June 22, 2009 – The Nelson Mandela Foundation launched its public participation invitation process today to attend this year’s Seventh Annual Lecture on July 11, 2009, at 2:15pm, at the Johannesburg City Hall through various print media and the Foundation’s website.
This year’s Annual Lecture will be delivered by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Founder and Managing Director of Grameen Bank, which focuses on microlending to the very poor, Prof Yunus received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 2006.
Prof Yunus’ lecture will focus on “investment in the marginalised as a way of creating wealth and combating poverty”.
While the previous Annual Lectures have been by invitation only, limited seats, due to the capacity of the venue, are being made available this year to each newspaper where the adverts appear and for website applications. These seats will be issued on a first come first serve basis. It’s a decision, says the Head of the Foundation’s Dialogue Programme, Mothomang Diaho, that reflects the Foundation’s new outlook.
“It’s part of the Foundation’s vision to get more involved with communities,” she said. “As part of that vision we wanted to move away from what has previously been seen as an elitist event to something more inclusive.
“Prof Yunus, given his work with communities throughout the world, also lends himself more to public involvement than previous speakers possibly have done.”
Previous Annual Lectures have been delivered by: Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (2008); former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (2007); former South African President Thabo Mbeki (2006); Nobel Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai (2005); Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (2004) and former US President Bill Clinton (2003).
In order to secure a seat at the lecture, click on the link below.
Click here to be taken to the online application form for the Annual Lecture. Registration closes on Tuesday June 30, 2009, at 12pm CAT.
