International Nelson Mandela Day

Nelson Mandela International Day or Mandela Day is celebrated on 18th July every year globally to celebrate his life and legacy. It was inspired by the struggle of the late hero, who at his 90th birthday celebrations in London’s Hyde Park said: “Where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done.” The day was launched in 2009 via a unanimous decision taken by the UN General Assembly.

An interesting fact about this day is that it is also known as 67 minutes for Mandela. But why 67? Many speculated that it is because of his prison cell number in Robben Island. However, that is not the case. Nelson Mandela spent 67 years of his life to make this world a better place, and so one minute of Mandela Day is counted for each year that he served the country. This is why people try to do something good during these 67 minutes.

The theme of Mandela Day 2020 is to “Take action, inspire change and make every day a Mandela Day.” The day we share the important lessons we have learned during this pandemic and what successes we have achieved.

This global pandemic has brought huge economic challenges aggravating the old ones. In such testing times, we must help those less fortunate than ourselves. To help with this, The Nelson Mandela Foundation has started the Each1Feed1 campaign in South Africa to distribute food hampers to support families for at least 3 months. Learn more about the campaign here.

Mandela Prize

Once every five years starting 2015, the Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize is awarded to two laureates on the occasion of Mandela Day to honor and pay homage to Mandela’s extraordinary life. This award is presented as a tribute to their contributions towards the service of humanity and their achievements. The two laureates are one male and one female who are not from the same geographical region.

A committee of 7 members, in consultation with the UN Secretary-General, decide the prize.

In 2015 the prize was awarded to Dr. Helena Ndume of Namibia, who worked towards treating blindness and eye-related illness worldwide. The other was Mr. Jorge Fernando Branco Sampaio of Portugal, a leader in the struggle to restore democracy in Portugal.

Nelson Mandela Rules

In 2015 the UN General Assembly extended the scope of Nelson Mandela Day to promote humane conditions of imprisonment, value the work of prison staff as a social service of importance, and raise awareness about prisoners being continuous members of society.

The United Nations revised the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. As per the recommendation of the Expert Group, the revised rules are now known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules” to honor the legacy of the late President of South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison during his struggle for equality, democracy, global human rights, and promoting a culture of peace.

“It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.” -Nelson Mandela