The Arch celebrated with annual peace lecture
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation on Friday celebrated what would have been Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s 91st birthday by hosting the 12th Annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture at the Cape Town City Hall.
This year, the foundation brought together two exceptional keynote speakers to deliver the lecture under the theme “A Vision for Hope and Healing”.
Deputy Secretary-general of the United Nations Amina J Mohammed’s address called on the world as a global village to pursue courageous hope and healing, based on principles rooted in pragmatism. While, best-selling author and longtime collaborator of archbishop Tutu, Doug Abrams, looked at hope as an agent of resistance in the face of growing despair.
Vicky Sampson opened the lecture with a beautiful rendition of “My African Dream”, backed by the glorious sounds of the South African Youth Choir. This was followed by a powerful performance by poet Siphokazi Jonas.
Every year the foundation hosts the peace lecture, a flagship event that draws on the convening power of the foundation to showcase, amplify and mobilise action towards peace.
The origin of the peace lecture lies in the experience of the South African government refusing His Holiness the Dalai Lama a visa to participate in Archbishop Tutu’s 80th birthday in 2011. In response, the first lecture was launched and hosted online to amplify the Dalai Lama and his people’s struggle for peace.