Nelson Mandela Day: Celebrating Madiba’s Life and Teachings

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

- Nelson Mandela, while speaking at the Rivonia Trial in South Africa, 1964

Most of us know who Nelson Mandela was. Madiba, as he was lovingly called by his well-wishers and supporters, played a pivotal role in ending the apartheid system, a system of racial segregation. He was a great statesman, a fierce advocate for equality, and the founding father of peace in South Africa. Mandela devoted 67 years of his life to the service of humanity—as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacekeeper, and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.

To celebrate Mandela’s contribution to promoting peace and equality in society, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 18, his birthday, as Nelson Mandela International Day in 2009. On this very day, Madiba asked people all around the globe to honor him by helping their communities. 

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Honoring and Celebrating Madiba’s Life and Work

The UN’s decision to celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day was inspired by a call Nelson Mandela made a year earlier, for the next generation to take on the leadership burden in addressing the world’s social injustices when he said that “it is in your hands now”.

The Day is more than a celebration of Madiba’s life and legacy; it is a global movement to honor his life’s work and to change the world for the better. It celebrates the man who changed the 20th century and helped shape the 21st. On this day, we should all strive to imbibe the values that inspired the great Nelson Mandela: absolute determination, a deep commitment to justice, human rights and fundamental freedom, a profound belief in the equality and dignity of all men and women, and a relentless engagement for dialogue and solidarity across all lines and divisions.

“His mission as an anti-apartheid revolutionary was establishing equality and freedom for all women, men and children. He stood for the fundamental rights of all human beings, regardless of gender, nationality, or race. This is also the very ideal for which Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years. Despite his imprisonment, Nelson Mandela continued to believe in these ideals, and upon his release, continued to put them into practice.” 

- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO.

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During times of turbulence, Madiba showed us the power of resisting oppression, of dignity over humiliation, of justice over inequality, and of forgiveness over hatred. As the global community takes forward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and aims to overcome new sources of adversity, let us all recall the lessons of Nelson Mandela’s life, and the essential humanism that guided him: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Nelson Mandela International Day 2022 

This year, on Nelson Mandela International Day, the Nelson Mandela Foundation will be highlighting the plight of food security and climate change with the tagline, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

You can do the following things on International Nelson Mandela Day 2022 as a mark of respect for the great leader:

• Plant and grow fresh, organic, and affordable products and make them accessible to impoverished communities.

• Plant and grow indigenous trees for the well-being of all. Importance should be given to growing fruit trees in support of food production for vulnerable communities.

• Invest in sustainable food production platforms that help vulnerable communities sell a variety of naturally grown produce.

• Embrace home and community planting to provide nutritious food for grassroots communities and, at the same time, address the challenges of climate change by reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

  
  

Contribute to a Child’s Education 

Nelson Mandela was a staunch promoter of education for all. During his lifetime, he, along with his party, African National Congress (ANC), contributed to the education of almost 1.5 million children in South Africa. If you would also like to contribute towards educating a child belonging to an impoverished community, you can do so by starting an education fundraiser on crowdfunding platforms like ImpactGuru. 

Education is important for each and every child. It has the power to maintain global peace. Also, the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that children acquire through education eventually helps our world flourish. Now is the time to make our dreams tomorrow’s reality by educating every child. Start an education fundraiser right away to provide every child with the future they dream of and to build a better future for society as a whole.

Image source: Getty Images, Freepik