Tour Guide:  Welcome to the wonderful world of Nelson Mandela!  This tour will be based on the life of a hero; Nelson Mandela was not only a South African hero, but a person that the whole world is proud of.  He has made an incredible contribution to the world and to bringing peace to all people.  

Let me introduce you to our guest, Dr. Czerny.  She is a social scientist and has been studying the life of Mr. Mandela.  Dr. Czerny is an expert in this field at the University of Peace.  

Hello Dr. Czerny, and thank you for spending some time with us. Firstly, can you tell us who Nelson Mandela was?

Dr. Czerny:  Certainly.  Nelson Mandela was a great political figure during the time of apartheid, and is still very active in the world of politics and peace today. He helped lead the black people to equality and one of the ways he was able to do this was by leading protests and demonstrations. He was one of the strongest figures against apartheid, and was a part of a network of people all fighting for equal rights and for peace.

Tour Guide: Mr. Mandela is a very interesting man, that is for sure!  It must have been difficult to fight for what he believed in so strongly.  It would be informative for the group if you could give us some more information on what Mr. Mandela’s life was like?

Dr. Czerny:  Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela and his name was later changed at his school. He belonged to the Thembu tribe, a smaller branch of the Xhosa. His father was one of the tribe's chieftains. Unfortunately, Mandela’s father died and Nelson was sent to live with his cousin. He was eventually sent off for the University of Fort Hare in 1939. 

He was later suspended from Fort Hare and eventually expelled for protesting at the school!  Mr. Mandela came back to his village to find that a marriage had been planned for him.  This proved to be too much for Mr. Mandela so he ran away to the city to escape the marriage! It was in the city of Johannesburg that Nelson Mandela became interested in politics. He met Walter Sisulu, who influenced Mandela to join the ANC, and together with Oliver Tambo they formed the ANC Youth League. They then helped write the Freedom Charter in 1955. Later in 1959, the ANC was outlawed. After this, Mr. Mandela went to neighboring countries and went through military training. He later led an orchestration of resistance towards the government and was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was sent to Robben Island for many years of hard labor and solitary confinement. 

Tour Guide: I think our tour group needs a little more information about the Robben Island.  Where and what is Robben Island? It sounds like a prison similar to Alcatraz.

Dr. Czerny:  Yes, it was similar to Alcatraz, though it is also different. Both prisons were set on islands, far from land, and were supposed to be impenetrable. However, Robben Island was a prison island reserved for blacks and coloreds only. The conditions there were extremely poor and the cells were very small. Prisoners were treated very harshly.

Tour Guide:  What happened while Mr. Mandela was in prison?  Did he try to escape or did someone help him?  Did he protest in Robben Island?  What did he do?  We have so many questions!

Dr. Czerny:  Mr. Mandela was a very strong and optimistic person and he never gave up.  Even in prison he protested. He organized fellow prisoners to protest for better conditions and tried to maintain contact with the underground ANC. He was later sent to two other prisons. Meanwhile, many South Africans began to protest and rallied around the new slogan, “Free Mandela." Mr. Mandela’s imprisonment attracted international attention, and eventually he was released in 1990.

Tour Guide:  He does sound like an incredible person and an amazing role model.  It must have been difficult to fight an uphill battle every day.  This leads us to our next question, what effect did Mr. Mandela have on the world?

Dr. Czerny:   Nelson Mandela was a political figure in the fight against apartheid. He suggested new tactics and organized and led protests. He gave speeches and raised a worldwide awareness. Even while he was in prison he strived to create equality. 

Mr. Mandela endeavored to end apartheid and after he was released from Robben Island Mandela was elected as the South African President.  He then won the Nobel Peace Prize along with another man, who fought against apartheid, William De Klerk.

He had expressed his values and helped change the South African laws. Many other people led protests and helped in the fight against apartheid too such as Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, but none surpassed his efforts to destroy apartheid.

Tour Guide:  This has been very educational for us and we thank you for your talk.  We definitely know more about this amazing man and the power of positive thinking.

This concludes our tour today, but remember, we have other tours available at the touch of a button!  Take a trip to our organizations page to visit peace organizations, or head off to Japan or the United States to learn about more famous people and documents.  Have a great day!