In recent years, every time Nelson Mandela sneezed or wheezed the world came to a standstill! Have you ever heard of something like this before? That one person could have such a global, such a universal impact!
And look at how the energy drained out of the world on his death. People the world over paused. And their lives darkened. It was as if somebody personal to them, somebody from their families had passed away. That was Madiba’s universal effect. We speak of him as the Father of our Nation. But he was in a sense the Father of Global Humanity.
Look, for example, at just this one bit in The Sunday Times yesterday: “Gina Wilson said even London’s underground tube network, notorious for its unfriendly commuters, had become a ‘different place’ in the wake of Mandela’s death. ‘There was a girl on the tube with tears streaming down her face, and someone just reached over and gave her a tissue saying ‘It’ll all be okay’. I have been blown away by how people have reacted’, she said.
“The South African embassy at the Hague, Netherlands”, continues the report, “had to call in the diplomatic police to help with crowd control as hundreds of people continued to gather to pay their respects to Mandela.
“Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmerman penned a moving message: “It’s almost impossible to imagine the world without Madiba. But, then again, our world will never be without Madiba. Because he taught us that humanity in its purest form does exist in a person. Madiba was not only South Africa’s Tata. He became humanity’s Tata….”
And just think of it – this was a man described as a “terrorist” as recently as the mid-80s by world leaders who today mourn him sincerely and want to learn from his life. It is this capacity of turning people around that is one of Madiba’s greatest strengths.
And that a Black person could come become one of the world’s most revered leaders ever, one of the greatest icons ever, that a Black person could come to symbolise humanity is astonishing.
It shows the potential humans have to transcend racial and other petty prejudices. That Madiba could understand such prejudices and engage with them, that he could have such a rare generosity of spirit is of course one of his other very great strengths.
But more than just generosity and wisdom, Mandela represents resilience and hope. Yes, hope, most of all. That he loved children so much, that he invested so much in them through his work, is a reflection of his commitment to the future, his considerable sense of hope.
We all have our favourite quotations of Mandela. One of mine is British journalist John Carlin’s: “Mandela is the only politician I know who kisses babies and means it!”. One of my favourite images of him is a delightful and funny photo of him making faces at a baby. He seems to become completely oblivious to the world in the presence of babies, completely immersed in them, this Giant of a leader. How painful must it have been for him in those long years of incarceration that he could have no access to babies and children.
Of course, we could go on and on about his greatness – but eventually what matters is how much we draw from his life for our own. How much we internalise his values and, even more importantly, act on them! We need all of us to contribute to making the world we live in a better place, however we can, in whatever role we play. And you in the SABC too, as well as we in the Ministry and Department of Communications, not least me.
And if Nelson Mandela had many things to say about many things, he also spoke about ICT issues. Speaking at the opening ceremony of ITU (International Telecommunications Union) “Telecom World” in Geneva in 1995, Madiba said, “We need a vast expansion of our communication and information network and ITU, as the principle driving force behind international policy, technological development, cooperation and skills transfer, is an indispensable agent in this regard.”
He underlined the importance of communication and access to information to human beings around the world, and stressed the need to work towards eliminating the divide between information-rich and information-poor countries.
In 1998, the ITU was invited by Madiba to hold the regional edition, ITU Telecom Africa, in Johannesburg. He said, “It allows our nation to take its place in a forum of critical importance to Africa's future. And it is an opportunity to give practical expression to our desire to be fully part of the rebirth of our continent….As the information revolution gathers yet more pace and strikes deeper roots, it is already redefining our understanding of the world. Indeed, the speed of technological innovation could bring the ideal of the global village sooner than we thought possible. For the developing world, this brings both opportunity and challenge…..
As we seek to harness the immense potential of telecommunications, we do so in the context of stark disparities between the industrialised and developing worlds, imbalances that can all too easily reproduce and entrench themselves.
Although much is being done in attempting to bridge the gap between the information haves and the information have-nots, the task remains daunting.
Indeed it is sobering to consider the information revolution from the point of view of global development and its capacity to help raise the quality of life.
We have to acknowledge that the targets set by developing countries to bring all humanity within easy reach of a telephone will not be achieved on our continent as the new millennium dawns.
We therefore need to ask ourselves how we can bridge the gap, in partnership with our counterparts in the developed countries, so that Africa can march in unison with the rest of humanity into the 21st century. How do we avoid drifting to the margins of the emerging global information society?
Our starting point must be the need for a new vision, one that is based on the recognition that we will only reap the full benefits of the telecommunications revolution if we respect certain fundamental principles.
Foremost amongst these is the right of universal access to telecommunications, a goal that new technologies make achievable. This is consistent both with our principled commitment to equity and with the role of telecommunications infrastructure in socio-economic development.
In addition, we require a massive investment in human resources. Education, training for specialists, students and business people are key elements in preparing our countries for the Information Society.”
Speaking via video link at the opening ceremony of ITU “Telecom World” 2009, he said that “information and communication technologies are the single most powerful tool we have for human progress” and urged participants to “support efforts to connect the world and bridge the digital divide”.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said that the “ITU will remember Madiba’s advice, and we shall continue to strive in our efforts to connect the world in the spirit of this great son of South Africa and of the world.”
As a mark of respect to honour him the ITU flag at its headquarters in Geneva will fly at half-mast. So there it is then! Now we are in the ICT sector just need to do more!
Let me, as I conclude, say that the SABC coverage of the 10-day mourning period so far has been very good, and we wish you well in the days ahead.
And let me say too that if Nelson Mandela was great, he was also aware that he could not be separated from the forces that moulded him, even if he moulded them too. He would, as you know, be the first to tell us that we cannot separate him from the ANC and the country of which we was such an integral, indissoluble part. He is an organic growth of what the movement and the country he led are capable of. In him we need to see our own collective potential too. We owe it to him and this country to fulfil that promise and potential.
We have to be clear: Nelson Mandela is not our past. Even more he is our present and our future too!
