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Former US President Barack Obama has revealed the most popular speakers that the Nelson Mandela Foundation has invited to deliver the Mandela Conference, with 15,000 people expected Tuesday in Johannesburg.
Mandela Foundation president, Sello Hatang, said they had been forced to change stadium three times before settling in Wanderers Stadium.
Initially, the Nasrec Expo Hall was chosen, then the Standard Bank arena, which was also deemed too small.
Hatang said that immediately after announcing the presence of Obama as speaker, there were 7,000 expressions of interest to attend.
Obama is a known admirer of the South African icon, whom he credits for having inspired his activism.
Last year, his tweet quoting Mandela became one of the most popular of all time with 1.6 million retweets and 4.5 million likes.
The quote, which begins with: "No one is born to hate another person because of the color of their skin or their past or their religion …" was tweeted at a time when the United States was struggling with racist clashes. Charlottesville after white supremacists rallied to protest plans to remove the statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee.
Obama also spoke at Mandela's funeral in 2013.
Hatang said that Obama needed to share lessons on how to build active citizenship and help invigorate the country. 39, inheritance of Madiba.
"This is someone who cared about our liberation struggle." His enthusiasm for our freedom was such that our victory was ours as much as his own. Obama [as US president] was a moment of pride for Madiba and he even wrote him a letter, "said Hatang.
The younger generation of South Africa is questioning the new waiver negotiated by Mandela, for his inability to transfer economic power to the people, while seizing political power.
"You will agree with me that we are in these days at a time when the legacy of Madiba is in. You are starting to ask: Is there something we are missing? Maybe we need people from outside who can say, "From my point of view, this is That's how I understood Madiba and that's how I think we can continue to celebrate his legacy, "said Hatang. The 16-year conference and previous speakers include former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former chairman of Thabo Mbeki SA, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Irish president and philanthropist Mary Robinson. Hatang said that it did not take much persuasion to convince Obama, who was more than willing to honor his mentor.
He said that the foundation had planned conferences two to three years in advance and that she did not always choose "popular" speakers.
"The council applies its mind to the next conference immediately after the last one. We know almost at the end of the conference how we should approach the next. There is a committee sitting immediately and doing this work. So he determines the speaker based on what is at stake right now in the world. Each speaker has its own traction. But in numbers, it's the biggest. "
He cites the example of the French economist professor Thomas Piketty who delivered a critique of capitalism, and then be followed by the American nabob Bill Gates the following year
. we love but what we are trying to address in a particular moment and the audience we are talking to. "
Hatang said that all local news networks will carry the event live on television. International networks including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and Chinese television have confirmed their presence.
He said that they were humiliated that Obama, who has remained relatively quiet since he left his post, chose to speak here.
We must not forget that it is a special moment and there are people who come from other countries for that. Scholars, students and ordinary people will also be there to do their 67 minutes of service to Mandela. "
Obama has not published his itinerary, but we expect him to host other events while he is in the country." He was not worried about logistics, saying "we have already hosted sitting presidents, so we are used to dealing with complicated arrangements."
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