What happened to 67 Minutes?

Nelson Mandela Day is perhaps best known for its slogan, “67 Minutes of Service,” but did you know where that came from and why it is no longer the slogan?

In 2009, it was calculated that Nelson Mandela spent 67 years of his life in service of social justice - in his years of activism and mobilisation, his years in prison, as well as his years as president of the Republic of South Africa. However, It seems that something went wrong with the calculation because, in 2009, Madiba had spent 65 years fighting for social justice since he joined the ANC in 1944. Even with this error, the 67 Minutes campaign went global and became the rallying call for Nelson Mandela International Day.

There were many notable campaigns that were started by the 67 Minutes campaign, perhaps most notably being the 67 Blankets initiative by Carolyn Steyn and the Mandela Day Libraries all across the country.

The 67 Minutes gave people an opportunity to take part in short, action based projects in service of their communities.This included painting schools, cleaning up streets and making sandwiches.

Very quickly, the criticism came that Mandela Day was not making sustainable impact in the world, but instead encouraged “do-goodism”, or short-term charity work. What the world needed were long-term, collaborative initiatives in honour of Madiba’s legacy.

And so, in 2011, the Nelson Mandela Foundation introduced the “Make Every Day A Mandela Day” slogan, encouraging people to take responsibility for social justice in their communities every day of the year. The hope was that Mandela Day would become more than just a day, but a global movement of ordinary people doing extraordinary things for their communities and Madiba.

However, after more than a decade of Nelson Mandela Day, we have learnt that even short-term interventions such as street cleanups and school painting have long-lasting impact for the community. It brings different sectors of society together in ways they may never have gotten together. It shows us the reality of this country and drives discourse and agendas for social justice.

This year, the slogan for Nelson Mandela International Day is a return to Madiba’s words when he give us his birthday as a day for making good in the world – “It is still in your hands to combat poverty and inequity.”

With this message we are motivating the world to take ownership of our communities and of the wellbeing of the people in our neighbourhoods. In the difficult economic and social environment we are in, nobody is coming to save us. It is up to all of us to uphold the legacy of our beloved icon, Nelson Mandela.

#Itisstillinyourhands

#MandelaDay2024