Nelson Mandela's legacy is one of courage, resilience, and leadership. His vision of a united Africa requires transformational leadership to be achieved. One of his most profound quotes on leadership from his personal notebook (January 16, 2000) was, "A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate, we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before." Transformational leadership, as emphasised by Mandela, is about inspiring and empowering others to achieve success, creating positive change, sharing vision, fostering growth and development, and unifying and empowering communities. This type of leadership is crucial in achieving the pan-African dream of unity, development, and social justice. Applying Mandela's words, we can work towards a brighter future for Africa through collaboration, trust, and collective power.
When the Mandela Institute of Development Studies (MINDS) was established in 2010, it marked a significant turning point in pursuing the pan-African dream, embodying the spirit of Nelson Mandela, whose leadership was transformative and who understood that actual progress could only be achieved through unity and collaboration. Under the visionary leadership of Mrs Graça Machel, the Founder of the Graça Machel Trust and Chairperson of MINDS, these two institutions have collaborated in championing numerous initiatives that promote empowerment and collaboration.
Mrs Machel's transformative leadership has driven the pan-African dream forward, as she recognises the urgent need for transformational change in our societies, for example, by working with MINDS to provide scholarships to African postgraduate students and connecting youth networks across Africa to identify successful and scalable youth initiatives and develop a platform to cross-pollinate ideas to drive the youth agenda forward.
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"You cannot feel that you are connected to other African youth if you don't have a space in which you can engage with them. Despite the importance of social media, there has to be a space where you can humanise the message"- Mrs Graça Machel, African Youth Networks Summit, 2018.
The Founder and CEO of MINDS, Dr Nkosana Moyo, and the MINDS Scholars are working towards a united and prosperous Africa. In commemoration of Mandela Day, they recently held a virtual roundtable to discuss how to turn the idea of Pan-Africanism into reality, learn from leaders like Nelson Mandela, and allow scholars to be exposed to a cross-section of African countries' experiences.
"Pan-Africanism is the belief that African countries are stronger together than alone. The continent has incredible potential, but it can only be fully realised when its people come together. With a combined landmass, resources, and population, Africa is a force to be reckoned with. But for this to be true, we must start by changing how we think. When we embrace the power of collaboration and unity, nothing can stop us from achieving success." - Dr Nkosana Moyo, MINDS Scholars Roundtable, 2023.
This #MandelaDay2023, MINDS Scholars were challenged to demonstrate their definition of transformational leadership in their communities with 90-minute projects showcasing their knowledge, experiences, and ideas to bring the pan-African Dream to life.
