Nobel Peace Prize winner Mr Kofi Annan, the former secretary-general of the United Nations, will deliver the fifth Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture on July 22, 2007.
Mr Annan, the first secretary-general from Sub-Saharan Africa, has long sought international support for Africa’s peace and development efforts. During his time at the United Nations, he was a constant advocate for human rights, the rule of law, the Millennium Development Goals and Africa, and sought to bring the organisation closer to the global public by forging ties with civil society, the private sector and other partners. Mr Annan’s presentation at this year’s lecture is likely to continue with these themes.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF), through its Centre of Memory and Dialogue, seeks to contribute to a just society by promoting the vision and work of its Founder and, using his example, to convene dialogue around critical social issues. The NMF’s Centre of Memory and Dialogue encourages people to enter into dialogue – often about difficult subjects – in order to address the challenges we face today.
The Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture is the centre-piece of a wide ranging Dialogue Programme. The Annual Lecture forms part of the annual celebrations of Mr Nelson Mandela’s birthday, and creates an opportunity for leaders of international standing to present their views on critical issues impacting society at large.
The inaugural Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture was held on July 19, 2003, and was delivered by President William Jefferson Clinton. The second Annual Lecture was delivered by Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu on November 23, 2004. The third Annual Lecture was delivered on July, 19 2005 by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, MP, from Kenya. The fourth Annual Lecture was delivered by President Thabo Mbeki on July 29, 2006.
The four Annual Lectures delivered to date demonstrate the diverse views of the four eminent people who delivered them, as well as the common thread that they share with Mr Mandela: compassion with and concern for all those who are marginalised and whose voices are not heard.
The Fifth Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture is available through;
- SABC Africa transmits its broadcast live at 4:30pm–6:00pm
- SABCNews.com streams live at 5:00pm
- Safm will have a delayed transmission at 8:05pm
- SABC 2 will broadcast edit 9:00pm
- SABC News International will transmit delayed on July23, 2007 at 10:05am – 11:30am and repeat at 3:05pm - 4:30pm
For media accreditation please email your first name, surname and ID/Passport Number to mphoj@globalinterface.co.za
The full speech will also be published on the Foundation’s website.