HSF supports Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture
Constitutionalism as an Instrument for Transformation
A pre-lecture conversation with the Chief Justice
On the eve of the Annual Lecture, we were honoured to join an intimate pre-Lecture conversation with the Chief Justice at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. In his conversation with Prof. Njabulo Ndebele, renowned writer and chairperson of the board of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng shared his thoughts on building a better, more just South Africa, the country of Madiba’s dreams. He called for strong institutions, and strong leaders, to implement strong systems, to move South Africa forward. “Identify solutions, and encourage others to do the same”.
Nelson Mandela signing the new South African Constitution
Graeme Williams; Gallo Images
HSF Video to be shown at Annual Lecture
The Hanns Seidel Foundation created a short video on the occasion which will be shown at the Annual Lecture. It gives an introduction to the work of our foundation and touches on recent German and South African history and their interconnections, with the momentous, liberating events of 1989 and 1990 that changed both countries' paths, forever.
The video also reflects on the timeous topic of the Annual Lecture, "Constitutionalism as an Instrument for Transformation" and gives examples of our work with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and other South African partners, particularly in the field of civic education, as well as improved safety and violence prevention.
Text of the HSF Video
Read the text of the video skript - and follow the link below to watch the video online
Greetings from the Hanns Seidel Foundation,
We are an international organization, mandated by the German Parliament to strengthen constitutionalism, the rule of law and democratic structures at home, as well as abroad. We are 100% public funded and operate in more than 60 countries around the world.
In South Africa, we have offices in Johannesburg and in Cape Town.
We are very honoured to support this year’s Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture. The topic of the lecture – Constitutionalism as an instrument for transformation – is wisely chosen, and comes at a very timely moment. It is not only relevant for South Africa’s future but for the sustainable development of most countries.
In Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng not a better speaker could have been found. Thank you very much, honourable Chief Justice, for addressing us today!
We Germans know from our bitter experience before, during and after World War II: Democracy, the rule of law and constitutionalism is not a given. It needs to be defended and fought for by every new generation. These concepts need to be kept alive.
This year, Germany and Europe celebrate 30 years of reunification between East and West Germany. The end of the cold war and the fall of the Berlin wall are directly linked with South Africa’s recent history: They also facilitated the end of the dark days of Apartheid government and the release of Madiba from his long captivity.
Both of our countries have come a long way – but many challenges remain.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has been one of our key partners for many years.
In 2016 we launched the Civics Academytogether with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Adv. Thuli Madonsela. This free online education initiative provides short, informative and modern videos produced by South African experts. Just recently we added a new series on the Bill of Right and the South African Constitution. Please look it up and use it.
Another of our focus topics is human security. Without security there is no development. It is our goal to contribute to evidence-based and service oriented law enforcement agencies and strategic violence prevention measures. A key partner of ours in this area is the Institute for Security Studies.
I wish all participants and listeners at today’s Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture an inspiring afternoon. Let’s exchange ideas and perhaps even more importantly: Let’s start implementing them well.
FOLLLOW THIS LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO ONLINE: