20 things to be proud of

Here are some of the country’s most noteworthy accolades from the past 20 years.

· In April 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections, which saw the ANC voted into power and struggle icon Nelson Mandela become president.

· In June of that year, South Africa also re-joined the Commonwealth and reclaimed its seat at the United Nations after being banned.

· In 1995, South Africa hosted and won the Rugby World Cup for the first time. Prior to 1994 South Africa was banned from participating in international sports events.

– The interim constitution agreed to to end apartheid and was replaced by a new constitution. In 1996, The Republic of South Africa Constitution Bill was adopted. On this occasion,Thabo Mbeki made the powerful ‘I Am an African’ speech on behalf of the African National Congress.

· In the same year, South Africa hosted and won the Africa Cup of Nations Tournament. It was the national team’s second appearance in the tournament under coach Clive Barker.

· South African athletes have brought home 46 medals since the country re-entered the Olympic in 1996. In 2012, South Africans won three gold medals at the London Olympics.

· South Africa was accepted into the Unesco World Heritage Convention in 1997, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. Since then Robben Island, fossil hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and environs, Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Vredefort Dome, and uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park were named World Heritage Sites.

· In 2000, now South African politician, Mamphela Ramphele became one of the four managing directors of the World Bank. Ramphela was later named Africa’s Richest Women on the Forbes list in 2011. She was one of nine African women worth at least USD $50 million.

· In April 2002, South African entrepreneur and space tourist Mark Shuttleworth launched into space and journeyed to the International Space Station. Shuttleworth spent eight days aboard the space station, where he conducted scientific experiments for South Africa.

· South African novelist, essayist, linguist, translator John Maxwell ‘JM’ Coetzee received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. His first book, Dusklands, was published in South Africa in 1974.

· South African born actress, Charlize Theron won an Oscar for Best Actress in 2004 for her role in the film Monster.

· In 2006, Tsotsi, by South African director Gavin Hood won the Oscar for best foreign language film. The film also received one Golden Globe nomination for best foreign language film and two Bafta nominations.

· Australopithecus sediba, the most complete fossil skeletons, were found at Malapa, South Africa, in 2008. The skeletons believed to be between 1.977 and 1.98 million years old could have far-reaching implications for the scope of anthropological research.

· In 2009, President Jacob Zuma was featured on the cover of Time magazine’s Africa edition. He was later also named in the magazine’s annual list of the most 100 influential people in the world. Meanwhile on 24 April, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela was named in the same list.

· South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

· In December that year, South Africa was formally asked to join the Bric group of major emerging markets; comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China.

· In this year, Cape Town’s Table Mountain was also named one of the world’s new seven wonders of nature.

· On 15 July 2012, South African politician Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected by the African Union Commission as its chairperson, making her the first woman to lead the organisation.

· South Africa hosted several international conferences such as the One Young World Summit for youth leaders, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Mayors Summit in Joburg and the 5th Brics Summit in Durban.

· The first of 64 antennas that will make up South Africa’s new radio telescope – MeerKAT – was officially launched in 2014.