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Message by Nelson Mandela to Mo Ibrahim Foundation Awards ceremony, Alexandria, Egypt

26 November 2007

We regret not being able to attend this important function with you in person. You would know, though, that we are here with you in spirit.

It was here in the northern regions of our continent that democratic South Africa finally celebrated its admission to our continental body, the Organisation for African Unity.

It was in Tunis, on the ruins of Carthage.

We spoke there then of the rebirth of Africa.

Apartheid was the last of the colonial barriers in the way of the total political emancipation of the continent.

Now, we said, it was for us to build our own future as a continent. Our continental body had so generously spent so much of its energy on supporting the liberation of South Africa. Those energies could now be fully unleashed on the development and reconstruction of the continent.

Democracy, rule by the people for the people, respect for and promotion of human rights, the rule of law, good governance in the public and private sectors: those were the tenets on which we were to go forward as continent, countries and people.

Our continent has progressed tremendously since that visit to the ruins of destroyed Carthage and the beautiful city of rebuilt Tunis.

The pessimists have only to read the statistics about new democratic states; the demise of one party states and military dictatorships; and the rates with which economies have grown, to realise that Africa is on the rise.

We understand the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s award to be a recognition and acknowledgment of that progress as well as an encouragement and incentive for it to be continued, sustained and even accelerated.

We are proud to be the Foundation’s Honorary Laureate and we accept it on behalf of all of those across the continent, and indeed the world, who made it possible for us to stand here today.

The generous grant that accompanies this award will, in the same spirit, be used to make sure that we continue travelling in the direction that Mo and his Foundation seek to encourage.

The grant will be shared by the three charities established in our name: in order of age - the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

Thank you, Mo: this grant will help our organisations in the important work they carry out in our name now that we have to take seriously the need for us to be in retirement – reason for us to regretfully cancel the promised visit to Alexandria, such a revered place of learning and scholarship.

Finally, we would to congratulate the recipient of your first award, President Joaquim Chissano. We remember him for his wise and insightful leadership in many situations that could have exploded if it was not for that kind of leadership.

May this award encourage the new generation of African leaders to follow his example.

And Mo, may your exceptional commitment to leadership development on our continent inspire all to lead and live with commitment and honesty.

I thank you

Source: Nelson Mandela Foundation

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