Nelson Mandela turned 93 … and the whole world is Celebrated !!!

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, center, with family members, from left, Zaziwe Manaway, Ziphokazi Manaway, Princess Zenani Dlamini, Zamaswazi Dlamini and Zamak Obiri at Mandela’s hometown in Qunu, South Africa. (Peter Morey)

 

The United Nations office (UNO) Baku joined people around the world to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s birthday, hailing the man whose fight against the apartheid regime, his imprisonment and subsequent rise to power captivated hearts and minds around the globe. In doing so, UN DPI’s team joined forces with the youth NGO IRELI Public Union, along with representatives of various organizations such as Azerbaijani Youth Integration to Europe (AGAT), NATO International School of Azerbaijan (NISA) and International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF)to organize an inspiring event that occurred on 16 July 2011.

Encouraging participants to do 67 minutes of voluntary work to mark the 67 years Mandela spent struggling against apartheid and fighting for people’s rights, Envera Selimovic, the Representative of the UN DPI in Azerbaijan, introduced the main points of the UN Secretary General’s message dedicated to the Nelson Mandela day that was screened subsequently. Selimovic also explained that the UN General Assembly’s resolution recognized Nelson Mandela’s “values and his dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups, as well as the upliftment of poor and underdeveloped communities.”

Screening of the documentary film “Mandela: Son of Africa, father of a nation”, produced by the Nelson Mandela Foundation which captured the full drama of the South African Leader, Nelson Mandela’s life, followed immediately after by a personal story of another son of Africa, Nick Nwolisa who works for the Baku based NGO, International Eurasia Press Fund.

Born in Nigeria Mr. Nwolisa proudly spoke about his native hero Mandela and cited him as his role model for life. He also stated that although Mandela could be seen as an ordinary man just like him and many other men in Africa, his strong personality made him one of a kind and a symbol for millions of oppressed that are still suffering gravely around the world. “He inspired South Africans to continue the struggle for the change the country so desperately needs,” Nwolisa said.

Among the various speakers the director of the NATO International school of Azerbaijan, Tamerlan Kazimov also expressed his appreciation to the UN office for organizing such an event, which proved to be uplifting and inspiring for all participants. “Nelson Mandela united a nation and proved that the impossible is attainable and he has reaffirmed our common potential to move towards a new age,” said Tamerlan.

After a heated but inspired back and forth debate, the day’s closing event involved the UN DPI team serving sweets and screening another great movie “Invictus” – the biographical sport drama based on the John Carlin book “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that changed a nation”.

South Africa unites to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 93rd birthday.

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CBC NEWS of the activities last this week that occurred.

A Celebration of Women