5 July, 2011 – The legacy of Nelson Mandela was given wings yesterday with the unveiling of the Mandela Day logo by South African Airways (SAA) on the first aircraft of its entire fleet. The new branded A330-200 Airbus, fourth out of six new aircraft, was revealed to sponsors and the media at the airways’ technical park in Johannesburg.
Siza Mzimela, CEO of SAA in her opening address said, “As an African carrier with global reach, it is only natural for SAA to strengthen its relationship with the Nelson Mandela Foundation by sharing our icon’s message with the world.”
The Mandela Day initiative has received overwhelming support, said CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Achmat Dangor, addressing the crowd of 100 invited guests. “The business world has been incredible responsive to our call to do good. That is why the partnership with SAA is incredible, bringing to attention the need to develop a culture where everyone does their part to inspire change in the country.”
SAA aircraft branded with Mandela Day material
Besides branding its entire fleet, the SAA programme for Mandela Day involves a variety of other activities, which are taking place all over the country, and are particularly focused on making a difference in the lives of children.
“For a state-owned enterprise we decided it was important to be good corporate citizens. We want to contribute to improving the lives of our children just as our Tata Madiba has done,” explained SAA Chairperson Cheryl Carolus.
From left to right: UN representative Dr Stella Anyangwe; Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO Achmat Dangor; SAA Chairperson Cheryl Carolus
SAA is also including onboard elements like headrest messaging and relevant edutainment to support Mr Mandela’s ongoing legacy.
For his 93rd birthday, SAA and its partners will be flying 93 underprivileged children from all nine provinces to the Foundation, giving them their first flying experience. The children will also receive special gifts and school uniforms.
UN representative Dr Stella Anyangwe tells the audience about the UN’s Mandela Day programme
“Thank you to our generous sponsors; they have helped us to demonstrate how, as corporate South Africa, we can do so much more if we team up,” said Carolus.
Mandela Day activities will be taking place nationally and internationally. On the national front, the South African Parliament has arranged events to spread the legacy of Mr Mandela.
“We want people to adopt the culture of ‘I live within a community and without others I’m nothing’ so that they can be the change they want to see,” explained Member of Parliament, Buti Manamela.
From July 11 - 18, a Mandela week programme of events will take place in Giyani, Limpopo, encouraging people to do extraordinary things to make a difference.
In 2006, Mandela Day was declared an international day after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution declaring that July 18, Mr Mandela’s birthday, will be observed as a day to take action and inspire change. As a result, the UN has joined the call to inspire individuals around the world with a range of activities at all their international deployment offices.
Dr Stella Anyangwe, representative of the United Nations South African deployment explained, “The values of Mr Mandela are similar to the UN Charter that was established in 1945, and it’s significant for the UN to support Mandela Day, as it resonates with our own struggle against apartheid.”
At the UN headquarters in New York, an exhibition of materials is on display for the month of July.
Other international activities include the sharing of a message about the importance of Nelson Mandela Day with all UN deployment offices. The material will be circulated in all six UN languages, ensuring that the Mandela Day message is spread around the world.
“It’s with great pleasure that the UN joined hands with the NMF and SAA in kicking off activities for this special day,” said Anyangwe.