The Nelson Mandela Foundation and its sister charities are pleased with the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of July 18, Nelson Mandela’s birthday, as “Nelson Mandela International Day”, an international day of activism.

The resolution was unanimously adopted yesterday, with the support of all UN member states and co-sponsorship of over 165 members, from all regions of the world. This represents the overwhelming support of the entire international community in honouring Mr Mandela. We hope this signals the beginning of greater involvement by the global community in this movement for good.

Mandela Day is an annual international day of humanitarian action in celebration of Mr Mandela’s life and legacy. It serves as a catalyst for each and every person to realise that they have the ability to change the world through action.

It is not about creating institutions with huge infrastructure, but a global movement for good which recognises that positive change begins with small actions. These actions can range from a vision for creating peace and reconciliation to sharing food with a neighbour in need. Mandela Day is particularly geared towards people doing work in their communities and is not event-driven. It is not a holiday.

As Mr Mandela has reminded us, “it’s in our hands” to create a better world.  We take inspiration from his example to take responsibility for ourselves and to understand our responsibility to others.

Nelson Mandela spent 67 years of his life actively devoted to promoting and bringing about social change. On Mandela Day we ask individuals to symbolically give at least 67 minutes of their time in service to their communities in whichever way they choose.

We would like to express our gratitude to the South African government for its efforts in making this international resolution possible.

We urge people to ensure that they observe Mandela Day every day – contributing to the global movement for good – and not only on July 18.