Barack Obama’s impassioned speech in Johannesburg at the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, a day before the struggle hero’s 100th birthday, offered perspective on the recent jingoism in the world.
It’s 7 AM on July 17, a day before Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday, and Corlett Drive, the road leading to The Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg, is a sea of cars.
At least 15,000 people are expected to pour into this road today, to hear one former president speak about another. Obama on Mandela. Both names big enough to draw generations of South Africans – and others from abroad – to the stadium on a cold working day.
“I forgot it was winter in South Africa,” begins Barack Obama, instantly warming up to the audience that welcomes him with thunderous applause.
The former US president is here for the 16th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, the biggest ever, fittingly timed with the centenary celebrations of the former apartheid struggle hero.
The theme, ‘Renewing the Mandela Legacy and Promoting Active Citizenship in a Changing World’, is to focus on creating conditions for bridging divides, working across ideological lines, and resisting oppression and inequality.
“The presence of each and every one here is living proof that the legacy and spirit of Nelson Mandela is alive,” says FORBES billionaire Patrice Motsepe, also founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation organizing the event, before Obama’s address.
In the audience are recognizable faces, everyone from politicians past and present to billionaire businessmen (Mandela’s longtime friend Richard Branson), movie stars (Charlize Theron), kings and traditional leaders.
Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av Forbes Africa.
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Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av Forbes Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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