TAKE ACTION, INSPIRE CHANGE. MAKE EVERYDAY A MANDELA DAY - EDUCATON: PUBLIC PROGRAMMES

TAKE ACTION,
                                              INSPIRE CHANGE.
       EDUCATON:                              MAKE EVERYDAY A
   PUBLIC PROGRAMMES
                                               MANDELA DAY.

 INTERNATIONAL MANDELA DAY
        18 JULY 2020

#COVID19 #ActionAgainstPoverty   #MandelaDay2020

HOW DID INTERNATIONAL
         MANDELA DAY COME ABOUT?

In recognition of the former South African
president’s contribution to the culture of
peace and freedom, the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly declared 18 July – Nelson
Mandela’s birthday – International Mandela
Day.

Resolution A/RES/64/13 recognises
Mandela’s values and his dedication to the
service of humanity in:
• conflict resolution
• race relations
• promotion and protection of human rights
• reconciliation
• gender equality and the rights of children
   and other vulnerable groups
• the fight against poverty
• the promotion of social justice

WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL MANDELA DAY?

International Mandela Day has enjoyed more than 10
years of global support and solidarity since it was
launched by the United Nations in 2009.

This year, the world is facing intersecting struggles
and challenges – namely the Covid-19 pandemic that
has led to many countries instituting lockdowns
preventing people from engaging in income-
generating activity. We have also seen global anti-
racist protests, sparked by events in the US, and,
closer to home, gender-based violence continues to
rock the nation.
In 2020 the Nelson Mandela Foundation is focusing
its International Mandela Day efforts on education,
and food and nutrition.

HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:
https://www.mandeladay.com/pages/what-can-i-do

MANDELA IMMORTALISED IN BIODIVERSITY

In a recent study of world biodiversity, it was estimated
that there was a total of about 10.95 million species of
animals, plants, of which only 1.43 million species (13%)
have been given names.
Understanding the life around us is very important as it
impacts on human life in numerous ways – we need
organisms for food; some species cause disease; some
are pests for crops and livestock; and many species are of
ecological and environmental importance.
Scientists face ongoing challenges in finding appropriate
names for the new organisms they are describing and          A YELLOW-FLOWERING
they often name them in honour of other people. Nelson       SELECTION OF STRELITZIA
Mandela is no exception in this regard.                      REGINAE WAS AFFECTIONATELY
                                                             NAMED “MANDELA’S GOLD”
                                                             (SANBI, 1996).

TATA MADIBA AT IZIKO MUSEUMS OF SOUTH AFRICA

     Tata Madiba: Father of our Democracy,
     Father of our Nation, on exhibition at the
     Iziko South African Museum, brings together
     objects, specimens and artworks to stimulate
     conversation about Madiba’s life, struggles
     and legacy.

     A focal point of this exhibition is the artistic
     recreation of Madiba’s Robben Island cell,
     conceptualized and created by Stellenbosch-
     based photographer and artist, Erhardt Thiel.
     This exhibition also looks at the various
     biodiversity named after Nelson Mandela!

https://www.iziko.org.za/exhibitions/tata-madiba-father-our-democracy-father-our-nation-0

Vulcanobatrachus mandelai

                                             PHOTOS: ROGER SMITH

One such species of organism named after Nelson Mandela is the Vulcanobatrachus
mandelai – a long-extinct type of frog related to the modern platanna that lived in a
volcanic crater lake in Northern Cape some 70 million years ago. Fossils of this frog
were first discovered in a borehole core by diamond prospectors. Iziko Museum
palaeontologist, Dr Roger Smith excavated a pit and recovered many specimens
including tadpoles. The name means “volcano frog from mandela-land.

Australopicus nelsonmandelai

                                       PHOTOS: ALBRECHT MANIGOLD AND ANTOINE LOUCHART

The Australopicus nelsonmandelai is a five million-year-old species of true
woodpecker, described in 2012 from the West Coast Fossil Park at
Langebaanweg. It is the first pre-Pleistocene woodpecker from Africa.

Microporella madiba

                                                          PHOTOS: WAYNE FLORENCE

This marine species of moss animal was described by Iziko Museums scientists
in 2007. It was collected living on mussel shells in the kelp forests of Robben
Island, and named after Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela who was imprisoned on
the type locality, Robben Island.

Carebara madibai

                                                              Photos: Nokuthula Nhleko

Carebara madibai - A species of African leaf-litter inhabiting ant named by Georg
Fischer and Frank Azorsa of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA:
It was named in memory Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918–5 December
2013), who was nicknamed Madiba by his people, former South African president
and anti-apartheid revolutionary, often also described as the “father of the nation”.

Belesica madiba

                                                           PHOTOS: SIMON VAN NOORT

This ichneumon wasp was described in 2014 by Iziko Museums scientists. It was
collected in the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, South Africa. This species was
dedicated to ‘Madiba’ for the enlightenment he brought to South Africa and the
rest of the world.

Mandelia mirocornata

                                                  PHOTO: WILHELM VAN ZYL

Mandelia mirocornata - a new genus and species of nudibranch mollusc
described in 1999 by Ángel Valdés and Terrence Gosliner of the California
Academy of Sciences, from specimens collected at Bakoven on the Cape
Peninsula. This South African genus is named Mandelia to honour Nelson
Mandela, who led the struggle for a multi-racial government in South Africa.

Capederces madiba

                                         PHOTO: SIMON VAN NOORT

Capederces madibai – this long-horned beetle was described in 2017. It was
collected from the Albany district in south-eastern South Africa in 1927. The
species is dedicated to Nelson Mandela, also known by his clan name Madiba, a
South African hero and Nobel Peace Prize holder, who passed away on 5
December 2013 at the age of 95.

Triacanthella madiba

                                   This species of springtails was
                                   described in 2012 and was the first
                                   species of this genus to be found in
                                   Africa. It was collected from bat
                                   guano in a cave on Table Mountain.

                                   Springtails are not insects. They are
                                   classified along with insects and
                                   crustaceans in the class Arthropoda.

PHOTO: CHARLENE JANION SCHEEPERS

PLANT CULTIVARS

                                                           PHOTOS: SANBI, ANDREW MASSYN

No plant species have yet been scientifically named after Nelson Mandela. However,
horticultural selections of a Strelitzia, a King Protea (the national flower) and most
recently a Rose have been dedicated to his memory. A yellow-flowering selection of
Strelitzia reginae was affectionately named “Mandela’s Gold” by the Kirstenbosch
National Botanical Gardens (South African National Biodiversity Institute) in 1996.

DEFEAT COVID-19

•     WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER FOR AT LEAST 20 SECONDS
•     USE HAND SANITISERS
•     NEVER TOUCH YOUR EYES, NOSE OR MOUTH WITH UNWASHED HANDS
•     COVER YOUR MOUTH AND NOSE WHEN COUGHING AND SNEEZING
•     KEEP A DISTANCE OF 2 METERS BETWEEN YOU AND THE PERSON WITH A COUGH
•     AVOID CROWDED AREAS
•     AVOID HAND SHAKE AND OPT FOR AN ELBOW GREETING RATHER

    SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION URGENTLY IF YOU NOTICE THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS:
    • SHORTNESS OF BREATH
    • FEVER WITH A COUGH AND HIGH BODY TEMPERATURE
    • SORE THROAT
    • FATIGUE

REFERENCES

•   https://undocs.org/A/RES/64/13

•   https://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/

•   https://www.mandeladay.com/

•   https://www.iziko.org.za/exhibitions/tata-madiba-father-our-democracy-
    father-our-nation-0

•   https://www.gov.za/NelsonMandel%20Month2020

•   https://sacoronavirus.co.za/