Upcoming Mandela Day in NYC, July 18!

In the next 30 days, New York City will be inundated with Nelson Mandela’s legacy. From a multi-media exhibit in Grand Central station with performance arts programs to a week-long volunteer initiative planned around the entire city to a massive concert on Mandela Day, New Yorkers will have an amazing opportunity to learn about Mandela’s legacy, the values he embraced, and how one person can make a difference in their community.

Tim Massey is the creative mind and architect behind Mandela Day.  Tim worked in the entertainment industry for years, and by 1992 Tim had been introduced to the rock group Queen’s manager Jim Beach.  In early 2003 Jim Beach had been asked to produce a major concert on behalf of Nelson Mandela aimed at increasing global awareness of HIV AIDS. Jim approached Tim to coordinate the organization of the first 46664 concert. 

The concert was staged at Green Point Stadium, Cape Town on November 29^th, 2003 and the 46664 campaign was born.  From Tim’s early involvement with Queen and the tragic death of Freddie Mercury, his passion to help fight HIV AIDS has been a key focus. Hence Tim’s desire to see 46664 develop as a global campaign which could really make an impact in the fight against HIV AIDS. This relationship grew from Tim being the mastermind behind the succesful 46664 concerts to becoming the Board Director of 46664 in January 2007.

In June 2008, Tim organised the hugely successful Nelson Mandela 90^th birthday celebrations in London’s Hyde Park, raising over US $15 million for the Nelson Mandela charitable organizations.

NYCity Mama had a chance to interview Mr. Massey about this incredible upcoming event and his thoughts on how we, as families, can become more involved in our communities:

Nelson Mandela’s legacy is such a wonderful one, what inspired you to start this operation, spread this message of the importance of volunteerism?

The reaction to Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations in London last year showed that people across the globe wanted to celebrate this extraordinary man’s legacy. And whilst he is still with us, we could think of nothing more fitting than to establish a day in his name, to honor him, to celebrate him and to offer him our thanks.

And the best way to honor him is through our global volunteer effort. The Mandela Day campaign calls upon people around the world to commit 67 minutes of their time to make an imprint and help change the world around them. The 67 minutes represent the 67 years Mr. Mandela spent fighting for humanitarian issues.

In the week leading up to Mandela Day, New York City will embark on a massive volunteer effort. Each day a different theme will drive volunteers to make an imprint on the city (click here to check out the themes and register!). Also, numerous other non-profits and charity organizations have agreed to help.

People can pledge online what they will do and then have their volunteer work added to a handprint of what everyone is doing. It is symbolic that as an individual, we can each make an impression that can change the world.

You have gathered an impressive group of entertainers to participate for this celebration. How was it getting so many people together for this wonderful cause?

There is a saying that when Nelson Mandela speaks we must listen. Similarly when Mr Mandela asks for our support you cannot ignore it. We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful artists who have answered Mr Mandela’s call and are prepared to give of their time to support Mandela Day.

Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Forest Whitaker, Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Dave Stewart, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Josh Groban, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Jesse McCartney, Zucchero, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Will.i.am, T-Pain, Gloria Gaynor and musician Jesse Clegg are just a few of the names. And with Whoopi Goldberg acting as emcee, Mandela Day on July 18 at Radio City Music Hall will be a night to remember.*

Brad Pitt / Mandela Day is a 46664 Celebration from mandeladay on Vimeo.

Did you find the reception in some parts of the world to participate easier to garner than others?

Mr Mandela is a truly global icon and revered all over. His 90th birthday celebration in England was an amazing event, but the States we have tremendous support from celebrities, to leaders in DC, and opinion makers in New York City.

And now people are signing-up online at MandelaDay.com to volunteer 67 minutes to change their community. This has truly been a global project.

It seems that at the time when Mandela was most active, the idea of volunteerism wasn’t a popular one in our society, would you agree?

Yes, there has definitely been a shift in attitudes, largely created by the access to global news we can now receive instantly. People accept that ‘doing good’ is actually rewarding, there’s a sort of moral faith and it’s not un-cool to be associated with giving and caring.

Do you think that we are becoming more open to give back to our communities? 

There is a general consensus that we all have to do more to help ourselves and to help others. The President’s service in the community program and Mayor Bloomberg’s service campaign illustrate that in these difficult times the need to take responsibility for oneself and help others less fortunate is high on the agenda.

This celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life will serve as a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better. This annual celebration is being created to inspire people from every corner of the earth to embrace Nelson Mandela’s values as they seek to improve their lives through service to their communities.

Mr. Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years since he actively became involved in campaigning for the human rights of every South African and now ‘Mandela Day’ calls upon each of us to give 67 minutes of our time to helping others, with the idea that each individual has the ability to make an imprint and make the world a better place.

What advice would you give families with small children wanting to instill the importance of volunteerism in their children? 

If we want to live in a peaceful world then we must reconcile our differences. Families are at the core of society and the next generations need to understand the past in order to affect the future and that each of us can make a difference, however small. Tolerance, caring and giving back are key to building communities and children can be taught and shown this from a very young age. Education is key though, and the best way to learn about another culture is truly immersing yourself in it.

Through 46664 and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, we gave a dozen NYC public school kids an opportunity of a lifetime to travel to South Africa, meet Nelson Mandela and learn about a completely different culture.

Twelve students ranging from 11 – 17 years old from all parts of New York became finalists for the trip after taking part in an essay contest, competing amongst 1,000 entries. Working alongside 6 South African students, finalists in a similar competition, they were assigned with the task of creating a student charter that would outline and reflect how today’s youth can live, practice and give-back in accordance to Nelson Mandela’s life principles.

While in South Africa, students had the opportunity to meet with Nelson Mandela, study his life principles, and visit inner city schools in Soweto and Johannesburg. The student charter that the students created will be presented in NYC on Mandela Day as a testament to how the next generation of youth will make a commitment to his principles, increase compassion and awareness, and truly make an imprint on the world. What started as a coming-together of diverse individuals, ended as a group with a shared, life-changing experience.

Mandela Day / Television Spot from mandeladay on Vimeo.

Mandela Day will be held annually on July 18, Mr. Mandela’s birthday. This celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life will serve as a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better. This annual celebration is being created to inspire people from every corner of the earth to embrace Nelson Mandela’s values as they seek to improve their lives through service to their communities.

In the week leading up to Mandela Day, New York City will embark on a massive volunteer effort. Each day a different theme will drive volunteers to make an imprint on the city.

The Mandela Day campaign calls upon people around the world to commit 67 minutes of their time to make an imprint and help change the world around them. The 67 minutes represent the 67 years Mr. Mandela spent fighting for humanitarian issues.

46664 (four, double six, six four) was Nelson Mandela’s prison number when he was imprisoned on Robben Island, off Cape Town in South Africa. And though it represented a symbol of oppression, just one of many numbers given to prisoners as a typical strategy of the apartheid regime to reduce its opponents to nameless numbers, Mr. Mandela instead used it as a powerful, symbolic number in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Through this simple, poignant means he has demonstrated and communicated to the world that people must never be reduced to simple numbers – we are human beings, all equal, and those infected and living with HIV/AIDS have the same right to live and to be treated as equals. 

This is how the number 46664 became the icon for promoting Mr Mandela’s global HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. 

He famously handed over the fight at a concert in Hyde Park, London, in 2008, with the words “It’s in our hands”. 

Today 46664 is a South African-based, independent, not-for-profit entity wholly owned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

46664 and the Nelson Mandela Foundation will debut a Ralph Appelbaum Associates designed installation at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Station, open to the public from July 9 – 22 in honor of Nelson Mandela.

The installation featuring six 3-D action words: act, listen, lead, unite, learn and speak, highlight Nelson Mandela’s lifelong struggle against apartheid and other social injustice, and call to action our own potential for positive social change.

The front of each word shows key messages that reveal Nelson Mandela’s values and inspires visitors to act. The back of each word has detailed information about Nelson Mandela’s life, stories and speeches. “Listen” contains messages relating to his most powerful speeches; “learn” presents Nelson Mandela’s biography with iconic images; “unite” recalls inspiring stories in which Mr. Mandela showed the importance of reconciliation; “act” explains the work of the different foundations that Nelson Mandela founded; “speak” challenges visitors to consider how they might speak up against injustice; and “lead” is a display that allows visitors to write their pledge to help at a local cause of their choice. The audio/visual experience culminates with a film highlighting key moments in Mr. Mandela’s life and showcasing his legacy.

Christie’s Items Available

1: RICHARD STONE PORTRAIT

Large formal portrait by renowned British portrait artist in oils painted early 2008.

2: MADIBA HANDPRINT #3

By Paul DuToit, #2 sold last year at London Gala. Impression of Mr Mandela’s handprint taken in printer’s ink and laid onto white canvas, signed in the ink by Mr Mandela.

3: FRAMED LONG WALK QUOTE + HANDWRITTEN FOOTNOTE

The closing passage from Long Walk To Freedom (beginning ‘I was not born with a hunger to be free…’), hand-printed letterpress on handmade paper, with footnote handwritten by Mr Mandela June 2009: ‘You cannot liberate others unless you have liberated yourself.’

4: MADIBA HANDPRINT IN SANDSTONE

Impression taken by Paul DuToit in May 2009 (who produced bronze cast last year) of Mr Mandela’s handprint and recast as an impression in sandstone/resin, mounted on an African zebrawood plinth with bronze signature plate.

5: FRAMED MONTAGE OF PIEZO PRINTS OF CELEBRITY HANDS

Participating celebrities at LA event (14/05) were photographed by Scott McDermott and 17 of these photos are incorporated into one large framed piece. The 18th is a new photo of Mr Mandela taken May 2009. Celebrities include Morgan Freeman, Forrest and Keisha Whitaker, Angela Davis, Quincy Jones, Clint Eastwood, Robert de Niro, Christy Turlington, Sharon Stone etc etc.

6: JEWELLERY ITEM – MONTBLANC

A white gold and diamond-encrusted bangle engraved and inlaid with diamond lettering of ‘46664’ on the top surface and ‘Mandela Day’ beneath.

7: LIGHTJET PRINT AND SIGNED PHOTO PORTFOLIO

6ft x 4ft state-of-the-art lightjet colour print, diaset mounted, of Mr Mandela’s hand (photographed by Alet van Huyssteen in Johannesburg in May 2009) with accompanying portfolio in embossed leather of six silver gelatin, selenium-toned prints of Mr Mandela’s hands from same session, with frontispiece signed by Mr Mandela.

8: MESSAGE HANDWRITTEN BY MR MANDELA

‘People are human beings, produced by the society in which they live – you encourage people by seeing good in them’… Handwritten by Mr Mandela shortly before his 90th birthday in July 2008.

9: SILVER AND PAVE DIAMOND PLAQUE

Solid silver plaque by Namakwa Diamonds handmade in London, engraved with Mr Mandela’s handprint, the lines on his hands inlaid with pave diamonds, the plaque mounted on a perspex box containing sandstone fragments from Robben Island.

*46664 – Mandela Day Celebration Radio City Music Hall concert tickets prices range from $75-$500, with VIP packages available. All tickets are available at Ticketmaster, Livenation.com, thegarden.com and by phone at 800-745-3000. For VIP packages visit Ticketmaster. 

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