Facebook is celebrating Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July—which this year marks 100 years since his birth—by inspiring its global community to reflect on Mandela’s legacy of compassion, justice and care for the community.
“Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to the struggle for equality and social justice, and many around the world remain indebted to him for the selfless contribution he made to humanity,” says Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director for Facebook in Africa.
“Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday is a moment we should celebrate globally. We will anchor on Madiba’s legacy as a way to inspire people to do good in their own community, wherever they are in the world.”
Building on its partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Facebook will be celebrating Mandela Day through several initiatives:
- Partnering on the Mandela Archives: Facebook in February announced
a three-year partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to honour Mandela’s legacy through the preservation and digitisation of the extensive Mandela Archives.
- Annual Lecture with Obama: Former U.S. President, Barack Obama, will deliver the Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg. This year, Facebook is supporting to the Foundation with FB Live streaming. You can watch the lecture on the NMF page
on July 17th from 15:00-18:00 South African time (13:00 – 16:00 GMT).
- Global Community Moment & Profile Frames: Facebook users across the world will receive an alert at the top of their News Feeds on Wednesday. It pays tribute to Nelson Mandela, inviting people to follow in his footsteps by taking action, inspiring change and making a difference in their communities. In addition, those who are in English speaking countries can access a unique camera profile frame featuring a quote from the great man.
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About Facebook
Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook has 2.07 billion monthly active users and 1.37 billion daily active users on average worldwide and 10 million daily users and 22 million monthly active users from Nigeria.