Media Statement: United Nations Champion of the Earth, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, confirmed to speak at 20th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture

Media Statement: United Nations Champion of the Earth, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, is confirmed to speak at the 20^th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture

Speaker Announcement 

The Nelson Mandela Foundation is pleased to announce Her Excellency Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, as the speaker for the 20^th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, which will be held in eThekwini in November 2022, in solidarity with the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

The Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture is a unique platform to drive debate on significant social issues. The Lecture is an important event on the Nelson Mandela Foundation's calendar. It encourages the public, both local and international to enter into dialogue, often about intractable social issues we face as a society today. The theme for the 20^th Lecture will explore issues of climate change and food insecurity underpinned by our social bonding praxis. 

In April 2022, heavy rains and catastrophic floods wreaked havoc on South Africa's east coast, killing more than 400 people and destroying thousands of homes and critical infrastructure in parts of the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. According to World Weather Attribution, the amount of rainfall experienced was 4% to 8% more intense than previously experienced as a direct result of global warming.

"Her Excellency Mia Mottley was recently crowned a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environmental Programme for her incredible work in raising the alarm on the crisis climate change poses on vulnerable Developing States," explains Sello Hatang, CE of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

"The Foundation has been following Her Excellency's work for a few years. The impact of her work became even more significant for us following the devastating impact of floods in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Our relief efforts taught us that our communities are in need of sustainable solutions to deal with issues of climate change. I do not doubt that we need to come together to find sustainable solutions to the desolation climate change is having on nations of the global south."

The date and venue for the 20^th Nelson Mandela Annual lecture will be announced soon. 

About the Speaker: https://pmo.gov.bb/2018/10/24/about-the-prime-minister/

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Media Enquiries: Morongwa Phukubye Communications officer Morongwap@nelsonmandela.org +27 (0)71 445 1892