The British Council is pleased to announce the much anticipated launch of Mandela and Me, an exhibition dedicated to marking the occasion of 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela and linking the centenary to its ongoing program of the Next Generation South Africa, giving voice to South Africa’s youth. In collaboration with our partners Anglo American and the Apartheid Museum, the exhibition in London focusses on Mandela’s legacy and what he means to young South Africans today.
Colm McGivern, Director British Council South Africa explains the rationale behind the exhibition by stating that: “Over the past 6 months, the British Council in South Africa asked hundreds of the young people we work with to tell us what Mandela means to them. The results, represented in this exhibition by some learners highlight that Mandela is still revered as the father of the rainbow nation, and his words, philosophies, and beliefs still resonate and are widely known and understood.”
The exhibition launched on Thursday, 5 July 2018, with a host of speakers which included British Council CEO, Sir Ciarán Devane, Minister of Parliament, Harriett Baldwin, South African Deputy High Commissioner to the UK, Golden Neswiswi, Anglo American’s Head of Government Relations, Richard Morgan , The Right Honourable Lord Hain and our youth ambassadors from South Africa.
The unique nature of the exhibition is the juxtaposing of the famous words and images of Mandela with those of some of the young people that he has inspired. The young people’s views are elevated alongside those of Tata Madiba and are testament to the power of his legacy for the words of the young people are often as lyrical and inspiring as his own. British Council works with Anglo American at some of its mines in rural South Africa, with programs like Active Citizens and most recently the Micro:Bit coding-for-kids project. Anglo American has provided sponsorship in support of the production and has taken 8 learners (5 learners from Rustenburg and 3 learners from Limpopo) to London for the opening of the exhibition. All of the learners feature in the exhibition.
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Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #MandelaAndMe
For further information or requests, please contact:
Charlotte Ramparsad, Communications Manager, British Council
charlotte.ramparsad@britishcouncil.org.za, 011560 9348