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African and Chinese celebrated Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday on the evening of July 18 in Beijing. From left to right: Rwandan Norbert Haguma, YAPS founder; Getachew Gerawork, Counsellor at Ethiopian Embassy in China; Ethiopian Tekeste Negga, YAPS founder; Pheladi Thalakgale, 3rd Secretary of the Political Section at South African Embassy in China; South African Tebogo Lefifi, YAPS Chairwoman (LIU JIAN) |
While Nelson Mandela, the national hero of South Africa, was receiving treatment at a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital, ordinary people, celebrities and government officials worldwide were celebrating his 95th birthday. In Beijing, the non-profit organization Young African Professionals and Students (YAPS), hosted a series of events in conjunction with 12 other sponsors from July 18 to 21 to celebrate his life and legacy and to spread his message of service to humanity.
"Mandela personalizes tolerance, statesmanship and integrity, and he represents values that transcend boundaries, values that people across the world can relate to," said Pheladi Thalakgale, 3rd Secretary of the Political Section at South African Embassy in China.
The celebration events included activities such as movie screenings, poetry recitations dedicated to Mandela's life and work, book donations, as well as a fundraising Africa bazaar and charity auction set up at the Beijing Africa Center, with donations going to Living Tree, a center for abandoned and disabled children in China. Guests from all over the world joined the Beijng festivities, promoting Mandela's spirit of inclusiveness and integrity.
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Mandela Day advocates donate money and wait in line to create a mosaic of Nelson Mandela's face (LIU JIAN) |
Doing community service
Nelson Mandela, the first elected president of a democratic South Africa, spent 67 years striving to make the world a better place. In recognition of his struggle, every capable person is encouraged to perform at least 67 minutes of community service on Mandela Day, July 18.
The theme of this year's celebration is "Making Every Day a Mandela Day." Thalakgale says that the core message in Mandela Day is to become an advocate of progressive change. "The significance of the day is that it's about service, it's about having his spirit reside in all of us and internalized in what we do.We need to inspire people to do, to serve and to change the environment around you, and to make contributions to society in the smallest way," she said.
These events were held to raise awareness about International Mandela Day and raise funds that will be donated to programs for educating girls and children, according to South African Tebogo Lefifi, YAPS Chairwoman, and a China-Africa enthusiast with more than15 years of professional work and entrepreneurial experience.
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The founder (left) and principal (right) of Living Tree, a center for abandoned and disabled children in China introduce their program at the celebration event (LIU JIAN) |
Inspiring youth
In November 2009, the UN declared July 18 as "Mandela Day" in recognition the former South African president's contributions to global peace and freedom (it's also his birthday). YAPS has hosted International Mandela Day in Beijing every year since 2010.
"We look at this as an opportunity to create a positive brand of Africa in China. Because Mandela is an international icon associated with Africa and he is a symbol of service to society, he can send an image of Africans in China contributing positively to China," Lefifi said.
Participants at the celebration could buy T-shirts with "For Freedom, Justice and Democracy" printed on the back. This quote signifies the power each individual has to change the world around them, according to Lefifi.
Apart from building a positive brand of Africa in China, Lefifi hopes to make YAPS a platform that promotes knowledge among African students and professionals, connects graduates with industry leaders and encourages positive contribution to the development of Africa through China- Africa exchanges.
"With China's engagement with Africa, I am thinking how we young Africans can participate and positively influence the direction of China-Africa relations. What Mandela teaches us is that we can prepare ourselves to be part of China-Africa relations when back in Africa," she said, quoting Nelson Mandela's motto that "Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world."
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YAPS hosts a movie screening dedicated to Mandela's life and work (LIU JIAN) |
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Poetry recitations dedicated to Mandela's life and work (LIU JIAN) |
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A mosaic of Nelson Mandela's face was created together by Mandela Day advocates (LIU JIAN) |
To learn more about YAPS's events at www.yaps.asia
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