vehicle to raise funds for the ongoing work of the Centre.
According to Achmat Dangor, the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s chief executive officer, the 240-page coffee-table book will commemorate Mr Mandela’s contribution to South Africa’s history and his dedication to global democracy.
“This is a tribute to a man who is a world icon and evokes strong emotional love and support across the globe. The birthday book will acknowledge his life while providing a platform to raise funds for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, to ensure his legacy lives on,” Dangor said.
It is hoped that messages in the book will raise R200-million for the Nelson Mandela Foundation. “This is a great opportunity for corporate South Africa to become involved and send their goodwill wishes to Mr Mandela and ensure we keep his heritage alive for future generations.
“I am pleased to announce that Fathima Dada, executive chairman and CEO of Maskew Miller Longman, a stalwart of the South African publishing world, has confirmed a partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to publish the book,” said Dangor.
An example of the material to be included in the book is a photo found by South African historian Prof Charles van Onselen while he was browsing in a Johannesburg bookshop. He came across a copy of Eddie Roux’s book
Time Longer Than Rope: The Black Man’s Struggle for Freedom in South Africa, which had years earlier been banned in South Africa.
At home he opened the book and out dropped a picture of two young men – one of whom he immediately recognised as Nelson Mandela. The other person in the photo was a Mr Bikitsha, whom Mr Mandela described in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom as “a cocky chap” whose attitude towards a Crown Mines watchman had resulted in a search of Mr Mandela’s suitcase and the discovery of a loaded revolver.
South African and international companies and individuals who would like to have their birthday wishes included in the book should contact Inzalo Communications on the phone number (011) 646-9992 or fax (011) 646-9938.
