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Who We Are

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, fondly known to many as Madiba, is loved and respected throughout the world as one of the truly great moral and political leaders of our time. He is an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression has won him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Born on 18 July 1918 in a rural village near Umtata in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape) in South Africa and the foster son of a Thembu chief, Nelson Mandela was raised in the traditional, tribal culture of his ancestors. From a young age, he decided to become a lawyer and set his sights on the freedom struggle of his people, a struggle waged against the apartheid system, one of the most powerful and oppressive systems of racial discrimination history has ever experienced.

Thus began a journey that led to Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape, and later to Johannesburg where he studied and worked as a law clerk. It was during those years that Nelson Mandela came into contact with the key figures that stimulated his political awakening and his later involvement in political activities. A milestone during the 1940s was Mr Mandela’s role in the rebirth of the ANC (African National Congress) and the formation of its Youth League. Although the ANC continued its peaceful protests and petitions to national and international government and authorities, younger members had begun to realise that harsher measures would be required when all channels of peaceful protest began to become exhausted.

Nelson Mandela became increasingly involved in underground political activities fighting for freedom and the right to social justice for all, both inside and outside South Africa and during that period he was banned, arrested and imprisoned by the apartheid authorities. In the late 1950s he was one of the accused in the famous Rivonia Treason Trial, together with other great ANC leaders. After the infamous massacre of schoolchildren in Sharpeville, Soweto in 1960, the ANC was banned.

Through all this, Nelson Mandela continued his to fight for his political and social beliefs, often incognito, dressed in various disguises and so successful that he was dubbed the ‘Black Pimpernel’. However, in 1962 he was arrested again and sentenced to life imprisonment. In total, he ended up serving twenty-seven years in prison. The first eighteen years were spent on Robben Island together with other Rivonia trialists such as Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada. In 1984 he was moved to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town and four years later to Victor Verster Prison near Paarl, also in the Cape.

He was released on 11 February 1990 to international recognition and acclaim, and continued his fight for a free democratic South Africa, a country where everyone would be treated as equal – the birth of the Rainbow Nation. In 1994 he became the first democratically elected President of South Africa until his retirement in June 1999. He remains today deeply respected and revered internationally for his unwavering commitment in the fight for human rights, racial equality and social justice.

46664 is supported by South African and international celebrities and 46664 ambassadors. At present there are over 80 international artists and celebrities from the worlds of music, film, TV, sports and politics who are our official ambassadors. No artists are paid for their performance – only their costs are covered.

Concerts and other events are made possible by sponsors such as local governments, philanthropists and international corporations. However, our equally valued supporters are those like yourselves all across the world who attend or watch the 46664 concerts, buy 46664 merchandise, donate money or participate in our outreach campaigns; most importantly people who share Mr. Mandela’s vision to care and support those living with HIV AIDS

The Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1999 to support Mr Mandela’s ongoing work towards the causes he has supported since his retirement as President of South Africa. The Foundation is now focused around the Centre of Memory and Dialogue for Justice, whose aim is to contribute to the making of a just society by promoting Mr Mandela’s vision and work.

46664 is a not-for-profit organisation formed under section 21 of the South African Companies Act. It is wholly owned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation but is run as a separate entity with its own management and Board of Directors. Currently the Board of Directors include Professor Jakes Gerwel (Chairman of the NMF); Achmat Dangor (CEO of the NMF); Shaun Johnson (CEO of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation); Dr. Olive Shisana (CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council) and Tim Massey (International Event Director).