April 21, 2010 – The Nelson Mandela Foundation and 46664, in association with the other sister organisations, have called for Mandela Day on July 18 to be recognised as an annual international “day of humanitarian action” in celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy.
July 18, 2009, marked Mr Mandela’s 91st birthday and the inaugural Mandela Day. After the success of this first Mandela Day, the United Nations adopted it as a day for global humanitarian action calling it Nelson Mandela International Day.
This decision transformed the day into a celebration of Mr Mandela’s life and legacy, as well as an opportunity for people internationally to join the mission to make the world a better place.
Mandela Day is about creating a global movement for good, which recognises – as Mr Mandela does – that positive change begins with small, selfless, individual actions. Mandela Day serves as a catalyst for people around the world to realise that each and every one of them has the ability to change the world through small actions.
On July 18 every year, people are asked to donate at least 67 minutes of their time in service to their communities. Sixty-seven minutes is a symbolic number, representing the number of years Mr Mandela was actively involved in social activism.
The first Mandela Day, in 2009, was celebrated both in South Africa and in the United States (New York), with people in both countries responding enthusiastically to the challenge of improving the lives of those around them:
- As the community of Atteridgeville, South Africa, facilitated reconciliation between perpetrators of violence against non-nationals and their victims, New Yorkers attended photographic exhibitions on the life and times of Mr Mandela and cleaned up parks.
- In South Africa, the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra organised a concert for the children of Alexandra, while former political prisoners visited the Syferfontein informal settlement in Pacaltsdorp, near George, to provide community members with breakfast.
- Moyo restaurant staff took party packs, face painters and drummers to Umthombo Street Children in Durban and Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg, and South African vehicle tracking company Tracker distributed food parcels, blankets, clothes and shoes to the Slovoville community, outside Roodepoort, as well as in Dobsonville, Soweto.
- In South Africa’s cities of Port Elizabeth, George, Mthatha and East London, supermarket chain Shoprite hosted four Mandela Day birthday parties for senior citizens. The Soroptimist Club of Tshwane delivered food hampers to Potter’s House, a centre for abused and destitute women.
South African government departments and radio stations also participated enthusiastically and gave of their time on Mandela Day. Some 300 Department of Health practitioners organised X-rays and other medical services for people in Mqanduli (Eastern Cape); the Limpopo Housing MEC organised the construction of 67 houses for destitute families and the Vaal Triangle’s 90.6FM Stereo radio station arranged for eight choirs to perform for the elderly around the region.
Political parties also rose to the challenge, with African National Congress (ANC) and ANC Youth League members conducting a clean-up campaign at the Nhlazatshe taxi rank and visiting the Gugulethu Old Age Home in the Western Cape.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation ensured that the message reached global audiences by spreading it through South Africa’s foreign missions. These efforts led to governments and civil society organisations adopting Mandela Day.
On July 12, the Non-Aligned Movement member countries issued a special declaration endorsing the event following a motion supporting Mandela Day by the Irish government. It commended the Nelson Mandela Foundation for: “honouring Nelson Mandela’s service to humanity by giving people of the world the opportunity of his birth date to embrace his values, through seeking to improve their lives through service to their communities”.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Vodacom Foundation marked their 10-year anniversaries and the inaugural Mandela Day in 2009 by awarding gifts to two Mandela Day initiatives:
- Kaya FM was recognised for enthusiastically promoting the day on air every day for more than a week and for identifying and highlighting community initiatives that practised “Mandela Day every day”.
- The City of Matlosana (North West Province) was recognised for its comprehensive Mandela Day initiative, which included highlighting the plight of the physically disabled, cleaning disability centres in and around the city, and providing lunch to some of its citizens.
With Mr Mandela’s birthday having been accorded international status, it remains for every individual around the world to take up the personal challenge issued by the man himself and show how each one of us can make a difference, not only on July 18, but every day.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation and its sister charities would like to thank the South African government, the United Nations General Assembly, civil society and corporates and all individuals who participated in making the inaugural Mandela Day a success.
View the Mandela Day 2010 information here.