By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has announced Her Excellency Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, as the speaker for the 20th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, which will be held in eThekwini, November 2022, in solidarity with the people of Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape.
The theme for the 20th Lecture will explore issues of climate change and food insecurity underpinned by our social bonding praxis.
In April 2022, heavy rains and catastrophic floods wreaked havoc on South Africa’s east coast, killing more than 400 people and destroying thousands of homes and critical infrastructure in parts of the provinces of KwaZulu Natal and the Eastern Cape. According to World Weather Attribution, the amount of rainfall experienced was 4 to 8 percent more intense than previously experienced as a direct result of global warming.
In a statement the foundation said, “the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture is a unique platform to drive debate on significant social issues. The Lecture is an important event on the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s calendar. It encourages the public, both local and international to enter into dialogue, often about intractable social issues we face as society today.”
“Her Excellency Mia Mottley was recently crowned a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environmental Programme for her incredible work in raising the alarm on the crisis climate change poses on vulnerable Developing States,” explains Sello Hatang, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The Foundation has been following Her Excellency’s work for a few years. The impact of her work became even more significant for us following the devastating impact of floods in the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal. Our relief efforts taught us that our communities are in need of sustainable solutions to deal with issues of climate change. I do not doubt that we need to come together to find sustainable solutions to the desolation climate change is having on nations of the global south, read the statement.”
Previous speakers include South Africa’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, former US president Barack Obama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former South African president Thabo Mbeki, among many others.
The Honourable Mia Mottley is the 8th Prime Minister of Barbados. She became the first woman to occupy the high office, following General Elections on May 24th 2018, in which she led the Barbados Labour Party to an emphatic victory, winning all 30 seats in the House of Assembly by the largest margin ever seen in the electoral history of the country.
An Attorney-at-Law and Queen’s Counsel, Prime Minister Mottley has been active in the political life of Barbados for almost three decades. First elected in 1994 she is presently serving her sixth term as Member of Parliament for the constituency of St. Michael North East.
Between 1994 and 2008 Miss Mottley served in the Cabinet of three successive Administrations, first as Minister of Education and Culture; then as Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs; and then as Minister of Economic Affairs. In 2003 she was appointed Deputy Prime Minister.
Since becoming Prime Minister, Miss Mottley has served as the Chair of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) between January 1st and June 30th, 2020. Notwithstanding that, Miss Mottley, as Prime Minister of Barbados, serves as the Lead Head of Government within CARICOM, bearing responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Prime Minister Mottley also serves as Co-Chair of the Americas Cruise Tourism Task Force for the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America markets.
The date and venue for the 20th Nelson Mandela Annual lecture will be announced soon.