Obama to deliver Mandela lecture
‘We believe it is fitting that president Obama delivers the lecture’
THE Nelson Mandela Foundation said it was fitting that former US president Barack Obama will deliver the 16th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture.
The foundation and the Obama Foundation announced yesterday that Obama will deliver the lecture in Johannesburg on July 17.
To honour the centennial of Madiba’s birth, the lecture’s theme will be “Renewing the Mandela Legacy and Promoting Active Citizenship in a Changing World”.
The lecture will focus on creating conditions for bridging divides, working across ideological lines, and resisting oppression and inequality.
“We were hoping president Obama will honour this invitation because he shares a lot with Madiba.
“They were not only the first black presidents of their countries, but also people who had fought for civil rights throughout the world.
“We believe it is fitting that president Obama delivers the lecture on Madiba’s centenary year,” said Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Sello Hatang.
The lecture will take place a day before Nelson Mandela International Day, and will be held at the Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg. About 4 000 people are expected to attend.
“For most of his life, Nelson Mandela fought for democracy and equality.
“His presidency was defined by his efforts to solidify the fragile democracy of South Africa, and by his lessons on the politics of ‘bridge-building’ over the politics of division,” said the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The lecture has been described as a unique platform to drive debate on critical social issues in South Africa and around the world.
The 2017 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture was delivered in Cape Town by UN deputy secretary-general Amina J Mohammed.
Mohammed addressed the theme “Centring gender: reducing inequality through inclusion”.
Previous speakers include global thought leaders and change-makers, including ex-presidents Bill Clinton, Thabo Mbeki, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Mary Robinson and Michelle Bachelet; Nobel laureates Kofi Annan, Wangari Maathai, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Muhammad Yunus; professors Ariel Dorfman, Thomas Piketty and Ismail Serageldin; and philanthropists Bill Gates and Mo Ibrahim.