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Today marks the 94th birthday of internationally recognized peace leader, Nelson Mandela, who served as South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999 after spending 27 years in prison for his struggle against racist apartheid rule. Mandela was awared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, later becoming a high profile ambassador for South Africa, accruing 40 active years in politics.
In 2009, the UN General Assembly declared July 18 to be “Nelson Mandela International Day.” Millions of people around the world are dedicating 67 minutes of their days to helping others in light of Mandela’s 67 years of effort bolstering human rights.
In honor of the day, South Africa’s Prezence Digital and the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory have composed a YouTube video that asks the question, “Would the father of our nation have spent 27 years in captivity if he (and others) had access to the same technology, social media platforms and tools as we do today?”
The video charts Mandela’s life through a Facebook timeline, Twitter, foursquare, Pinterest, and Instagram. Viewers are encouraged spread the word with the #MandelaStory hashtag and visit MandelaStory.com to add their names to a limited edition print that will be sold to raise funds for charity.
Although Mandela didn’t have access to social media during his time in power, today’s influencers can still take to networking sites to celebrate the occasion and share their favorite quotes.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” – Nelson Mandela
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) July 18, 2012
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Happy 94th Birthday to Nelson Mandela; an authentic and iconic servant-leader. Mandela is the quintessential example of a leader who has…
— Tavis Smiley(@tavissmiley) July 18, 2012
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Happy 94th birthday to Nelson Mandela!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2012
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“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.Happy 94th Birthday Nelson Mandela!
— LA Reid (@LA_Reid) July 18, 2012
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Nelson Mandela is 94! One of the wisest and most capable people we have ever had in our world. Happy Birthday Madiba bbc.co.uk/news/world-afr…
— Eddie Izzard (@eddieizzard) July 18, 2012
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Today belongs to Nelson Mandela, hero for all the world.Happy 94Th Birthday Madiba! Thank you for making us feel better about being human.
— mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) July 18, 2012
