By Jennifer Mande
July is Mandela Month, a time when South Africans reflect on the values that shaped Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy. While many people know 18 July as Mandela Day and dedicate 67 minutes to community service, the month is also an opportunity to consider how young people can continue building the South Africa Mandela envisioned.
In 2009, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and its partners launched the first Mandela Day campaign, encouraging people to dedicate 67 minutes to community service. As a result, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared 18 July Nelson Mandela International Day.
Since 2010, South Africans and people around the world have marked the day through acts of service. However, Mandela’s legacy is about more than a single day of volunteering. For young people, it is reflected in the choices they make to use their education, skills, and voices to build a better South Africa.
Who was Nelson Mandela?
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was South Africa’s first democratically elected President and a global symbol of justice, equality, and reconciliation. Before becoming President in 1994, he spent 27 years in prison for opposing apartheid, a system that denied millions of South Africans their basic rights, including access to quality education.
Rather than allowing hardship to define his future, Mandela devoted his life to building a South Africa where education could empower every person to grow, contribute, and succeed.
Mandela’s vision for education
To understand Mandela’s vision for education, it is important to understand the journey that shaped it. As a student, lawyer, anti-apartheid activist, and political prisoner, he came to see education as far more than a means of earning a qualification. He believed it was a powerful tool for freedom, equality, and social transformation.
His famous words, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” continue to inspire young people navigating schools, universities, colleges, and the world of work.
Mandela believed education should empower people to think critically, challenge injustice, and build stronger communities. His vision helped shape a democratic South Africa where access to education became a basic human right rather than a privilege, although significant challenges remain.
How today’s youth continue to benefit
More than three decades into democracy, Mandela’s vision continues to shape educational opportunities for young South Africans.
Today, every child has the constitutional right to basic education. School enrolment has increased significantly since 1994, and more black students than ever before have access to universities and TVET colleges. Financial support through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has also expanded opportunities for students from low-income households.
The education system now places greater emphasis on constitutional values, diversity, equality, and human rights, reflecting Mandela’s vision of developing active citizens as well as future professionals.
Progress has been made, but the journey is far from over
South Africa has made significant progress since the end of apartheid, but many young people still face barriers to quality education and employment. Financial pressures, unequal access to learning opportunities, overcrowded institutions, limited access to libraries and study materials, accommodation shortages, and graduate unemployment continue to affect thousands of students.
Research by the Department of Basic Education continues to highlight literacy and numeracy gaps, particularly among learners from disadvantaged communities. This shows that equal access to education does not always translate into equal educational outcomes.
These realities remind us that Mandela’s dream remains a work in progress.
Building on Mandela’s legacy
As South Africa marks Mandela Month, the conversation should move beyond the challenges facing education to the solutions that can drive lasting change. Rather than asking only, “What problems do we face?”, young people can also ask, “What solutions can we be part of?”
Whether by mentoring learners, supporting literacy programmes or advocating for equal educational opportunities, every action contributes to building on Mandela’s vision. His legacy reminds us that meaningful change is not confined to 67 minutes. It is a lifelong commitment to creating better opportunities for generations to come.
Whether you are a student, graduate or young professional, let this Mandela Month be more than a reminder to give 67 minutes. Let it be the beginning of a lifelong commitment to helping build a South Africa where every young person has the opportunity to learn, thrive and succeed.
