July 18, 2018 (Wednesday) marked 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela, the iconic South African Civil Rights leader. Underling universal values on peace, forgiveness, integrity, passion, respect and service, Nelson Mandela was an exemplar of dedication to advocate peace and promote social equality. Indisputably regarded as the leading figure of theUnited Nations, Nelson Mandela was renowned for recognising human rights with courage and compassion.
In honour of Nelson Mandela’s Centenary, the book titled “The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela” was officially launched today at the United Nations Headquarters. Enclosed with 255 personal letters, the book provided a remarkable insight into how the imprisoned Mandela maintained his inner spirits and engaged with the outside world. Not only did the letters underscore the importance of recognising human rights, Nelson Mandela also seized the opportunities of writing letters to draw attention from outside world to gender-based injustice issues back to the late 20th century.
“Whatever happened in prison, Nelson Mandela would keep his personality and treat everybody with the greatest dignity and respect.” said Ms. Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, the granddaughter of Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela’s global vision to revolutionise the movement of civil rights shall continue to impact on our world.
Date/Location: Friday 20th July 2018; 14:00 to 15:00; United Nations Bookshop, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY
Speaker(s):
Ms. Sahm Venter, Senior Researcher, The Nelson Mandela Foundation
Ms. Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, Granddaughter of Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Mr. Andrew Gilmour, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights
Written by: WIT Representative LAU Chun Ki
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