Celebrating Nelson Mandela Day
Mandela Day falls every year on July 18, the day anti-apartheid revolutionary and former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was born. This year the day has deeper resonance as it marks the birth centenary of this charismatic figure.
The United Nations asks individuals around the world to mark Nelson Mandela International Day by making a difference in their communities. Everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better, and Mandela Day is an occasion for everyone to take action and inspire change.
For 67 years Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity- as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.
The centenary is an occasion to reflect on his life and legacy and to follow his call to “make the world a better place.” The South African High Commission in Colombo, in conjunction, has organized a line-up of events around the island.
The first among them was a seminar titled Learning Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela, held at the Galadari Hotel recently, hosted by the Rotary Club of Colombo.
The main event on July 18 will begin at the Independence Square at 9.15 am, with Diplomatic-Corps with Honourary Guard of South Africa’s National Cricket Team (Proteas) paying a floral wreath tribute to Nelson Mandela. This will be followed by the Long Walk to Freedom march led by HC and the cricket team.
On the same day a seminar will take place at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies led by the High Commissioner RP Marks and Proteas team members scheduled at 6pm. On July 24, a Nelson Mandela exhibition and film screening is scheduled at the Colombo Public Library. On July 28 the Colombo Library grounds will host the Children’s Mandela story telling session (10am).
From July 27 -29 there will be film screenings at the National Film Corporation. The film for July 27 is Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation. On July 28, Winnie Mandela, a film on the former president’s wife. The final film on July 29 is to be Sarafina. Each screening will begin at 6.30pm. Nelson Mandela was 95 when he passed away on December 5, 2013, but his work and spirit are very much alive, encapsulated in his memorable words “what counts in life is not that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”