Nelson Mandela International Day

The Office of the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi will be leading UN agencies and members of the Diplomatic corps in the Celebration of Mr. Kennedy Odede, the 2025 United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize Laureate. Mr. Odede is the first Kenyan to receive this prestigious award and shared the 2025 Prize with Ms. Brenda Reynolds, a social worker of Saulteaux heritage in Canada, who has made a lasting impact on the health and well-being of Indigenous communities. Mr. Odede's organization, Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a renowned Kenyan grassroots organization provides critical services to urban informal settlements, reaches over 2.5 million This follows the presentation of this award on 18 July, International Mandela Day, by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of the 79th session of the General Assembly, Philémon Yang, to the two laureates at a ceremony held at the UN Headquarters in New York. Key speakers: Mrs. Zainab Haw...

On Friday, 18 July 2025, the UN Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council will present a concert in celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day. On this occasion, prepare to be captivated by the music of Wouter Kellerman, a three-time Grammy Award-winning South African flautist, producer, and composer, who has also earned nine South African Music Awards. The event will open with insightful remarks from H.E. Ms. Mathu Joyini, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations, and Ndaba Mandela, Founder & Chairman of the Mandela Institute for Humanity. Honouring the enduring legacy of the former South African President and his commitment to peace, freedom, and service, the music program will feature two powerful musical tributes composed by Wouter Kellerman: "The Long Road", an extraordinary flute solo that serves as a biographical homage to Nelson Mandela's journey, and "Madiba", a musical prayer, spe...

  Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life showed how one person can transform oppression, struggle and subjugation into reconciliation, social justice and unity. Just as Madiba’s life was a triumph of the human spirit, his legacy is a call to rekindle our global commitment to peace, justice and human dignity. This year’s theme reminds us that the power to end poverty and inequality is in all our hands. Mandela believed in the power of collective, grassroots action. He knew that ordinary people could bend the arc of history, and that lasting change started not in capitals and boardrooms, but in neighbourhoods and communities. Mandela’s life of service and progress continues to inspire our own efforts at the United Nations, as we celebrate our 80th anniversary. On this important day, and every day, let us all be guided by Madiba’s lifelong commitment to freedom, justice, equality and the rights that belong to every person on earth. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, Message on the o...