• June 11, 2008

The celebrations for Madiba’s 90th birthday have already started. This is a year-long occasion with events ranging from exhibitions, dialogues, book launches, 46664 concerts and the sixth annual Nelson Mandela Lecture. Our focus is on ‘a celebration of ideas’ and while there will be shows and musical events, they too are aimed assisting our ongoing work in social justice work started by Madiba and the perpetuation of his ideals of freedom, non-racism and gender equality.

Four years ago Mr Mandela announced his official retirement and is determined now to spend as much time as he can with his friends and family. For this reason and because the three Mandela organisations have taken up the mantle of his work, this year will be a mixture of celebrations and the continuation of our work to promote his vision.

In order of date, excluding a few surprises set to be announced in July, the events are:

• From March to July: A newspaper series of six interviews to honour Mr Mandela will be published on the Nelson Mandela Foundation website.
• A global “birthday wishes campaign”, soon to be launched internationally, will give people all around the globe the opportunity to send their personal messages to Nelson Mandela through the following mediums: SMS, MMS and online.
• 12 March: A new exhibition called Parenting a Nation: Walter & Albertina Sisulu will be launched with the Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Centre for Africa, at Mandela House. It will be opened by Archbishop Desmond Tutu who will give the keynote address.
• 14 March: A reunion and dialogue with the surviving former trialists from the trials in which Mr Mandela was an accused, together with others, namely the Defiance Campaign Trial, the 1956 Treason Trial and the Rivonia Trial. (In collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden).
• March to November: A series of youth community dialogues, essay and arts competitions focused on Mr Mandela’s leadership and the Vision of an African Child. In partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Childrens’ Fund.
• 27 June: 46664 90th Birthday Concert at Hyde Park in London to celebrate Mr Mandela’s life and legacy on an international scale
• The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund will hold a series of Children’s Parliaments in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It will culminate in a joint sitting via satellite in June.
• June: Launch of the 46664 precious metals bangles by Coutts Inc. and 46664, with limited edition 90th birthday bangles in silver, gold and platinum produced for a special fundraising event in London.
• 5 July at Constitution Hill: Launch of Hunger for Freedom: The Story of Food in the Life of Nelson Mandela by Anna Trapido (in collaboration with Jacana Media).
• 9 July: “Celebrate a Children’s Champion at 90” is the theme of the annual Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund celebration. 
• July 12: Her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the President of Liberia, will deliver the sixth annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown, Soweto.
• July: Release of the Madiba Legacy Series comics published as a book with the title Nelson Mandela: The Authorised Comic Book (in collaboration with Jonathan Ball Publishers).
• July: The launch of a Mandela Rhodes Foundation young leaders’ facility in the Western Cape.
• August: Launch in Atlanta, USA of a 15-city American tour of “A Portrait of Mandela”, a spectacular symphonic presentation staged by Msomi-Duhart Enterprises.
• August: The Malibongwe Dialogues, to celebrate the role of women in society, will be launched as an annual event with the Department of Arts and Culture.
• 24 September: The opening of a major retrospective exhibition on Mr Mandela’s life and times at the Apartheid Museum.
• 18 September: 46664 have been awarded the only slot reserved annually for a charity event at the Royal Albert Hall in London. A spectacular entertainment event is being planned.
• 30 November: The annual 46664 World Aids Day concert will be held on the Saturday before World Aids Day in Rio de Janiero.
• December: The launch of the first annual “Promise of Leadership Dialogue” involving leaders from South Africa and other African countries (in partnership with The Mandela Rhodes Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Foundation).
• The Nelson Mandela Institute for Education and Rural Development will announce a five year developmental programme, with the Department of Education to identify and support a network of rural school communities called the Mandela School Community Network. A book of poetry will be launched as a birthday gift to Mr Mandela from the learners of the Eastern Cape.
• Under the banner of ‘Justice in Education in Our Lifetime,’ the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Institute for Education and Rural Development will launch a series of public dialogue platforms inspired by Mr Mandela’s commitment to public education.