After a long illness, Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, died at age 95 on December 5, 2013.
This day will always serve as a reminder of the moment the world bid farewell to Tata Nelson Mandela.
To celebrate the life of Madiba and acknowledge the substantial contribution he has made to our lives, the Nelson Mandela Foundation has planned a series of events to reflect on his passing and our gift of freedom.
The Foundation will mark this period of remembrance by hosting a few events this month:
- On December 5 they are partnering with the Market Theatre to host an artist tribute called “Letters from Mandela” with music, dance and recitals from Madiba’s letters.
- It will hone in on interesting relationships he had with different people that are recorded in the form of letters in the Foundation’s archives.
- Letters from Mandela aims to find some of the warmest moments of Mandela: the man, the father, the son, the comrade and the son of the African soil.
- James Ngcobo is the artistic director of the production.
- On December 12 we’ve partnered with the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in the Gauteng Province to co-host the second Nelson Mandela Remembrance Walk in Pretoria. The walk covers the route from 1 Military Hospital to the Union Buildings, which is now part of the City of Tshwane’s Heritage Route.
- Finally, on December 15 they are hosting another dialogue titled “Imagining Futures”. Panelists include:
o Boitumelo “Tumi” Molekane, rapper and poet,;
o Trudi Makhaya, Rhodes Scholar and business woman; and
o Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, student leader,
“These events are part celebration as we look back and give thanks but, importantly, they look ahead to what needs to be achieved. I think it’s an appropriate inter-generational tribute to Madiba,” said Sello Hatang, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
