Qunu — The launch of an exhibition, which features exclusive televised messages from Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and United States presidential candidate Barack Obama, is to inspire young South Africans.

Mr Mandela and Rosa Parks Children's Letter Global Lessons Exhibition will raise greater public understanding of the parallels in the struggles for equality and justice in the South Africa and United States, according to national and international icons.

In his message, Mr Mandela said it was an honour for South Africans to be sharing this exhibition and platform with a person like Ms Parks who was recognised as a mother of the United States' civil rights movement.

Ms Parks refused to move from a seat which was reserved for a white person during the 1955 Montgomery Bus boycott in the US.

"Ms Parks and I have one thing in common. Among the precious things, was the gift of receiving letters from children around the world ... children who are honest, uncomplicated and full of love.

"We often say that children are our future, but they are also our present and our past. If we can bring knowledge to children, we can help them realise their true potential," said Mr Mandela.

Another Nobel Price Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said it was wonderful that the extraordinary exhibition of two extraordinary human beings was held at such a crucial time.

"How wonderful that our children and grandchildren will know that the man who walked that long walk did not come from floating down the sky

"He was a child at one time, like them, living in the rural areas, herding cattle, just like any other ordinary human being," said Archbishop Tutu.

Senator Obama said it was a special privilege to take part in Madiba's birthday celebration.

"This is the story of 90 remarkable years that we celebrate today ... and the way to truly honour Mr Mandela is to act each and every day in our own lives to do our part for our fellow human beings and to live up to the example you continue to set each and every day," said Mr Obama.

The exhibition was developed when the Michigan State University Museum and the Nelson Mandela Museum were awarded one of the first four grants from a new programme of the American Association of Museums.

It also includes Washington DC, US Department of State Bereau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, designed to strengthen connections between people in the US and abroad through museum-based exchanges.

A replica of the exhibition will open in the United States in December where the exhibition will travel from Nelson Mandela Museum in Qunu to other South African sites.

Lutho Ndabeni, a Grade seven learner at Qunu Primary School said the exhibition will not only help learners in the Transkei, but both nationally and internationally.

"It will be an advantage for us to interact with other learners from other countries as most of our schools [in Qunu] are previously disadvantaged," he said.