Celebrating Mandela’s 100th birthday in South Africa
What an honour to be here in South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday. It’s been an incredible week in Joburg and I’m sure today will be a fitting way to mark Madiba’s centenary.
The day started in the most wonderful fashion as we got to visit our dear friend and former Elders Chair Archbishop Tutu for breakfast. Arch was his usual cheeky, warm-hearted self, and even started an impromptu happy birthday song for yours truly. Thanks Arch!
Yesterday was a day we will never forget, from opening the Sparks of Hope Peace Park, to hearing President Obama discuss Madiba’s legacy and his own hopes for the future in the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture. It was truly inspiring – I’ll share more thoughts on it soon.
Today we are very honoured to be continuing Madiba’s long walk to freedom. The Elders, activists, freedom fighters, justice defenders, advocates for social justice and young leaders will honour 100 Sparks of Hope, working for peace, health, justice and equality around the world.
I’ll be sharing from Constitution Hill as we #WalkTogether to honour Madiba, and you can livestream speeches from the likes of Graça Machel, Kofi Annan, Mary Robinson, Lakhdar Brahimi and other leading lights supporting #WalkTogether, including many Sparks of Hope. Head over to The Elders Facebook page to watch.