6 July 2015
The Nelson Mandela Foundation, in partnership with Brand South Africa, launches the Play your Part for Madiba campaign today.
“Interventions, such as the Play your Part for Madiba campaign. position the youth as key role players in the country’s drive for social and economic development,” said Mandela Day and outreach manager Yase Godlo.
The campaign calls on citizens to embody the values and spirit of the late leader, Nelson Mandela, and to play their part in growing and developing the country.
Godlo said the three principles followed by Madiba throughout his life were: free yourself, free others and serve every day.
Nelson Mandela International Day is aimed at ensuring the continuation of Madiba’s legacy in making the world a better one for all, through acts of kindness, no matter how small.
“This aims to uphold [former] president Nelson Mandela’s legacy as a moral authority and a symbol of what we can achieve with true dedication to the cause of peace, dignity, reconciliation and forgiveness, and in so doing help to make a difference by building a global movement for good.”
Nelson Mandela International Day was declared by the UN General Assembly by unanimous decision in 2009. It is held on 18 July each year, Mandela’s birthday. The decision was inspired by a call Mandela made in 2008 for the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world’s social injustices.
“It is more than a celebration of Madiba’s life and legacy,” says the foundation. “It is a global movement to honour his life’s work and act to change the world for the better.”
Godlo added: “As the nation and the world remembers the profound and lasting impressions of Madiba, who is recognised and celebrated as an icon for racial equality and freedom, South Africans are encouraged to play their part towards positive change by building their communities and upholding a spirit of ubuntu and social cohesion.
Through its Play your Part for Madiba campaign, Brand South Africa, in partnership with the foundation, calls on citizens to make every day a Mandela Day. South Africa will commemorate the legacy of Tata Mandela, as he was affectionately known, for the whole month of July.
The campaign “aims to uphold Nelson Mandela’s legacy as a moral authority and a symbol of what we can achieve with true dedication to the cause of peace, dignity, reconciliation and forgiveness, and in so doing help to make a difference by building a global movement for good,” says the foundation.
SAinfo reporter
