Nelson Mandela

Making a difference on Mandela Mondays

Share |

30 March 2011

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has come up with a new way of honouring Madiba that goes beyond the internationally recognised Nelson Mandela Day on 18 July – and closer to its ideal of making "every day a Mandela day".

Unveiling plans for the 2011 Nelson Mandela International Day in Johannesburg on Monday, the foundation introduced the concept of Mandela Mondays, urging people everywhere to spend as little as five minutes every Monday doing something small to change someone's life, some community or some part of the environment for the better.

The formal kick-off of Mandela Monday is 1 June 2011, though many people will start observing Mandela Mondays earlier.

Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Achmat Dangor said it remains the work of the foundation to affect change within communities, empowering them to change the world around them.

"Each Monday, give a small amount of your time, wherever you can, to spreading the message that change is in your hands," Dangor said.

The theme for Mandela Day 2011 is "change", and 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 did.

Helene Hoedl, deputy director of the United Nations Information Centre in Pretoria, said Mandela embodies great values, adding that the UN supports the foundation's commitment to making every day Mandela Day.

"We declared Nelson Mandela Day an International Day in recognition of his ongoing struggle and outstanding contribution to growing a democratic South Africa and elsewhere on the continent," Hoedl said.

Key events for Mandela Day 2011 include a university students' panel on 23 May, where students will discuss what Mandela Day means to them, as well as a public figures' panel, where they will announce their intentions for Mandela Day, on 20 June.

Last year, Mandela Day was marked by acts of goodwill in communities around the world.

Source: BuaNews



	Children from Nelson Mandela's two childhood villages in the Transkei travelled to Johannesburg to wish him happy 92nd birthday, July 2010 (Photo: Nelson Mandela Foundation)