South African and American students meet Mandela and work on a Mandela Day Student Charter

Christina Johnson (18) from Renaissance High School of Musical Theater and Technology New York meets Nelson Mandela

A group of American and South African students, aged from 11 to 19, today met Nelson Mandela as part of a series of activities ahead of Mandela Day on July 18.

The group from New York are all winners of a competition that required high school students to submit creative projects on Mr Mandela’s life and legacy. The South African students are the high school winners of a similar national competition held last year for Mr Mandela’s 90th birthday.

The two groups will engage in a youth dialogue over four days, discussing Mr Mandela’s legacy, his relevance to the youth today and the challenges that they face. Their discussions will culminate in the drafting of a Mandela Day Students’ Charter.

46664 is spearheading the launch of Mandela Day on behalf of all the Nelson Mandela organisations – the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation – and is calling on people around the world to support the creation of an official Mandela Day, to be held annually on July 18, Mr Mandela’s birthday.

A series of events will be staged this year in New York and worldwide to kick off the international celebration of the day. Mandela Day is not intended to become a public holiday, but rather an occasion that will serve as a global call to action for people to recognise their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better.

Mr Mandela has given 67 years of his life to the struggle for human rights and social justice. In turn, people everywhere are encouraged to devote 67 minutes of their time on that day to do something positive to improve the lives of others.

According to Achmat Dangor, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the purpose of the students’ visit is that they “will return to their schools and communities as 46664 youth ambassadors promoting the spirit of Mandela Day in their own communities, and will encourage their peers to adopt the principles of the Mandela Day Student Charter”.