media releases - Nelson Mandela leads list of eminent South Africans to be honour

International icon and first President of a democratic South Africa, Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela will lead an illustrious list of eminent South Africans who will be honoured at Unisa’s 2012 Chancellor’s Calabash Awards to be held on Thursday, 11 October 2012.

The other leaders who will be honoured along with Dr. Mandela are the Founder of the Citizens Movement, Dr. Mamphele Ramphele, Chairman of the Liberty Group, Mr. Saki Macozoma and the incumbent Chief Executive Officer of the Industrial Development Corporation, Mr. Geoffrey Qhena.

The university’s chancellor presents the awards annually to deserving Unisa alumni and South African educators in recognition of the role they play towards the development of society. 

Dr. Mandela, a Nobel Laureate who continues to inspire the world, will be presented with the Unisa Robben Island Alumnus Award in recognition of  the educative role that he played in encouraging the political prisoners on Robben Island to be educated through the open distance education mode offered by Unisa and the then Technikon South Africa. He is also recognised as the first Unisa graduate to become the president of a democratic South Africa as well as the only African to have a day of the United Nations named after him for the purpose of goodwill, peace and the socio-economic development of the world.

The Outstanding Educator Award will be presented to Dr Mamphele Ramphele for the significant role she has played in education development and transformation as the former Principal of the University of Cape Town, as the current chairperson of Eduloan, which provides financial assistance to many university students, as a community activist and a trustee of many organisations as well as a pioneering business leader and the first South African appointed to the World Bank.

Another Robben Island Alumnus Award will be presented to Mr Saki Macozoma for his perseverance to study under trying conditions on Robben Island and then emerge from there as a transformational leader in the South African political and business arena. The award is also for his pioneering role in the reconfiguration of the South African higher education system as the Chairperson of the Council on Higher Education and the Chair of the Ministerial Committee on the reviewing of the higher education landscape.

Mr Geoffrey Qhena will receive the Unisa Outstanding Alumnus Award in recognition of the transformative role he has played in development finance to promote economic growth and industrial development; as well as the advancement of the accounting profession in South Africa.

All the awardees have graciously accepted the awards and, with the exception of Dr. Mandela, will personally receive them during an awards dinner to be hosted by Unisa Chancellor Judge Bernard Ngoepe and Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Mandla Makhanya. Dr. Mandela’s award will be received on his behalf by a representative from the Mandela Foundation. 

The details of the awards dinner are as follows:

Date     :           Thursday, 11 October 2012

Venue  :           Reception Hall, 4^th Floor, Kgorong Building, Unisa Muckleneuk Campus

                           Preller Street, City of Tshwane

Time    :           18:00 for 18:30

Outstanding Robben Island Alumnus Award recipient, Mr. Saki Macozoma will also deliver the keynote address under the theme “The role of the African University in the development of African leadership”.  

-Ends-