Message from Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of Nelson Mandela International Day

18 July 2023

As the world grapples with unprecedented challenges, Nelson Mandela International Day is an opportunity to reflect on the legacy of this renowned statesman, who advocated for a fairer and more peaceful world.

For as he so eloquently stated, "no one is born hating another person [...]. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love."

Here at UNESCO, where we strive to build peace in the minds of women and men, this conviction underpins all our actions. This is why, every year on 18 July, we celebrate the birth of Nelson Mandela, whose life has never ceased to inspire. It is no coincidence that he won the first Félix Houphout-Boigny – UNESCO Peace Prize, along with Frederik W. De Klerk, in 1991.

UNESCO is continuing Mandela's fight to defend the fundamental rights of all human beings, regardless of their nationality, gender or race. This commitment to honouring Mandela's life and legacy is visible across all our initiatives and programmes.

It is visible, for instance, in our celebration of all forms of cultural expression, which allow individuals, groups and society to convey their shared humanity. It is visible in our work to support press freedom and media and information literacy, because critical thinking is a powerful bulwark against hateful discourse.

It is also visible in our 2020 Global Call against Racism, which led to the establishment of a Roadmap against Racism and Discrimination. Crucial to the success of this Roadmap is UNESCO's annual Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination, a unique platform for international cooperation.

The second edition of this Forum took place in Mexico City in November 2022 and paved the way for new partnerships, such as the tripartite North American Partnership for Equity and Racial Justice (Canada, Mexico, United States of America), the Global Coalition Against Systemic Racism and Reparations and the ‘Writers against Racism" network, which will put the power of culture at the service of equality and humanism – a commitment at the heart of UNESCO's DNA.

The third edition of the Global Forum, which will be hosted by So Paulo, Brazil, from 29 November to 1 December 2023, promises to further enhance our efforts. For instance, this year we will also establish a global network of policymakers in charge of countering racism and discrimination that will play a catalytic role in concretizing their commitments.

But we are also mobilizing the power of education to continue Nelson Mandela's fight. This is why, in March 2023, UNESCO organized the second global edition of the Master Class against Racism and Discriminations to empower youth to become anti-racism champions. Since the launch of the Master Classes, 12,000 students and their teachers have been trained.

Finally, to build knowledge about discrimination, UNESCO has also continued to break down the wall of silence surrounding the history of slavery and enslavement with the Routes of Enslaved Peoples project – ensuring that our collective memory lives on. We are also deploying our General History of Africa, which tells Africa's history from an African perspective, in educational programmes in several countries on the continent, starting with Kenya.

Nelson Mandela described racism and discrimination as a prison, where oppressors are "locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness." Together, let us break down these barriers and uphold Mandela's legacy.