NELSON MANDELA MONTH KEY MESSAGES

Transcription

1 NELSON MANDELA MONTH KEY MESSAGES BRIEF: Every year on 18 July South Africans together with the international community honour our former president and international icon Nelson Mandela. We embrace Madiba s values and honour his legacy through humanitarian acts and initiatives that acknowledge his neverending quest to change the world for the better. The overarching objective of Nelson Mandela International Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere to Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day. President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address announced that this year Mandela Day would be celebrated by working to clean up the South Africa. The President encouraged all South Africans to dedicate 67 minutes of their time to clean South Africa. President Zuma said: Let us begin planning for a major clean-up of our cities, town, township, villages, schools and beautify every part of our country. Nelson Mandela International Day was officially adopted by the United Nations in November 2009 as an annual international day. The UN noted it Mandela's "values and his dedication to the service of humanity" and acknowledging his contribution "to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world". The idea is to do something that will benefit those around us on Nelson Mandela International Day was inspired by Mandela himself at his 90 th birthday celebration in London's Hyde Park in 2008, when he said: "It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now." Today the Nelson Mandela International Day campaign asks that individuals, groups and corporates pledge 67 minutes of their time on 18 July, and every day thereafter, to give back. This year's Nelson Mandela International Day is particularly symbolic for South Africans as it is the first one since former president Nelson Mandela's passing. It offers South Africans and the world, an occasion to honour the ethos of the late former President Mandela in the year that also marks South Africa's 20 Years of Freedom. Page 1 of 3

2 KEY MESSAGES Let us clean-up South Africa this Mandela Day. Let us honour the memory of our icon by making this the best Nelson Mandela Day. We can celebrate Madiba s life by doing what he loved. Let us make every day a Mandela Day. Mandela s legacy continues to live on through our actions. SUPPORTING STATEMENTS Government encourages all South Africans to dedicate 67 minutes of their time to clean South Africa. Let us practice a healthier and cleaner way of living by taking care of our environment and cleaning up the areas where they live. We can beautify our country by getting together for a major clean-up of our cities, town, township, villages and schools. Litter has a simple solution, it belongs in a bin. South Africa could be litter-free if all 52-million of us place our litter where it belongs Nelson Mandela has been one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero who embarked on a lifelong dedication to the fight against injustice and racial oppression. Nelson Mandela International Day is dedicated to the service of our fellow human beings by actively helping to change their circumstances. It is a global call to action for people everywhere to take responsibility for changing the world into a better place. Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to the struggle for social justice and to make the country and world a better place. Every South African has the opportunity to do their bit on 18 July by doing something for 67 minutes that will make a difference for a lifetime. Individuals, communities and businesses can donate their time by supporting a charity or serving their local community. No matter how small the action, the aim is to change the world for the better - just as Mandela did. To celebrate Madiba s life, we need to stay true to his ideals, including his unwavering commitment to justice, equality and a non-racial South Africa. All South Africans have a responsibility to promote freedom and defend our democracy in honour of Madiba s life-long commitment to these ideals. His legacy lives on in our commitment to ensure a just and fair society for all, including the rights to dignity and freedom of expression. Government remains determined to ensure that all South Africans, without exception enjoy all the rights enshrined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We have pledged as a nation under the leadership of Nelson Mandela that never again shall one person be oppressed by another. We must pursue the dreams and aspirations of Nelson Mandela as we continue to respect the Page 2 of 3

3 basic human rights; and remain committed to the rule of law and Constitution. Working together we can move South Africa forward to overcome the challenge of unemployment, poverty, inequality and diseases. We must all make it our duty to translate our Constitutional guarantees into reality for all South Africans to enjoy. Page 3 of 3

4 THE NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN 2014/2015 An Initiative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation Nelson Mandela International Day (Mandela Day) was launched in 2009 on Nelson Mandela s birthday on 18 July as a core initiative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. It was inspired by a call that the late Nelson Mandela made a year earlier, for the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world s social injustices when he said it is in your hands now. During 2009, the UN General Assembly unanimously declared 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day. No matter how small the action, the aim is to change the world for the better, just as Mr Mandela did, every day. The impact of Mandela Day is not just local but global as well. We are part of a global community and South Africa has the ability and opportunity to position itself and the African continent within the world as an intrinsic example of what is possible when people come together because we have the rare experience of a country that emerged from the morass of deeply rooted racial, cultural and political divides. This is a powerful platform to grow from and share but we have to work at this every single day in a consistent and sustainable manner is particularly symbolic as we work to honour a great South African statesman and make every day a Mandela Day as we mark South Africa s 20 years of democratic freedom. Madiba followed three rules through- out his life which he did at great personal sacrifice: 1. Free yourself, 2. Free others, and 3. Serve every day. If the legacy of Nelson Mandela s life and work is to be dynamic and continue to have affect, it must be owned by current and future generations. It must be accessible to everyone, and applied in constantly changing contexts of time and place. The Mandela Day campaign was inaugurated as such a vehicle to achieve this. The message behind this campaign is simple that each individual has the ability and responsibility to impact positive change every day. Its objective is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so, to build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. 1

5 Individuals and organisations are free to participate in Mandela Day as they wish. We do, however, urge them to find inspiration for their contribution in the legacy of Nelson Mandela and to adhere to the ethical framework of service to one s fellow human every day. One man s vision has indeed inspired a global movement for good. On 8 April, 2014, the Nelson Mandela Foundation will launch the 2014/2015 Nelson Mandela International Day Campaign at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory together with valued partners including the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the United Nations to local and international media, civil society, diplomatic corps corporate South Africa, the donor community, government and other key stakeholders. The launch will be used as a platform to grow the momentum and support for Mandela Day both locally and internationally and enable the Foundation to spread a message of hope and action so that each individual can honour this great South African statesman. The Nelson Mandela Foundation will focus on the following key delivery pillars for the Mandela Day Campaign 2014/2015 in the realisation of human dignity: How to serve? : Food Security: The Nelson Mandela Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and other key stakeholders (including, for example, Tiger Brands and Vodacom) has identified the distribution of food parcels as one of its core projects to be launched at this year s Mandela Day campaign in March 2014 as part of a three year long- term initiative to drive food security. Food insecurity is not just a global concern but is affecting South Africa too. According to a research report released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in August, only 45,6% of the South African population is food secure. Through this initiative, the Foundation would like to secure funding from corporate South Africa and international donors to distribute food parcels between 2014 and Nelson Mandela Foundation 2

6 School feeding programmes are increasingly being viewed as a potential safety net and as a social support measure that helps keep children in school. In response to the shocks of the global food, fuel, and financial crises, countries looked to implement school feeding as a rapidly scalable social protection mechanism. Feeding a vulnerable learner an in- school meal is only sustainable during the school year and in South Africa s case the DBE feeds over 2 million learners across quintile 1,2,3 schools a staple meal at least once every school day of the year. The challenge facing South Africa is that we have no guarantee that the child is receiving the required minimal nutritional intake during school holidays. The South African school calendar only accounts for 211 school days in the year which means that the same learners that are dependent on a daily cooked meal or two they receive at school have no means of sustenance during the balance of the year. Schools holidays present a risk to many of the learners as food security is a very real concern in their communities. The July and December holidays are especially difficult as many learners will experience hunger resulting in levels of malnutrition being evident on their return to school. The food parcel project is focused on those learners and families currently benefitting from the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in order to maintain the nutrition platform and value created by the NSNP. The focus is currently on rural schools across all nine provinces as beneficiaries. Those learners so dependent on the NSNP will be given basic food items for the July and December school holidays. We are therefore looking to partner with key stakeholders in the donor community with whom we share the vision to provide and sustain human dignity through the promotion of socio- economic development in the achievement of social cohesion, for the next three years to assist us in creating and distributing food parcels to identified schools (in consultation and collaboration with DBE) on break- up day in July and in December of each year. The total target is food parcels over the period. Education & Literacy: South Africa s democratic vision is about making it possible to give our youth a fighting chance. To give every person the opportunity to try. Education is still the foundation of this opportunity. And the most basic building block that holds that foundation together is still literacy. At the dawn of the 21st century, in a world where Nelson Mandela Foundation 3

7 knowledge truly is power and literacy is the skill that unlocks the gates of opportunity and success, we all have a responsibility as parents, as caregivers, as educators, as leaders and as citizens, to instil in our children the critical drive for literacy and learning so that we can give them the chance to fulfil their dreams. Leadership through Literacy - The Mandela Day Libraries Initiatives speaks to the above and covers the provision of traditional and technological literacy programmes with skills development. The aim is to achieve at least 67 such programme manifestations in Shelter: The shelter initiative is action that brings people together to build homes, communities and a future. A home is instrumental in breaking the cycle if indignity from one generation to the next. It is a foundation for growth and development. The project is achieved through volunteers and the donor community facilitated by partners like Habitat for Humanity. The target for shelter initiatives will be set with key partners by end February 2014 with the ability to extend reach through the Technical College institutions and practical internships. Trading Live Connecting People through Service: A concept created and implemented by Rhodes University in the EC, this concept is premised the basic idea that individuals give of their time to build new relationships of reciprocity in their communities. By making offers and requests to trade their skills, talents, interests or hobbies with other interested parties, participants form wide ranging networks of connections based on community solidarity. The aim is to ignite new connections that can build long term relationships founded on reciprocity, mutuality and respect. In collaboration with Rhodes as concept pioneer, the NMF would like to extend the project to key metropoles locally and internationally working with identified academic institutions and local government bodies to create platforms and practical opportunities for such connections. Nelson Mandela Foundation 4

8 Participation and Volunteerism: The global call to action for public service: This covers the activities by publics in terms of the 67 minutes - leg of the Mandela Day Campaign or general contributions and special Mandela Day events, eg: The Kaya FM Relay for Mandela Day etc. The Nelson Mandela Day launch event signifies the 2014 commencement of Mandela Day activities across the globe, where community champions and changemakers play their part by living Mr Mandela s legacy through the recognition of his lifetime commitment to freedom and service to one s fellow man. To find out more about Nelson Mandela International Day, please visit the Mandela Day website (link to or e- mail at mailto:mandeladay@nelsonmandela.org). Nelson Mandela Foundation 5

9 Nelson Mandela Foundation / Matthew Willman TM

10 Nelson Mandela Foundation / Debbie Yazbek as long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no south african should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom. - nelson mandela

11 Nelson Mandela Foundation / Matthew Willman