What will you do on Mandela Day?
14 July 2010
Mandela Day, 18 July, an international day officially recognised by the United Nations, is a call to action for people everywhere to take responsibility for making the world a better place, one small step at a time, just as Mandela himself did.
"Nelson Mandela spent more than 67 years serving his community, his country, and the world at large," the Nelson Mandela Foundation notes. "On Mandela Day, people are called to devote just 67 minutes of their time to changing the world for the better, in a small gesture of solidarity with humanity, and in a small step towards a continuous, global movement for good."
July 18 is also, of course, the great man's birthday – this year he turns 92.
Last year's inaugural Mandela Day was a resounding success, with hundreds of community service events taking place around the world.
"The response around the world has been phenomenal," Mandela Foundation CEO Achmat Dangor said recently. "Last year in New York we had the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, packing food parcels ... [This year] we expect that all around the world people will develop community-oriented initiatives.
"For example, Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai has announced that she intends campaigning for millions of people to plant 67 trees each."
Dangor pointed out that while Mandela's birthday on 18 July was the high point of Mandela Day, the idea was to encourage people ultimately to see every day as a Mandela Day.
"Everybody can utilise Madiba's legacy to start a movement for good, by giving 67 minutes to help a community."
Ruth Rensburg, the Mandela Foundation's resource development manager, said Mandela Day should not be treated as a holiday. "It's not a day to sit back. It's a day to make a difference," Rensburg said.
"It can be a conversation, it can be an action, it can even be something that you do on your way home from work."
SAinfo reporter
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