On 10 November 2009 the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted Mr Mandela’s birthday, 18 July, as Nelson Mandela International Day. This follows the resounding success of the first Mandela Day campaign in South Africa. This year South Africans will join with people around the world spending at least 67 minutes – in honour of Mr Mandela’s own 67-year service to humanity – doing something good for other people.
The 12th May marks 67 days before Mr. Mandela’s 92nd birthday. Mandela Day 2010 was launched at three locations around South Africa with media representatives helping communities in need. We hope that the excitement generated last year will grow and that people will take up the call to “Make everyday a Mandela Day”.
Some initiatives have already taken place. In particular, the 13
th annual
CycAlive event on Human Rights Day, 21 March. This saw 30 teenagers from different backgrounds cycling from Johannesburg to Durban. Jointly organized by Johannesburg’s Torah Academy and the Pace and Moletsane High Schools in Soweto, the trip enabled young people to reach out across the racial and religious divides that so often prevail in our country.
Other events planned between now and 18 July include:
- ‘Bikers for Mandela Day’ in which 30 motor bike riders will ride from Johannesburg starting on 13 July and culminating in Cape Town on 18 July.
- A Mandela Day exhibition which opens at Maponya Mall in early June 2010
- A colloquium and exhibition at the United Nations in New York
- A Mandela Day concert in Madrid
These events are platforms used to encourage people everywhere to undertake activities to uplift their communities, and to make a better world one small step at a time.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is not prescribing what people should do to mark Mandela Day. We hope that people will build on the 2009 experience, where truly creative ways were found to do something good to help to change the life of someone else.