News – Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

Pensioners wish Madiba happy birthday

Foundation accepts birthday card filled with messages

8 May 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

May 8, 2008 – Nelson Mandela received one of his first 90th birthday cards today.

Residents of Dewetshof Retirement Village in Johannesburg visited the Nelson Mandela Foundation today to present a signed card to Foundation CEO Achmat Dangor, who received their well wishes on behalf of Mr Mandela.

Nelson Mandela to attend 46664 London concert

World-renowned artists to honour Madiba’s 90th birthday

6 May 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

May 6, 2008 – Many of the world’s most powerful and instantly recognisable figures and a concert audience numbering 46 664 will pay their tributes to one of the world’s most loved leaders, Nelson Mandela, as he turns 90 later this year. 

Bram Fischer: a hero born 100 years ago

Turning his back on an easy life, he followed his conscience with courage and sacrifice

23 April 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

April 23, 2008 – Abraham “Bram” Fischer, who was born on April 23, 1908 into the Afrikaner establishment, is remembered, 100 years later, as a hero in the struggle against apartheid.

He eschewed the privileges of the elite environment he grew up in and which guaranteed him a top position in the apartheid firmament. Instead, he turned his loyalty to the fight for democracy in South Africa.

Foundation receives 1962 Mandela photos

Pictures show Mandela visiting Tambo family at home in London, after trip through Africa

21 April 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

April 21, 2008 – At the conclusion of the Treason Trial in early 1961, the ANC decided that Nelson Mandela would go underground. About nine months later, on January 11, 1962, he left South Africa, without a passport, via what was then Bechuanaland, on his way to attend a meeting of the Pan-African Freedom Movement for East, Central and Southern Africa (PAFMECSA) in Ethiopia.

After five months of travelling and many meetings with African heads of state and others, Mr Mandela and his long-time comrade Oliver (OR) Tambo flew to London (on BOAC, as he notes in his diary) on Thursday, June 7, 1962.

A fresh look at the future of AIDS

A new initiative, aids2031, meets to discuss what is driving the epidemic in Southern Africa

17 April 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, Dialogue for Justice

April 17, 2008 – The year 2031 will mark the passage of 50 years from the first report of AIDS, and an international consortium of partners called aids2031 has been formed to look at what can be done now to change the face of the pandemic by that time.

The number of people living with HIV continues to rise despite all the interventions of the past 25 years. For every one person who gets treatment, there are three to four new infections. Some countries considered to be early “success” stories are starting to see new increases in HIV.

Resources in record time

Foundation officer shares document management expertise at conference

17 April 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

April 16, 2008 – What do hummingbirds and records management have in common?

Here’s how: Hummingbirds quickly extract the rich nutrients they need while on the move. Similarly, the best records management systems are able to extract the necessary resources while the organisation continues its work.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation uses an electronic document and records management system called Hummingbird to manage the documents generated by the organisation daily.

Foundation honours the memory of Chris Hani

Remembering the tragic assassination of Martin Thembisile “Chris” Hani

9 April 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

April 9, 2008 – We at the Nelson Mandela Foundation join the rest of our nation in honouring the memory of the late Martin Thembisile “Chris” Hani who was gunned down outside his home 15 years ago.

Young and energetic, Chris Hani had a bright future in the post-apartheid South Africa he was helping to build. But this future ended on the morning of 10 April 1993 when at the age of 50, he was shot and killed by a right-wing immigrant. Thanks to a quick-thinking neighbour the assailant was soon arrested.

My Way Foundation honours Nelson Mandela

Austrian award recognises his contribution to society

1 April 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

April 1, 2008 - In the town of Hagenbrunn, Austria, an outdoor artwork a kilometre long is open, 24 hours a day, for people to visit. Its purpose is to encourage them to reflect on their way in life.

Commemorating Human Rights Day, 2008

Effort required from all in translating words into reality

21 March 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

March 21, 2008 – “… it is important that the legal system itself be made affordable, accessible and efficient. The most elegantly drafted Human Rights are worth nothing if only the wealthy can enforce them or if remedies are subject to inordinate delays.”
–  Address by President Nelson Mandela to the Workshop for Human Rights Education (Durban, September 1994)

As we mark Human Rights Day on 21 March, 2008, 14 years after our country’s first truly democratic elections, we should indeed celebrate what we have achieved since then. For example, our country’s Constitution is one of the most progressive anywhere in the world.

Perhaps we should also pause to reflect on Nelson Mandela’s words in 1994. South Africa’s freedom did not come to us as a perfect gift, complete and eternal. It was worked at over years, even decades. Now, translating into reality elegant words and noble intentions, a reality that touches and enriches the lives of all South Africans, is going to require an effort from all of us.

Canadian educators visit Foundation

Delegation gains information to take back to Canada

20 March 2008 | Category: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

March 20, 2008 – A delegation of 25 Canadian educators who are passionate about South Africa and helping children realise their dreams visited the Nelson Mandela Foundation this week to learn more about the work of the Foundation’s Memory and Dialogue programmes.