Nelson Mandela’s legacy is one of courage, resilience, and leadership. His vision of a united Africa requires transformational leadership to be achieved. One of his most profound quotes on leadership from his personal notebook (January 16, 2000) was, “A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate, we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before.” Transformational leadership, as emphasised by Mandela, is about inspiring and empowering others to achieve success, creating positive change, sharing vision, fostering growth and development, and unifying and empowering communities. This type of leadership is crucial in achieving the pan-African dream of unity, development, and social justice. Applying Mandela’s words, we can work towards a brighter future for Africa through collaboration, trust, and collective power.
When theĀ Mandela Institute of Development Studies (MINDS)Ā was established in 2010, it marked a significant turning point in pursuing the pan-African dream, embodying the spirit of Nelson Mandela, whose leadership was transformative and who understood that actual progress could only be achieved through unity and collaboration. Under the visionary leadership of Mrs GraƧa Machel, the Founder of the GraƧa Machel Trust and Chairperson of MINDS, these two institutions have collaborated in championing numerous initiatives that promote empowerment and collaboration.
Mrs Machel’s transformative leadership has driven the pan-African dream forward, as she recognises the urgent need for transformational change in our societies. For example, by working with MINDS to provideĀ scholarshipsĀ to African postgraduate students andĀ connecting youth networks across Africa to identify successful and scalable youth initiatives and develop a platform to cross-pollinate ideas to drive the youth agenda forward.
“You cannot feel that you are connected to other African youth if you don’t have a space in which you can engage with them. Despite the importance of social media, there has to be a space where you can humanise the message”-Ā Mrs GraƧa Machel, African Youth Networks Summit, 2018.
The Founder and CEO of MINDS, Dr Nkosana Moyo, and the MINDS Scholars are working towards a united and prosperous Africa. In commemoration of Mandela Day, they recently held a virtual roundtable to discuss how to turn the idea of Pan-Africanism into reality, learn from leaders like Nelson Mandela, and allow scholars to be exposed to a cross-section of African countries’ experiences.
“Pan-Africanism is the belief that African countries are stronger together than alone. The continent has incredible potential, but it can only be fully realised when its people come together. With a combined landmass, resources, and population, Africa is a force to be reckoned with. But for this to be true, we must start by changing how we think. When we embrace the power of collaboration and unity, nothing can stop us from achieving success.” –Ā Dr Nkosana Moyo, MINDS Scholars Roundtable, 2023.
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This #MandelaDay2023, MINDS Scholars were challenged to demonstrate their definition of transformational leadership in their communities with 90-minute projects showcasing their knowledge, experiences, and ideas to bring the pan-African Dream to life.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenās rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Childrenās Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsā health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trustās goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a motherās health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childās life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.