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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – South Africa is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela with a keynote address by former US President Barack Obama and a tribute to defenders of the United States. # 39; anti-apartheid.
Mandela, who died in 2013, remains a global icon for his long struggle against the dominance of the white minority and for his message of peace and reconciliation when he was released after 27 years in prison.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has called this year "to act and inspire change" on behalf of Mandela.
Obama will set the tone for the celebrations with a speech in Johannesburg on July 17th. This will be his most important public speech since his departure from the White House in 2017.
"This gives him the opportunity to convey a message of tolerance, inclusion and democracy at a time when he There are challenges to Mandela's legacy around the world. "His assistant Benjamin Rhodes told the New York Times
Obama will also hold a town hall event on July 18 for 200 young leaders selected across the country. Africa to follow a five-day training program.
Mandela did so only briefly in 2005, but eulogized his funeral saying that Mandela "makes me want to be a better man" and qualifying him as "the last great liberator of the XXth century".
– A legacy threatened? –
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would mark "Mandela 100" by paying half his salary to charity to honor "the great sacrifices he made and his tireless commitment to improving the lives of the most vulnerable ".
FW de Klerk, the former president who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993, told AFP that the 100th anniversary was an opportunity to reflect on the current problems of the world. South Africa. I am deeply concerned, as I am, by the current state of affairs, "he said.
" His vision of a reconciled South Africa has become almost nonexistent within the world. " 39; ANC (ruling party). "[19659002deklerkquiaditquickness"friendshipdeepens"withMandelaaddedthat"hehadfoundhopeingoodrelationshipsbetweenmanyordinarygeneral
A report from the World Bank this year indicated that South Africa was there, and many South Africans believe that Mandela's hopes for the country were disappointed by his successors
Others accused him of "selling" by allowing whites to retain control of much of the country's wealth.
"He fought to make us politically free, but we are Mtate Phakela, a 19-year-old resident of Soweto, told AFP:" We can not access education or wealth. I have mixed feelings. He did his best, but the people who came after could have done better.
– Year of Remembrance –
Among the many events marking this anniversary, a march in Johannesburg with the widow of Mandela Graca Machel, the release of letters that Mandela wrote from his cell of prison and the printing of a commemorative banknote.
Climbers climb Kilimanjaro, motorcyclists begin a charity tour, and a program to build 100 school libraries will be launched. a series of exhibitions, music festivals and sporting events.
The year commemorating the birth of Mandela will end with a concert in Johannesburg in December with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams and Cassper Nyovest.
Mandela was imprisoned under the apartheid regime of the white minority of 1962 and 1990 before leading the party of the African National Congress to victory in the first multi-race elections in 1994.
Served as President before resigning in 1999.
The title of the annual Nelson Mandela Conference of Obama is "Renewing Mandela's Legacy and Promoting Active Citizenship in a Changing World." [19459008FormerspeakersincludeBillClintonThaboMbekiKofiAnnanandBillGatesArchbishopEmeritusDesmondTutu
Before arriving in South Africa, Obama will make a brief private visit to Kenya, his father's homeland, Sunday and Monday
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