Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele launched the initiative, named after 13-year-old Zenani who was killed in a car crash last year, with a call for South Africans to campaign for an end to road deaths.

Zenani was former President Nelson Mandela’s great granddaughter.

Ndebele said the scholarship will help educate citizens about road safety and contribute to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action, which is also a key part of Mandela Day.

“We used the occasion to remind the world that while it is the living who close the eyes of the dead, it is the dead who must open the eyes of the living,” he said.

The scholarship reflected the ethos and values of the Mandela family and Nelson Mandela Foundation, in helping young people to make a difference in their own communities and society as a whole.

Ndebele said the scholarship was established to inspire the young leaders of South Africa to join a global movement, as represented by the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, which aims to save millions of lives over the next 10 years.

The successful candidate is given the opportunity to learn with and from other talented professionals from around the world, with the common aim of improving road safety.

Zoleka Mandela, the late Zenani’s mother, said: “A crash robbed me of my daughter. My heart is already broken, but what makes this even worse is that so often road accidents are preventable.”

Meanwhile, Ndebele has expressed shock at the death of 13 Malawian nationals killed in a road crash on Sunday near Louis Trichardt in Limpopo.

According to traffic officials, 41 others were injured as the driver of the bus coming from Malawi, apparently loss control when the brakes failed. It is reported that the bus was un-roadworthy and its license had expired, with Ndebele saying the deaths could have been avoided.

Source: BUA News

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The renaming and opening of the road ceremony, led by Mayor Patricia de Lille, was attended by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, Transport MEC Robin Carlisle and former mayors Frank van der Velde and Gordon Oliver, among others.

A handful of African National Congress supporters in colorful T-shirts were also part of the historic moment.

“This is a great day for the City of Cape Town, we take a step towards making our city even more inclusive… we make a firm commitment to honoring our history, a history that has allowed us to come together in our diversity and celebrate this moment together,” said De Lille.

“There is a great truth that the spaces in which we live influence our perceptions, our very way of thinking. Our past, and the trauma and hope that are mingled in it, is [written] across our landscape.

“The apartheid government knew full well what it meant to claim ownership of our public spaces. Through a careful strategy of selective naming and selective cultural recognition, it sought to stamp its interpretation of the world on future generations.”

De Lille said they were renaming Eastern Boulevard after Nelson Mandela he Mandela had shown the way towards a society full of opportunities and built on mutual respect.

The mayor said the road should not be thought of as something physical but as the “one upon which we travel as a city to achieve Madiba’s vision.”

“The history of all our people is important. No one should ever have their history rewritten or eradicated.

“As we honor our old spaces, so too must we create new spaces that provide a true reflection of where we come from and where we are going,” she said.

By the end of the year, De Lille said that they would have renamed Oswald Pirow Drive to Christiaan Barnard, a celebrated surgeon in the country.

A square of St. Georges Mall would also be named after a great Khoisan leader, Krotoa, she said.

The mayor added that the Concourse between the Civic Centre and the Artscape would be renamed in honor of Inkosi Albert Luthuli.

The renaming reaffirmed “our commitment to building greater inclusivity and acknowledging our history by honoring Tata Madiba’s legacy,” she said.

By Francis Hweshe

Source: BUA News

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

This forms part of Mandela Day activities, which is celebrated every year on Madiba’s birthday, July 18th.

Children have always occupied a special place in Mandela’s heart. Within his first year as the President of South Africa, Mandela launched the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) as a sign of his commitment to the wellbeing of children.

Children will return the honor of his pledge to their cause by staging a National Children’s Parliament as a way of saluting him for placing them high on South Africa’s national development agenda.

Ranked as the key strategic activity in the building of a national child rights movement, the Children’s Parliament is initiated through a partnership between the Department for Women, Children and People with Disabilities and the NMCF, and hosted by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to promote accountability for children’s wellbeing.

Welcoming the inaugural Annual Nelson Mandela Children’s Parliament, Minister Lulu Xingwana said her department believes children should not only be seen but also heard.

“Nothing better represents an opportunity to give credence to this collective view than convening a National Children’s Parliament where leaders from various spheres of government can affirm children’s voices with their valued presence.

“Holding all of us in authority accountable represents both the spirit and letter that our founding democratic President Nelson Mandela had set in motion on April 27, 1994,” said Xingwana.

The Children’s Parliament will be held under the theme, “Holding those in authority accountable.” Deliberations will focus on three supportive sub-themes which are health, education and safety and security.

Elaborating on the theme, NMCF Acting CEO Moipone Buda-Ramatlo said: “By authority we mean the exercise of responsibility, duty and obligation to act in the best interest of the child to ensure their safety, wellbeing and development at all times.

“Families, communities, civil society and all spheres government dare not take leave from the wellbeing of children because in them lies the foundation of the future society envisioned in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.”

For the first time, government officials will be making a conscious effort to be part of a National Children’s Parliament session hosted under the navigation of Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Lindiwe Maseko.

Maseko said the Gauteng Legislature has had its share of welcoming civil society voiced heard within its corridors but looks forward to the element of difference that the Children’s Parliament will be bringing.

“The future we are battling to create can only be better by trying different but well-meaning approaches to the kind of a future we would like our children to inherit,” Maseko said.

Children parliamentarians will receive a salutary message from former President Mandela during the seating of the Children’s Parliament on Friday.

Represented at the Children’s Parliament will be five children from each of the country’s nine provinces.

The inaugural Nelson Mandela Children’s Parliament is scheduled to start at 10am.

Source: BUA News

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

The bikers began their 2,200-km tour Monday at Montecasino in Johannesburg and they will ride through Gauteng, Free State, Kwazulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, as well as a crossover through Swaziland to further spread the ethos of Mandela Day.

Sello Hatang, spokesperson of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said a symbolic wreath will be laid at Machel’s Memorial site in Mbuzini on Friday after the bikers pass through Swaziland on the way to Mbombela (Nelspruit).

“It follows an earlier heritage stop-off on July 12, which will see the group clean the monument and create a garden, including the planting of the ‘Mandela Gold’ Strelitzia at the site in Howick where Nelson Mandela was captured in 1962,” he said.

On October 19, 1986, Machel was on his way back from an international meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, in the presidential Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft, when the plane crashed in the Lebombo Mountains, near Mbuzini, South Africa. There were 10 survivors, but Machel and 33 others died, including ministers and officials of the Mozambique government.

Bikers for Mandela Day acts as an inspiration for individuals around the world to donate 67 minutes of their time to give back in service to communities.

In 2011, the riders and support staff will donate 67 minutes of time at seven rural community projects along a more than 2 200 kilometer route.

Spearheaded by Nelson Mandela’s executive assistant of over 17 years, Zelda la Grange, Bikers for Mandela Day is an integral part of the annual Mandela Day activities, a call to action for individuals everywhere to take responsibility for changing the world into a better place, one small step at a time, just as Mandela did.

Activities can be submitted on the Mandela Day website, which also features an interactive map to keep up-to-date with Bikers for Mandela as they take on their most challenging route yet.

“The Mandela Day philosophy is to take action, inspire change and to make every day a Mandela Day. If all of us contribute in some way, whether 67 minutes or more, it will result in a transformative momentum. The Bikers for Mandela day are contributing greatly to this,” says Achmat Dangor of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Source: BUA News

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

Unveiling plans for the 2011 Nelson Mandela International Day, the foundation introduced Mandela Mondays, aimed at urging people everywhere to spend as little as five minutes doing something good that will change someone’s life, community or environment for the better.

Speaking at the launch, Nelson Mandela Foundation Chief Executive, Achmat Dangor, said it remains the work of the foundation to affect change within communities, empowering them to change the world around them.

“Each Monday, give a small amount of your time, wherever you can, to spreading the message that change is in your hands,” said Dangor.

This year, the theme for Mandela Day is Change, and is a call to action for people everywhere to take responsibility for making the world a better place, one small step at a time, just as Mandela did.

Helene Hoedl, deputy director of the United Nations Information Centre in Pretoria, said Mandela embodies great values, adding that the UN supports the foundation’s commitment to make every day Mandela Day.

“We declared Nelson Mandela Day an International Day in recognition of his ongoing struggle and outstanding contribution to growing a democratic South Africa and elsewhere on the continent,” she said.

Key events for Mandela Day 2011 include a university students’ panel on May 23, where students will discuss what Mandela Day means to them, as well as a public figures’ panel, where they will announce their intentions for Mandela Day on June 20.

The first Mandela Day was held on Mandela’s birthday, July 18, and in November 2009 and it was declared Nelson Mandela International Day by the United Nations.

Last year, Mandela Day was marked by acts of goodwill in communities throughout the world.

Source: BUA News

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

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A resolution adopted Wednesday by the 192-member world body, also endorsed the commemorations every year starting in 2010 on July 18 – Mandela’s birthday – to recognize the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s contribution to resolving conflicts and promoting race relations, human rights and reconciliation.

By adopting the resolution, the UN General Assembly President Ali Treki stated that the international community was expressing its appreciation for “a great man” who suffered for the sake of people everywhere.

Mandela, 91, led the fight against apartheid in South Africa as head of the African National Congress’ armed wing. He was convicted of sabotage and other crimes and served 27 years in prison.

When he was freed in 1990, he supported reconciliation and helped lead South Africa’s transition toward multi-racial democracy.

He is celebrated today as an international statesman and continues to speak out on human rights and other global issues.

The resolution recognizes Mandela’s “leading role in and support for Africa’s struggle for liberation and Africa’s unity, and his outstanding contribution to the creation of a non-racial, non-sexist democratic South Africa.”

It also acknowledges his “contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and in the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.”

Perhaps Mandela’s most outstanding contribution to world peace, he said, was his call for reconciliation with South Africa’s white oppressors, an example that should be emulated by all.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher

The former president’s 91st birthday will be demonstrated by acts of humanity and improving the world we live in.

President Jacob Zuma, during his State of the Nation Address, made a call for everyone to spend at least 67 minutes making a difference in someone’s life on the day, by showing humanity towards other people. The 67 minutes represents the time that Madiba spent serving humanity.

Parliament opened its doors to people from various organizations around the Western Cape to commemorate Madiba’s birthday.

People with disabilities, homeless children and young people from identified drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers will visit Parliament to interact with senior officials and tour the premises. Officials will donate stationery, sports kits, books, toys, clothes and food to all invited organizations.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF), held a special performance from the National Ceremonial Guard Band at Church Square, Pretoria earlier on Friday. Other SANDF units and SANDF members will mark Mandela Day in their own special way by embarking on special projects, or joining other established Mandela Day initiatives.

In New York, after a week of events and activities that included a gala dinner hosted by former US President Bill Clinton and Madiba’s wife, Graca Machel, thousands will gather for the 46664 concert at the Radio City Music Hall.

President Jacob Zuma will spend his 67 minutes with elderly people in Ivory Park, Johannesburg. The objective of the visit is to raise awareness about the need to honor and value senior citizens in our country.

Several ministers are expected to do community work in the provinces, including planting vegetable gardens, fixing water pipes and refurbishing police stations and schools.

Meanwhile, the Department of Arts and Culture will host a party in Newton, Johannesburg, where various local artists will perform. A total of 15 000 people in and around Gauteng are expected to attend this celebration.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe is expected to address the 15 000 people expected at the event, attended by local celebrities RJ Benjamin, Chommie, Zamajobe, Kwela Tebza and others.

In Durban, Mandela Day activities include a clean-up in Wentworth, south of the city, while Capetonians will play host to the Ubuntu Street Festival at the Mandela Rhodes Place venue.

The Mandela concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden will feature local acts Jesse Clegg, Freshlyground and Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, alongside French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The event also stars singers Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, as well as Hollywood stars Forest Whitaker, Susan Sarandon and Matt Damon.

The concert aims to raise funds for Mandela’s 46664 campaign.

Source:- BuaNews

Net News Publisher for World News

President Jacob Zuma announced on Thursday that Madiba’s birthday on July 18 would from now be celebrated as Mandela Day, when each citizen would be expected to spend at least 67 minutes doing “something good to help others”.

“Madiba was politically active for 67 years and on Mandela Day people worldwide will be called upon to spend at least 67 minutes doing something useful within their communities,” Zuma said during a press conference in Johannesburg.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher