Nelson Mandela International Day, Mandela Day

Nelson Mandela International Day

Basic Information about Mandela Day

Nelson Mandela International Day also called as Nelson Mandela Day is observed every year on 18 July to honor the legacy and life of Nelson Mandela and also to honor his work and act to change the world for the better.


Observed on: July 18

Organized by: UN

Introduced in: 2009 (UN Declaration), 2010 (First Observation)

Observed: Worldwide


About Nelson Mandela International Day

Nelson Mandela International Day also called Mandela Day celebrating all over the world on every 18 July (on Mandela’s birthday). Nelson Mandela Foundation and other such groups started to observe this day from 18 July 2009. United Nations officially declared this day as Nelson Mandela International Day in November 2009 with a unanimous decision of its General Assembly and the first UN Mandela day were celebrated on 18 July 2010.

It was inspired by a call Nelson Mandela made a year earlier in 2008 at his 90th birthday at Hyde Park London, for the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world’s social injustices when he said that “it is time for new hands to lift the burden. It is in your hands now”.

This day is celebrating to honor the legacy and life of Nelson Mandela and also to honor his work and act to change the world for the better. Mandela Day is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make impact.


Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on 18 July 1918. He was jailed in 1964 for leading the liberation movement against apartheid and for his stance on the human right to live in freedom. Some campaigns called ‘46664’ for remembering his prison number 466 and year 1964. He was imprisoned in Robben Island off Cape Town in South Africa.

Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and after his release he continues to address racial issues in his country and supported reconciliation initiatives. He was elected as South Africa’s president in the year 1994 and remained in his office till 1999. And also won Nobel Peace Prize, together with another former South African President Frederick Willem De Klerk in 1993.

Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95 on December 5, 2013.


Activities and Programs on Nelson Mandela International Day

Nelson Mandela Day is celebrated all over the world. One of the campaign message for celebrating this day is Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years. We’re asking you to start with 67 minutes.

This day is also celebrated to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace and reconciliation.

One of the main messages this day gives is if each one of us heeded the call to simply do good every day, we would be living Nelson Mandela’s legacy and helping to build a country of our dreams.

It is day celebrated to spread the message ‘serve every day’. The objective of Mandela day is to give food security to all, education and literacy to all, shelter and infrastructure to all by service and volunteerism. The activities are based on three rules followed by Mandela in his life: Free Yourself, Free Others, and Serve Every Day. That is a call to living Madiba’s legacy.

2014 July 18 was the first Mandela Day celebration after his death.

Programs like watering tree beds, rebuild homes, help a fellow being by many ways, helping all to get education, giving food to those who hungry, sport, arts, marathons were also conducted on this day to spread the message.

Some people volunteered in orphanages while others distributed blankets to the less fortune.


Click here for List of Important Days or UN Observations

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