© UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
2013 Commemorative Events
UN General Assembly Meeting — NYC
UN Headquarters, 18 July —
A special meeting marked Nelson Mandela International Day. Featured in the event was UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Andrew Mlangeni, a close friend of Mr. Mandela who was imprisoned with him.
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Volunteer Work — NYC
Long Island Beach & Far Rockaway —
United Nations staff teamed up with and to help rebuild houses destroyed by last year’s Hurricane Sandy in Long Beach and Far Rockaway, areas that took the brunt of the storm.
Columbus Circle & the Bowery Mission —
Staff from the South African Consulate and the UN handed out Mandela Day materials and South African citrus fruit to passers by at Columbus Circle. In addition, 67 cartons of South African fruit were donated to the Bowery Mission, an institution that has served homeless and hungry New Yorkers since 1879 and where UN staff volunteered to help on last year's Mandela Day.
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Antananarivo, Madagascar
In Antananarivo, the UNIC, the South African Embassy and UN agencies organized donations of school and hygiene kits, clothes and food to children at the Ivandry and Ankorondrano elementary schools. A football match and an exhibition were also part of the programme.
Baku, Azerbaijan
In Baku, the UN marked the day with an event at the University of Languages, featuring a short film about Mandela’s life, speeches by UN officials and a Nigerian NGO worker, as well as personal messages from Azerbaijani students wishing Madiba a swift recovery.
Brussels, Belgium
In Brussels, UN staff volunteered their time in detention centres, a soup kitchen, and a centre for abused women. UNRIC, in collaboration with the UN Communications Group, also organized a screening of the film "Searching for Sugar Man."
Bujumbura, Burundi
In Bujumbura, some 100 people helped to clean and paint the facilities of Humanitarian Action against Delinquency, a centre that trains street children and vulnerable youth in manual trades. The South African Ambassador and UN representatives spoke at the event organized by the UNIC and the South African Embassy.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
In Dar es Salaam, the UNIC brought together members of the diplomatic community, civil society, the South African diaspora, the UN family and the general public to chop firewood, mop floors, clean toilets, wash clothes and bed sheets, and cook at the St. Theresa Missionaries of Charity Children’s home in Mburahati.
Darfur
In Darfur, staff from the joint United Nations-African Union 国产AVkeeping Mission (UNAMID) devoted their time to cleaning the El-Fasher Maternity and Gynecological Hospital. The hospital treats more than 600 patients a month. Other activities included parades, cultural performances, songs and poetry.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
In Dhaka, the UNIC and the Green University of Bangladesh jointly organized a seminar and open discussion chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University, with remarks by the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and others. Poetry reading and a video screening were also part of the activities.
Geneva, Switzerland
In Geneva, 200 delegates, UN staff, NGO representatives and journalists packed a room to pay homage to Mandela. The event featured remarks by the Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva, the Permanent Representative of South Africa, and the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as three short films.
Khartoum, Sudan
In Khartoum, Sudan, the UN Information Centre in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa, UN Volunteers, UN Association-Youth and MTN, worked together in renovating a school at Kober, Khartoum North.
Lagos, Nigeria
In Lagos, the UNIC, in collaboration with three NGOs, organized an event at SOS Children’s Village, Isolo, where some 50 UN and NGO staff swept the floors, cleaned the windows, washed the toilets, arranged clothes, removed cobwebs, and took care of the babies.
Libreville, Gabon
In Libreville, Gabon, the office of the UN and the South African Embassy organized a special event where posters, postcards and booklets were handed out.
Lima, Peru
In Lima, the UNIC and the UN Friends Club organized an event at the Jorge Cieza Lachos High School featuring the screening of the UNTV documentary "South Africa: Voices of a New Future," a discussion, theatrical performances, and poetry reading.
Manila, Philippines
In Manila, the UNIC and the South African Embassy organized an exhibit at the UN House featuring photos of Nelson Mandela. The information centre also recorded a talk show with the Catholic radio network DZRH, highlighting parallels between Mandela and the Philippines' own hero, Ninoy Aquino.
Moscow, Russian Federation
In Moscow, the UN Country Team joined a press conference led by the South African Embassy at the Russian News Agency RIA Novosti, with remarks by South Africa's Ambassador and the head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Pretoria, South Africa
In Pretoria, UN staff, led by UNHCR, volunteered at the Divine Grace Crèche/Pre-School, which accommodates 170 children. Two UN teams participated in a 67 km Relay Challenge organized by Kaya FM and the Nelson Mandela Foundation to raise awareness for the day and collect funds for charities. And the UNIC, with the support of the UN Communications Group, organised a screening of the PBS-UNTV documentary "I live to sing."
Tunis, Tunisia
In Tunis, staff from the UNIC and the South Africa Embassy visited orphans at the SOS Children's Village of Gammarth, offering them cake and reading them stories. The information centre, with UNDP, also gathered Tunisian associations for a debate on tolerance, pardon and non-violence.
Vienna, Austria
In Vienna, UNIS, the South African Embassy and Permanent Mission organized an exhibit, "Intimate Moments with Nelson Mandela," in the Vienna International Centre. The UNOV Director-General and the South African Ambassador welcomed the guests, who could sign up to volunteer with NGOs assisting orphans, refugees, the elderly, the homeless, and animals in need.