Two pieces of news, one joyous and the other profoundly sad, framed the Foundation’s September deliberations. On the one hand, we were delighted to hear from Ms Malala Yousafzai that she has accepted our invitation to deliver the 21st Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture. The Lecture this year is planned for 5 December and will also mark the tenth anniversary of Madiba’s passing. It will be hosted in Johannesburg.
Ms Yousafzai, of course, is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who co-founded the Malala Fund and has been inspiring people around the world with her courageous activism. She is renowned for her advocacy around access to education and her insistence that young people, especially young women, should become agents of change in their communities. She is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and will become the youngest Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture Speaker. We are honoured to have her grace this august platform.
For the Foundation, Ms. Yousafzai exemplifies the kind of leadership we believe the world needs at every level of society. Global challenges being confronted at present can feel overwhelming and a just future for all simply out of reach. We cannot wait to host her and look forward to sharing more about the focus of her lecture in the weeks ahead.
On the other hand, our month ended in mourning with the loss of Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of Madiba and Mum Winnie. Her long fight with cancer had come to an end. Our thoughts remain with her family and friends at this most difficult time.
We were inspired by Zoleka’s activism over many years, and when she published her memoir When Hope Whispers engaged her formally to talk through difficult issues with our staff. We regarded her as a friend. Her resilience was exceptional, and the leadership she showed was admirable. She will be missed. Hamba kahle dadewethu.