Watch live from South Africa as Barack Obama makes a high-profile speech honouring Nelson Mandela

please help me welcome our partner for the sixteenth nelson mandela annual lecture motel i guess at this point you all know who i'm gonna call i i haven't said anything please help me welcome the pres the former president of the u.s president barack obama [Applause] without sitting down i would like us to please sing the national anthem of south africa this will be rendered by the soweto gospel choir i i have to tell you that i tried to audition and they rejected me and i'm still trying to sing for the soweto gospel choir so i'll still try prof there they come foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] yes [Music] [Music] more [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] yes [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] said [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] first thank you very much soweto gospel choir they will be back again later when they will be singing together with kurt wallam [Applause] and tandiswa mazwai so there will be a music tribute at the end now i'd like you to please help me welcome someone actually who was so brave when she's surrounded by these men and they were trying to get hold of the nelson mandela foundation and she said i will do it and we are collaborating with them at the moment and this young lady we will be she will be our program director for the day please help me welcome busy president cyril ramaphosa president barack obama mrs gracia marshall professor belle dr patrice muthibe and mr selohatan [Music] your excellencies heads of states and government past and present honorable ministers members of parliament provincial premiers mayors and all members of government leaders of opposition parties veterans of the liberation struggle former nelson mandela lecture speakers business leaders and leaders of faith-based organizations political and social activists members of the mandela family distinguished guests fellow south africans and the world it is an honor to stand before you today to celebrate the centenary of nelson holy mandela whom former president barack obama describes as more than a man but as being a symbol of the struggle for justice equality and dignity in south africa and all across the globe in 1994 the year of my birth madiba emerged as president of a democratic south africa from the onset he was committed to turning a country torn apart by years of colonialism and apparently into a fully functioning democracy where all south africans are equal before the law and yet despite our notable progress the situation right now in the world causing us to reflect deeply global political trends portray a concerted assault against the democratic values that mandela and his contemporaries espoused all over the world there is a resurgence of racial and class exclusivity of nationalism and the maintenance of gross inequality through corruption and systematic greed patriarchy persists at the parole of women and the lgbt community we did not think that so far into democracy so many people would again face the threats of losing their elemental rights their freedom and their dignity this is therefore an auspicious occasion ladies and gentlemen to reflect on the principles and values that defines mandela's life and legacy principles such as tolerance inclusivity reconciliation and the rule of law these principles underpin madiba's legacy and can heal the world of its social ills these principles also broke the political deadlock in the 90s and i truly believe that they need to be invigorated in 2018 [Music] standing before you as a young black woman born and bred in the sprouling working class townships of soweto this occasion must especially motivate the youth it must motivate them to take the forefront in the endless struggle to sustain livelihoods globally during this centennial celebration of madiba's birth i encourage all dignitaries institutions of government business and all seven supporters of mandela's legacy to put their weight behind the youth who i believe are the true custodians of our future with no further due ladies and gentlemen to mark the opening of this special occasion it is a great privilege to welcome the chairman of the board of trustees of the nelson mandela foundation he is an established scholar who has been a key figure in south african higher education an author whose critical and creative writing have tackled the effects of apartheid on black communities protest democracy and reconciliation please give a resounding applause to professor bulonde president ramaphosa president obama michelle dr and so many distinguished guests who out there who have graced our occasion with your presence and ladies and gentlemen all of you from far and near on behalf of the trustees of the nelson mandela foundation i welcome you to this the 16th nelson mandela annual lecture thank you for joining us in your numbers to remember madeiba on the eve of what would have been his 100th birthday and for doing so by coming to listen to a lecture by an extraordinary leader president barack obama this is the biggest nelson mandela lecture we have ever hosted something eminently appropriate i think for the centenary our late trustee the venerable ahmed khan never stopped demanding that we should hold the lecture in a stadium today he has finally got his wish 28 years ago with one hand clasped around the hand of mama we never mandela the other the other raised in a feast nelson mandela walked out of victor festa prison into a country waiting for his leadership would he outside prison at last continue to inspire as much as he had done when he was inside in a racially polarized society where political friends and enemies were frighteningly easy to identify by skin color few south africans were aware just how mandela's release represented a unique and unexpected ways the complex art of the possible it required that he take enormous personal risks to lay foundations for a negotiated end to over three centuries of racist economic and social oppression in south africa he had to find a way of cutting across embedded histories structures of governing and the human attitudes they had given life to over time he had to find a way for south africans to begin to see one another differently it was a task that required a particular kind of leader now for this particular leader there are countless anecdotes that individually capture some essence of him the anecdotes collected recently and published in one of our centenary publications which bears the title i remember nelson mandela makes for a most joyous read that i recommend these anecdotes are told by many from various stations of life who worked for madiba or for his organizations but today i want to recall a personal all-time favorite anecdote of mine it is not in that book richard stengel who collaborated with nelson mandela on his autobiography the long walk to freedom tells that particular one and here it goes we were once on this airplane flight down in natal and it was a prop plane i think there were six seats in it and there were maybe four of us in the plane as soon as he gets in an airplane he madiba picks up a newspaper he adores newspapers for many years he didn't have them and revels in the touch of them and he reads every stupid story and so we were sitting in this airplane the plane was up and he was reading his newspaper and were about i don't know halfway there and i saw to my great horror that the propeller had stopped going round and he said very very calmly richard you might want to inform the pilot that the propeller isn't working i said yes madiba i walked to the front of the plane and the pilot of course were well aware of it and said go back and sit down we have called the airport they have the ambulances out there and they are going to coat the runway with foam or whatever they do so i went back and told that to madiba and he just in that very solemn way of his mouth sort of down listened and said yes and then picked up his newspaper and started reading i was terrified and i calmed myself by looking at him and he was as calm as could be like the prisoners on robin island that must have looked at him when they felt scared he just looked as calm as could be well the plane landed safely while madiba retained his calm and flushed that expression all the way as we stopped off the plane but when they entered the airport madiba took advantage of a quiet moment with stengel to make an unexpected confused confession man he said i was scared up there so madiba was able to put up the armor of self-composure to mask the turmoil and fear and uncertainty that was churning inside of him the best part is by far in his honesty to give words to his fears at the appropriate moment there is a certain grandeur to it this story displays something else about madiba it shows up madiba the politician surprisingly madiba the actor he could enter the universe of all those he met each and every one of them at home and everywhere in the world and be remembered universally for the genuineness of that particular moment the actor in him was able to remove from the politician in the semblance of guile at the same time that the politician gave to the actor the semblance of power to effect change in him we could see an intriguing coexistence of power and beauty it is a coexistence of attributes that he bequeathed to us in the hope that 24 years after the best of our constitutional democracy we will be more powerful and even more beautiful through madiba the actor is displayed in this anecdote i want to pay tribute therefore to all actors artists writers dancers musicians who in their different art forms are able to feel intensely the characters they become the thoughts they think the feelings and emotions they feel deeply they make real the experience of being truly alive and being truly alive is what all south africans today have to become once more through an act of will and the courage to be clear-minded and steadfast in moments that require them to be courageous there are many south africans today in government in their political parties in offices of traditional authority in their trade unions in their churches in their schools and in their governing councils and in their sports associations they all play important leadership roles but some will by willful intent have caused the propeller of the airplane of state to stop going round in mid-air and who will go on to read the newspaper see themselves in it and pretend to be completely innocent some will even call a press conference and then say nothing at it these are the characters that actors get to play as a bad guy we saw in our medieval anecdotes the ability in a leader to suppress inner fears in order to be brave for other people that way people sharing a genuinely dangerous and precarious moment with the leader draw courage from a leader in the appearance of courage displayed by him he then owns up to that moment later by revealing the fear he experienced after the fact that way he enables us to participate in the personal yet public dimensions of being human i call on all those among our leaders who wear the faces of innocence to stop being the bad guy step out of the airplane of those whose propeller they had willfully stopped and after a safe landing image from that plane and say man i have been corrupt i am certain that madhuba would have approved as you do let us remember those four years of difficult negotiations in which despite some significant loss of life south africans did not slide into a blood path of a racial war madiba's campus remained steadfast and trusted with the breath of the new democracy achieved madiba as president of the new republic of south africa spent five years building constitutional legislative political economic and social coherence to support and promote a new democracy let us remember that the south african constitution and the society envisaged by it placed participative humanity and belonging at its core such would be the country that madiba dreamed of his dreams were shared at the time by all political parties trade unions business institutions civil society organizations communities and families throughout the land that all agreed to work together in a constitutional democracy to achieve these dreams no one ever before none ever before had been head of state of south africa for all the people of south africa time tirelessly he worked to ensure that our democracy would become more strong indeed it was strong enough to survive the predations and devastations of the last 10 years too many south africans in that time have been left behind too many have become deeply alienated too many believe they have nothing to lose the new governing party administration has provided strong evidence of a determination to clean up and fix broken institutions and restore the best hopes of a nation but the demand from those left behind is for a fundamental transformation of our society we give strength to our new president to rise to the occasion [Applause] to rise to the challenge with all of us fellow citizens by his side now 10 years ago progressive people around the world welcomed the election of a new president of the united states barack obama [Applause] a leader who sought to bring hope and renewed optimism to a democracy more than 200 years old to many the obama presidency offered the united states a dream of a global future that people could aspire to one that inspired belief in human solidarities that could be forged across national economic social and cultural divides the realities of office of course tested him to the limit embedded histories and resilient structures of power proved to be formidable obstacles inclusivity as a democratic ideal had not become strong enough over the centuries of democracy to keep at bay racism official forms of violence and class-based insecurities that take on an ethnic racial and nationalistic forms of expression too many observers to many observers what we came to see in south africa as a state capture seemed mirrored in the united states and other parts of the world by what you could call more accurately a capture of democracy in this scenario hostile forces to democracy ultimately attain legitimate electoral mandates only to subvert them public discourse shifts from the language of social cohesion to that of validating membership in what could be called political tribes the persistence of structural racism and of denialism in relation to received structural privilege deepens historic device as do the whims of the market structured through five centuries of global capitalism consequently multitudes of people across the world live below basic poverty levels on the margins of in every other sense in the centenary year of nelson mandela we welcome the voice of president obama to this platform he has confronted the global challenges i have alluded to in ways that very few have he has been in the crucible in ways reminiscent of madiba during the dangerous turbulent years of the 1990s here in south africa he has things to tell us which are worth listening to he has ideas which i believe will need us to strive to hear the call of justice and begin to reimagine democracy to conclude let us find the madiba in each of us let us be the legacy let's be the citizen who creates with other citizens our common future to restore beauty purpose dignity and strength to our country let us be enriched by this beautiful day i thank you let us be the legacy thank you so much prof for that enlightening and entertaining speech not only do you stand here as a giant in history but as someone who has truly kept his pulse on what is a vibrant country that is finding its path to the future we really appreciate that thank you so much profandem our next speaker is an activist from humble beginnings who rose to become a world renowned business leader he is the founder of mining giants african rainbow limited through which he has distinguished himself as an entrepreneur with exceptional skill not stopping there however this true son of africa is a trailblazer in responsible corporate citizenship his family is the first on the continent to make the giving pledge with key areas of support including the fight against hiv and aids cancer and ebola this giant also supports education music and arts religious and non-governmental organizations through his pledge he joins the likes of bill gates richard branson warren buffett all of whom are prime examples of ethical and accountable business leadership required to effectively uplift the lives of all the people in the world it is a pleasure ladies and gentlemen to present to you dr petrus mozibi thank you thank you thank you very much i i think the presence of uh each and every one of you is a living proof that [Music] the legacy the spirit the values of nelson mandela is alive and also that the spirit of the rainbow nation i mean you represent south africa in its beauty in his inclusivity in its common commitments to what nelson mandela stood for and i think all of us take huge encouragement and huge inspiration from the commitment to uphold the legacy of nelson mandela and to continue this country on the path that he said for us uh i'm now going to start by recognizing and paying my respect to president ramaphosa and to welcome barack obama welcome back home barack you you represent the very best of america the very best of africa and the very best of the world we are most honored to see you here with us the the mandela family i saw zinzi zenani and various members of the mandela family can we clap hands for them please the the chairman of the nelson mandela foundation and the ceo the king of the zulu nation and all is leaders and kings who are here with us his grace bishop barnabas and all of the religious leaders and faith-based leaders who are here with us and of course in conclusion the recognition of all our ministers i saw former president khalima mukhante welcome you know when we met uh many years ago in the way we did would always say o la madiba hola o la madiba hola okonomi di bala yaguza [Music] is and everything is suited for now in 1994 when nelson mandela was inaugurated it was a deeply deeply emotional it was a historic day but a deeply deeply emotional day for all of us and i remember my wife and i precious we we shed a tear because i think many south africans were very emotional we we never thought that we would live to see mandela take that oath as president of this country and unite all of us and give hope and inspiration to all of us but president obama we had the honor of also going to your inauguration in 2009 as well as in 2013 and we we left and worked in america for some time and to see you a president whose father grew up in africa take the oath and say so help me god was a deeply deeply emotional experience for all of us and on that day as well we also shared it here and because it was living proof that in america as well as in anywhere else in the world and particularly in south africa and in africa every young man every young girl through hard work and sacrifice can realize the very very highest of their dreams and your presence here and your presence here is a strong indication of that inspiration that hope and that belief in self ability and and the realization that indeed through hard work and sacrifice our young people and and all of us as a nation can realize the dreams that madiba stood for and the dreams that each of us uphold i think all of us have very special memories of nelson mandela and when i was asked to say a few words on behalf of the montepe foundation i thought of two occasions that came to mind on the one occasion we had a meeting with madiba as business leaders and i think the meeting was incented at the center convention center and a few months afterwards we had another meeting and he called me aside and and he called me aside and he said to me there was something i liked in what you said at the business meeting at the convention center and i was a bit embarrassed because that meeting was so many months ago and i didn't remember what i had said so i sort of humbly asked tata can you please remind me what did i say so i said please remind me what did i say and he said at that meeting we made a statement that the future of the successful the future of the educated the future of the wealthy in south africa and the future of the families of the successful and wealthy is not bright and in fact they do not have a future if the poor and the unemployed and the marginalized have a future and and that memory stuck with me for for many many years afterwards and that was partly why in 1999 we formed the mozipa foundation and in and in 2013 joined the giving pledge because it was also part of a recognition that all of us are what we are because of the people of this country because of the sacrifices because of the hard work all of us in our lives had somebody who gave us a helping hand and there's a huge huge obligation on those of us who who are in a position to make a humble contribution to give those who are less fortunate a brighter future what is also important particularly in this era of corruption in this era of people in various positions of authority particularly in government but the gov but corruption is not confined to government many of us in the private sector also have to be very very careful in fact in most cases in order for you to have a corrupt politician you need an equally corrupt businessman or an equally corrupt [Applause] entrepreneur in in many instances in south africa and in africa and in many parts of the world the initiators of corruption are us business people those of us in the private sector and and it is very very very important there are so many people who sacrifice so deeply and many of them paid the ultimate sacrifice the ultimate sacrifice there's a huge duty and a huge obligation on all of us to make sure on all of us in the business community on all of us in the private sector to make sure that in our interactions and engagements with politicians with senior politicians and particularly with those politicians that those of us in the business community may have a relationship with that we behave in a manner that reflects zero tolerance of corruption zero tolerance of any insinuation of improper conduct and it's even more important that corruption is is not just seen to be not tolerated but that in the minds of ordinary south africans there is indeed a perception that there is a huge commitment to zero corruption and to approve corruption now i'm going to it's fine you can trap hence this one i'm now going to sit down you know i want to conclude by saying that once more welcome home barack you you inspire us immensely and we want to continue working with you to those values of equal opportunities equal access to opportunities for ordinary citizens and particularly for the poor and for young girls and the values of freedom of speech freedom of association the sort of universally accepted values that gives hope and gives inspiration that we adhere to them and uphold the legacy and the values of mandela and and make sure that we build in this country the best place for all our people south africans are caring people south africans are loving people and together we will make this the best place in the world thank you very much thank you so much to dr motsepe i think something that came through in his speech that many people don't in fact know is that dr matsupa has very strong activists and political convictions and that if we all have those convictions driving whatever work we do the fruits of the work that we do becomes uplifting we in fact extend this hola madiba hola in december when the global citizen festival and the matsupa foundation bring beyonce to south africa with that being said i now welcome our next speaker born in gaza mozambique she is a member of the mozambican liberation front which fought for and won independence in 1975. she is a humanitarian a global advocate for women and children's rights and an international states woman in her own right she was married to nelson mandela from 1998 till his death and when describing her he once said that she makes him bloom like a flower ladies and gentlemen it is an honor to invite mrs grasser michelle to the podium president sidi ramaphosa i can see madiba smiling to hear me calling president [Applause] ramaphosa president barack obama barack i can't say how much i'm thrilled that you accepted our invitation to honor this occasion and to give us the opportunity once again to celebrate you too so i welcome and we are looking forward to listening to you professor jabulo de bella patrice my son busy my daughter honorary honorary dignitaries and the esteemed guests here today my two big families the mandela family the michelle family [Music] my very special brothers and sisters the elders who are here represented all of you south africans today you are very special good morning no it's afternoon good afternoon i am overjoyed to learn of the multitude of festivities organized by governments civil society organizations businesses entertainers and individual citizens including madiba's grandchildren from every corner of the globe commemorating madiba centenary and honoring the values he i can certainly say with no hesitation that these celebrations make madiba incredibly happy and proud i'd like to thank the nelson mandela foundation for being a watchful custodian of madiba's legacy and offering an important platform for public discourse and meaningful dialogue in the form of these nelson mandela annual lectures in conjunction with the nephilim mandela foundation i solute all the legacy institutions madiba established for they hold a special place in the grand called the scope of organizations carrying out the important work of social transformation and in here the nelson mandela children's fund the nelson mandela children's hospital the mandela roads foundation the manila institute for development studies and the elders these organizations were personally founded or endorsed by madiba and their mandates carry his blessing thank you for your tireless efforts to advance the causes that he held so dear medieval centenary is an opportunity to acknowledge his incredible uniqueness in all its forms let us not celebrate him singly as an individual however as given the humble and modest man that he is he sees himself as a representative of a broader collective leadership madiba's legacy is a rich tapestry woven over 100 years with the threads and colors of generations of leaders who came before him as well as those who set as his contemporaries let me pause here and ask you to celebrate with me mama albertina sulu who also is turning 100 years this 2018. and with loud and loud so that mama can hear but about sadie hello mama we love you decades he was a student madiba was a student of african heritage and leadership traditions he took close note of the philosophical leanings of a wide range of thought leaders he dutifully analyzed the approaches of freedom fighters political prisoners and heads of state he was also inspired by the activism of artists creatives the struggle hero the skillful strategist the visionary statesman the global icon he's considered today is a proud is a product i'm sorry of this collective leadership the tapestry of his legacy is woven by generations and generations of great thinkers and strategists freedom fighters in all their interactions as well as the unnamed and unknown who picked his imagination sharpened his keen intellect and kept his moral fortitude alight as we celebrate him and honor his contributions to the world we must remember that while his political party the african national congress strategically thrusts him forward as the symbolic face of the struggle and the world embraced him as such he was not acting in singular isolation he in fact regarded himself as a representative of a much broader powerful conglomeration of activists who in their unique and varied ways were driving the attainment of political freedom he consider himself a simple food soldier we remember on his jubilant release he exclaimed i quote i stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you the people where the people need unifying symbols in which we rally around and we often elevate symbols to take who take on the dreams and aspirations of millions of us to deity like status but iba became selfless symbol of unrelenting resistance of hope of resilience and of victory he murdered the sacrifices courage and the determination of millions who worked in concert to overthrow the evils of apartheid perhaps his resolute commitment to his ideals in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds his incredulous strengths of character and integrity and his affirmation of the narrative that indeed good can triumph over evil ah why we admire and we revere him so but even internalize the courage and determinations of his own people and gave the absolute best of himself to give to south africa its political freedom but even having achieved the highest aspirations of humanity the medieval i know is a simple grounded and humble man i want to share with you one of the moments where this humility expressed itself so genuinely whatever was attending the 75th birthday of his close friend and comrade george besos the event was a star-studded affair with anti-apartheid struggle heroes vips from around the world in attendance he was getting on in age by then and was not in a position to enjoy the festivities well into the night so we agreed he would attend for a brief while and would then make our exit we arrived to find an entourage of well-wishers welcoming him to the party as guests greet him and as each of speakers took to this stage they were singing his praises and bestowing upon him the most flattering of compliments we are not in the room for more than 30 minutes but each minute was filled with obvious displays of affection and love for him with each accolade he graciously smiled nodded in appreciation and thanked them for their kind words as we leave and we are driving home and reflecting on the lovely evening he turned to me and in genuine curiosity he questioned mom because he used to call me mom he said man don't you think these people are exaggerating i'm not at all these things they are saying about me his self-effacing disbelief made me shuckle and i gently reassured him and they said no papa they're not exaggerating yes you are indeed all these wonderful things they said tonight because you represent the best of what so many of us appeared to be he nodded in seeming agreement but i could tell he did not fully believe me you see he was cognisant of the fact that he was a flawed human being and said in many occasions that he was not ascent the statute to which he had risen and the symbol of vitriol that he had become did not shake him into pompous arrogance despite his monumental achievement his incredible influence and impact and overwhelming fame and notoriety the essence of who he was and his level of self-awareness had never been altered his sober view of himself was that of many times you'd say i am a country boy but if i was humble enough to recognize the limits of the achievements of his generation he wisely wrote in his long work to freedom and i quote the truth is that we are not yet free we have merely achieved the freedom to be free the right not to be oppressed we have not taken the final step of our journey but the first step on a longer and even more difficult route for to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others unquote malibu and his contact thank you but even his contemporaries laid a solid base for today's generation to now stand free and unconstrained and continued long work for equality and prosperity for all they provided the enabling environment for the youth of today to build on foundations of political emancipation and continue weaving a tapestry of their own historical imperative and the thread in social and economic freedom his centenary gives us the opportunity space to remember how we can take inspiration from his life to bring us closer to the world where and i quote again we live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others unquote the youth of this country and this continent must follow in his footsteps as the promises of social and economic justice are there to fulfill madiba famously said on the occasion of his 90th birthday i quote it is time for new hands to lift the burdens it is in your hands now uncoat young and old alike we all have the seeds of the madiba magic within us to confront the challenges we are facing with a long and with along our own to freedom we all have both the ability and the responsibility to touch the lives of those around us and uplift our communities as we reflect on the previous hundred years we also look with the legitimate ultimates to the next hundred years it is not by chance that we have amongst us one of the finest global leaders of the 21st century here today to deliver the centennial nelson mandela lecture president barack obama he is he is a youthful symbol of transformative leadership on his own right he's one who has dutifully heeded madiba's call and taken up firmly in his hands the hard work of leading by example as the first african american president and i'm saying intentionally first african american president barack obama stands on the shoulders of giants he too was influenced by generations of greats who came before him and to paraphrase the words of our revered my angelou i quote he came as one but he sends as ten thousand and quotes so today we are in the presence of two inspiring symbols and while he came from different historical contexts and circumstances mandela and obama are symbols of victory over adversity we have before us a beautiful bridge between the best of leadership of the 20th century to the promise of what is emerging for the 21st century and here i want to take the pride as an african mother and grandmother this beautiful bridge is built by men of african heritage and this means the best of what we as africans we are offering to the world that we can be the best of what humankind can find in situations of adversity but lead lead for service rooted in the deep desire to elevate the human condition both have been faithful to the dreams and aspirations of their people they rose to global prominence fueled by their activism at grassroots and they are loyal to the values and principles instilled in them by their communities which molded their character and natured their inner strength from the humbles of beginnings they are representatives of the masses and reached the pineal of power and influence but in doing so they were able to elevate the rights and ambitious ambitions of the disinter disenfranchised and the weak of young and old of both men and women of black and white and it took us as human family to a space where we recognize our common humanity and we understand how inextricably connected we are as human race in his forward to madiba's book conversations with myself president obama writes of mandela i quote his example helped awaken me to the wider world and the obligations that we all have to stand up for what is right through his choices manila made it clear that we did not have to accept the world as it is that we could do our part to seek the world as it should be unquote we see how madiba inspired a young barack obama to become an example of leadership for service from activists and community mobilizer in his hometown from his seats in the senate and white house and to now developing young leaders around the world through the obama foundation i repeat as the first democratically elected black president of south africa medieval and the first african american president of the united states they both hold unique prominence in our consciousness and for as ground-breaking and iconic as their places in history maybe there is a familiarity that connects us to them as they emerged from ordinary circumstances which are not foreign to many of us a boy from village of vessel in the rural eastern cape and a community organizer on the south side of chicago they give hope and validation to millions of young people around the world who identify with these humble backgrounds they are proved that condition is no limitation once medieval was asked by one of the mandela roads scholars and he asked what is your dream for this country and this continent and mediva replied my dream my dream has started already here you are to honor madiba's legacy is to research and find in every one of us those values and strengths that enable us to go beyond ourselves to embrace the bigger causes to take risks to make sacrifices for what is right to be in service to others so that every single human being lives with dignity and in freedom to celebrate madiba is to nurture the future where young people who are working in the public and private sectors within civil society and academia and in the arts and athletics in townships and villages in refugee camps and favelas in slums and sabbaths will have been inspired to seek the world as it should be and become the giants like those we are celebrating here and today and on behalf and together with those young people i have just talked about can we all please say yes we can again yes we can thank you it is my singular honor to now to introduce two persons who really don't need any introduction to an audience such as this one so my task is short and immensely pleasurable firstly president cyril ramaphosa he has been a leader in every sphere in which he has been active from the university campus to the trade union movement from the liberation movement to the private sector from political party to government it feels good once more to have in the highest office in the land a person who has end our respect the high regard nelson mandela had for him as a leader and as a colleague is well known and the two had a long association president ramaphosa thank you for agreeing to offer a few words of reflection before we move to the much anticipated lecture by president obama [Applause] thank you [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you thank you thank you thank you very much thank you thank you dumelan san bonnani [Applause] moloini [Music] thank you very much program director chairperson of the nelson mandela foundation professor jabulon de belle mamma grasa michelle the mandela and the michelle families president barack obama king zelithini the eldest collective that was set up by madiba represented here by the former secretary general of the united nations kofi annan former president of ireland mary robinson [Applause] mr brahimi former foreign affairs minister of algeria former president ministers of our government premier of outing david makura leaders of various political parties i saw general holomesa here and leaders of non-governmental organizations faith-based organization leaders assault bishop leganyani the head of the music foundation mr patrice mutipa chief executive officer of the nelson mandela foundation distinguished guests and ladies and gentlemen it is indeed a real pleasure to be here for me to present president barack obama south africans and indeed many other people around the world are truly humbled and privileged to be participating in this celebration of the centenary of nelson mandela the father of our democracy and mama albertina sisulu throughout the whole year i'm sure that many of us who are gathered here will join me in saying that attending this nelson mandela annual lecture in the year of nelson mandela centenary is indeed a huge and a very rare privilege but more importantly it is because president obama agreed to come that many of us are here today we'd like to thank the nelson mandela foundation for having extended this invitation to all of us to participate in this historic moment from the very first lecture this nelson mandela annual lecture has been global in its ambition it has also been broad and inclusive in its outreach and that is why there are so many of us here today but many more of our people south africans are watching this lecture live on television and listening on radio so president obama there are millions and millions of south africans who will be listening to your message today and we are truly privileged to have this opportunity to listen to you those invited to deliver the lecture in the past have included prominent leaders thinkers and activists from across the african continent and from across the world the insights that they shared have reflected on what i would call the human condition and they have as they delivered the lectures touched on issues of poverty inequality health unemployment and have sought in their lectures to describe the tasks that we must together undertake to advance the well-being of the global of a global humanity in this sense the nelson mandela annual lecture is a fitting tribute to the life and the meaning of nelson holika mandela to the people of south africa the people of our beloved continent and indeed the people of the world at large this occasion gives us an opportunity to reflect on nelson mandela's life a man we are all proud to call the founding father of our united non-racial non-sexist and democratic south africa the people of south africa bestowed the title of the father of the nation on madiba because his struggles and his sacrifices touched the lives of millions and will continue to inspire the generations that will follow we honor and revere him because he lived his life in the full service of his people he led us from the wilderness of conflict and oppression into the land of promise of freedom democracy and equality his vision his values and his influence are universal they cross borders they span continents and also reach across time as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth as we reflect on an extraordinary life we are bound to acknowledge that the greatest trait of this son of the african soil was really his humanity he is hailed as a global icon he is memorialized as in towering statutes in many parts of the world his likeness adorns our national currency yet his most enduring accomplishment was to teach us what it means to be a human as south africans we are proud to say that he was one of us that he was born of us and he was formed by us and was a product of us his people yet we know that he belongs to the world nelson jolica mandela appealed beyond the boundaries of race color class gender or nationality beyond differences of faith creed or affiliation as a leader of his organization the african national congress he ensured that his anc became the leader of society as a servant of the people he shared with us many of the same frailties and doubts the same weaknesses and fears like us he was not perfect that is why he constantly sought his better self this makes his life and his contribution all the more remarkable he demonstrated with greater effect than most the extent of a human's capacity for love for compassion and forgiveness for wisdom humility and understanding madiba challenged us to reach beyond our grasp to achieve what we thought impossible he taught us to strive to struggle to serve and to do so selflessly now as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth we are called upon not only to uphold his values and to emulate his humility and his selflessness we are called upon by madiba to be active in the struggle for a better south africa a better africa and a better world madiba's enduring legacy is that he expects us to fight for the interests of the poor the vulnerable and the marginalized we are called upon by madiba to prosecute a progressive struggle against inequality racial discrimination ethnic chauvinism and patriarchy we are called upon by madiba to join hands with like-minded people around the world to resist the domination of global affairs by the rich and the powerful he calls upon us to heal our nation and to change the world in the year of renewal as our nation is filled with renewed hope with the future i keep hearing madiba's voice right into my ear saying i am sending you to serve the nation so fellow south africans the tumamina message was inspired by none other than madiba madhiba's spirit is here today he is sending all of us to deal with all the challenges we face inequality and yes madiba being the madiba that we knew and loved he is also sending all of us to deal with corruption and root it out of south african soil it is therefore fitting that in this year of madiba centenary the nelson mandela foundation has invited president barack obama to deliver the 16th nelson mandela annual lecture many people around the world dream of being like madiba i have laid in my bed many a times and dreamed of being like madiba many never see their dreams fulfilled but president barack obama somehow found a way to beat many of us in being like madiba like madiba he is a nobel peace laureate that's point number one like madiba he was the first african-american president to lead his nation like madiba he is an inspiration to all those who are working and seeking to create a better world and like like madiba he has an abiding love and commitment to empower young people much as there are many similarities there is one area where president obama cannot match madiba unfortunately he cannot dance as well as madiba can dance and in case you think like a politician i'm lying i checked this out with him and he confessed that yes he can do a little bit of a shake but michelle obama is a better dancer than him as south africans we celebrated president obama's election as the 44th president of the united states not merely because he was a son of this continent but because he embodied many of the values and aspirations that defined our struggle for liberation we recognize in him the qualities that we saw in great leaders like nelson mandela humility wisdom compassion as well as an extraordinary ability to inspire hope and to urge a nation to action we saw a leader who had dedicated a remarkable political life to challenging prejudice and discrimination to championing the cause of the poor and disfrench disenfranchised people and to pursuing justice and equality in him we found an american president concerned as much about the fate of humanity as the future of his own country men and women a leader who recognized the indivisibility of the global community and who desired like us to forge a common future in him president barack obama we found an ally we found a friend we found a kindred spirit and we found a brother it therefore gives me great pleasure to invite president barack obama to deliver the 16th nelson mandela annual lecture i thank you [Applause] [Applause] thank you thank you so much thank you very much thank you thank you so much thank you to mama gracia michelle [Music] members of the mandela family michelle family to president ramaphosa who you can see is inspiring new hope in this great country professor doctor distinguished guests to the people of south africa it is a singular honor for me to be here [Music] with all of you as we gather to celebrate the birth and life of one of history's true giants let me begin by a correction [Applause] and a few confessions the correction is that i am a very good dancer i just want to be clear about that michelle is a little better the confessions number one i was not exactly invited to be here i was ordered in a very nice way to be here by gracia michelle confession number two i forgot my geography and the fact that right now it's winter in south africa i didn't bring a coat and this morning i had to send somebody out to the mall because i am wearing long johns i was born in hawaii confession number three when my staff told me that i was to deliver a lecture i thought back to the stuffy old professors and bow ties and tweed and i wondered if this was one more sign of the stage of life that i'm entering along with gray hair and slightly failing eyesight i thought about the fact that my daughters think anything i tell them is a lecture i thought about the american press and how they often got frustrated at my long-winded answers at press conferences when my responses didn't conform to two-minute sound bites but given the strange and uncertain times that we are in and they are strange and they are uncertain [Music] with each day's news cycles bringing more head spinning and disturbing headlines i thought maybe it would be useful to step back for a moment and try to get some perspective so i hope you'll indulge me despite the slight chill as i spend much of this lecture reflecting on where we've been and how we arrived at this present moment in the hope that it will offer us a road map for where we need to go next 100 years ago madiba was born in the village i got to get my my m's right when i'm in south africa it's because it's so cold my lips stuck so in his autobiography he describes a happy childhood he's looking after cattle he's playing with the other boys eventually attends a school where his teacher gave him the english name nelson and as many of you know he's quoted saying why she bestowed this particular name upon me i have no idea there was no reason to believe that a young black boy at this time in this place could in any way alter history after all south africa was then less than a decade removed from full british control already laws were being codified to implement racial segregation and subjugation the network of laws that would be known as apartheid most of africa including my father's homeland was under colonial rule the dominant european powers having ended a horrific world war just a few months after madiba's birth viewed this continent and its people primarily as spoils and a contest for territory and abundant natural resources and cheap labor and the inferiority of the black race an indifference towards black culture and interests and aspirations was a given in such a view of the world that certain races certain nations certain groups were inherently superior and that violence and coercion is the primary basis for governance that the strong necessarily exploit the weak that wealth is determined primarily by conquest that view of the world was hardly confined to relations between europe and africa or relations between whites and blacks whites were happy to exploit other whites when they could and by the way blacks were often willing to exploit other blacks and around the globe the majority of people lived at subsistence levels without a say in the politics or economic forces that determined their lives often they were subject to the winds and cruelties of distant leaders the average person saw no possibility of advancing from the circumstances of their birth women were almost uniformly subordinate to men privilege and status was rigidly bound by caste and color and ethnicity and religion and even in my own country even in democracies like the united states founded on a declaration that all men are created equal racial segregation and systemic discrimination was the law in almost half the country and the norm throughout the rest of the country that was the world just 100 years ago there are people alive today who were alive in that world it is hard then to overstate the remarkable transformations that have taken place since that time a second world war even more terrible than the first along with a cascade of liberation movements from africa to asia latin america the middle east [Music] would finally bring an end to colonial rule more and more peoples having witnessed the horrors of totalitarianism the repeated mass slaughters of the 20th century began to embrace a new vision for humanity a new idea one based not only on the principle of national self-determination but also on the principles of democracy and rule of law and civil rights and the inherent dignity of every single individual [Music] in those nations with market-based economies suddenly union movements developed and health and safety and commercial regulations were instituted and access to public education was expanded and social welfare systems emerged all with the aim of constraining the excesses of capitalism and enhancing its ability to provide opportunity not just to some but to all people and the result was unmatched economic growth and a growth of a middle class and in my own country the moral force of the civil rights movement not only overthrew jim crow laws but it opened up the flood gates for women and historically marginalized groups to reimagine themselves to find their own voices to make their own claims to full citizenship it was in service of this long walk towards freedom and justice an equal opportunity that nelson mandela devoted his life at the outset his struggle was particular to this place to his homeland a fight to end apartheid a fight to ensure lasting political and social and economic equality for its disenfranchised non-white citizens but through his sacrifice and unwavering leadership and perhaps most of all through his moral example mandela and the movement he led would come to signify something larger he came to embody the universal aspirations of dispossessed people all around the world their hopes for a better life the possibility of a moral transformation in the conduct of human affairs [Music] madiba's light shone so brightly even from that narrow and island cell that in the late 70s he could inspire a young college student on the other side of the world to re-examine his own priorities it could make me consider the small role i might play in bending the arc of the world towards justice and when later as a law student i witnessed madiba emerge from prison just just a few months you'll recall after the fall of the berlin wall i felt the same wave of hope that washed through hearts all around the world you remember that feeling it seemed as if the forces of progress were on the march that they were inexorable each step he took you felt this is the moment when the old structures of violence and repression and ancient hatreds that had so long stunted people's lives and confined the human spirit that all that was crumbling before our eyes and then as madiba guided this nation through negotiation painstakingly reconciliation its first fair and free elections as we all witness the grace and the generosity with which he embraced former enemies the wisdom for him to step away from power once he felt his job was complete we understood that we understood it was not just the subjugated the oppressed who were being freed from the shackles of the past the subjugator was being offered a gift being given a chance to see in a new way being given a chance to participate in the work of building a better world during the last decades of the 20th century the progressive democratic vision that nelson mandela represented in many ways set the terms of the international political debate it doesn't mean that vision was always victorious but it set the terms the parameters it guided how we thought about the meaning of progress and it continued to propel the world forward yes there were still tragedies bloody civil wars from the balkans to the congo despite the fact that ethnic and sectarian strife still flared up with heartbreaking regularity despite all that as a consequence of the continuation of nuclear detent a peaceful and prosperous japan and a unified europe anchored in nato and the entry of china into the world's system of trade all that greatly reduced the prospect of war between the world's great powers and from europe to africa latin america southeast asia dictatorships began to give way to democracies the march was on a respect for human rights and the rule of law enumerated in a declaration by the united nations became the guiding norm for the majority of nations even in places where the reality fell far short of the idea even when those human rights were violated those who violated human rights were on the defensive and with these geopolitical changes came sweeping economic changes the introduction of market-based principles in which previously closed economies along with the forces of global integration powered by new technologies suddenly unleashed entrepreneurial talents to those that once had been relegated to the periphery of the world economy who hadn't counted suddenly they counted they had some power they had the possibilities of doing business and and then came scientific breakthroughs and new infrastructure and the reduction of armed conflicts and suddenly a billion people were lifted out of poverty and once starving nations were able to feed themselves and and infant mortality rates plummeted and meanwhile the spread of the internet made it possible for people to connect across oceans and cultures and continents instantly were brought together and potentially all the world's knowledge could be in the hands of a small child and even the most remote village that's what happened just over the course of a few decades and all that progress is real it has been broad and it has been deep and it all happened in what by the standards of human history was nothing more than a blink of an eye and now an entire generation has grown up in a world that by most measures has gotten steadily freer and healthier and wealthier and less violent and more tolerant during the course of their lifetimes it should make us hopeful but if we cannot deny the very real strides that our world has made since that moment when madiba took those steps out of confinement we also have to recognize all the ways that the international order has fallen short of its promise in fact it is in part because of the failures of governments and powerful elites to squarely address the shortcomings and contradictions of this international order that we now see much of the world threatening to return to an older a more dangerous a more brutal way of doing business so we have to start by admitting that whatever laws may have existed on the books whatever wonderful pronouncements existed in constitutions whatever nice words were spoken during these last several decades at international conferences or in the halls of the united nations the previous structures of privilege and power and injustice and exploitation never completely went away they were never fully dislodged cast differences still impact the life chances of people in the indian subcontinent ethnic and religious differences still determine who gets opportunity from central europe to the gulf it is a plain fact that racial discrimination still exists in both the united states and south africa and it is also a fact that the accumulated disadvantages of years of institutionalized depression have created yawning disparities in income and in wealth and in education and in health in personal safety and access to credit women and girls around the world continue to be blocked from positions of power and authority they continue to be prevented from getting a basic education they are disproportionately victimized by violence and abuse they're still paid less than men for doing the same work that's still happening economic opportunity for all the magnificence of the global economy all the shining skyscrapers that have transformed the landscape around the world entire neighborhoods entire cities entire regions entire nations have been bypassed [Music] in other words for far too many people the more things have changed the more things stayed the same [Applause] and while globalization and technology have opened up new opportunities have driven remarkable economic growth in previously struggling parts of the world globalization has also upended the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in many countries has also greatly reduced the demand for certain workers has helped weaken unions and laborers bargaining power it's made it easier for capital to avoid tax laws and the regulations of nation states can just move billions trillions of dollars with a tap of a computer key and the result of all these trends has been an explosion in economic inequality it's meant that a few dozen individuals control the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of humanity that's not an exaggeration that's a statistic [Music] think about that in many middle-income and developing countries new wealth has just tracked the old bad deal that people got because it reinforced or even compounded existing patterns of inequality the only difference is it created even greater opportunities for corruption on an epic scale and for once solidly middle-class families in advanced economies like the united states these trends have meant greater economic insecurity especially for those who don't have specialized skills people who were in manufacturing people working in factories people working on farms in every country just about the disproportionate economic clout of those at the top has provided these individuals with wildly disproportionate influence on their country's political life and on its media on what policies are pursued and whose interests end up being ignored [Music] now it should be noted that this new international elite the professional class that supports them differs in important respects from the ruling aristocracies of old it includes many who are self-made it includes champions of meritocracy and although still mostly white and male as a group they reflect a diversity of nationalities and ethnicities that would have not existed a hundred years ago a decent percentage consider themselves liberal in their politics modern and cosmopolitan in their outlook unburdened by parochialism or nationalism or overt racial prejudice or strong religious sentiment they are equally comfortable in new york or london or shanghai or nairobi or buenos aires or johannesburg many are sincere and effective in their philanthropy some of them count nelson mandela among their heroes some even supported barack obama for the presidency of the united states and by virtue of my status as a former head of state some of them consider me as an honorary member of the club you know i get invited to these fancy things you know fly me out but what's nevertheless true is that in their business dealings many titans of industry and finance are increasingly detached from any single locale or nation-state they live lives more and more insulated from the struggles of ordinary people in their countries of origin and their decisions their decisions to shut down a manufacturing plan or to try to minimize their tax bill by shifting profits to a tax haven with the help of high-priced accountants or lawyers or their decision to take advantage of lower-cost immigrant labor or their decision to pay a bribe are often done without malice it's just a rational response they consider to the demands of their balance sheets and their shareholders and competitive pressures but too often these decisions are also made without reference to notions of human solidarity or a ground-level understanding of the consequences that will be felt by particular people in particular communities by the decisions that they're made and from their boardrooms or retreats global decision makers don't get a chance to see sometimes the pain in the faces of laid off workers their kids don't suffer when cuts in public education and health care result as a consequence of a reduced tax base because of tax avoidance they can't hear the resentment of an older tradesman when he complains that a newcomer doesn't speak his language on a job site when he once worked they're less subject to the discomfort and the displacement that some of their countrymen may feel as globalization scrambles not only existing economic arrangements but traditional social and religious wars which is why at the end of the 20th century while some western commentators were declaring the end of history and the inevitable triumph of liberal democracy and the virtues of the global supply chain so many missed signs of a brewing backlash a backlash that arrived in so many forms it announced itself most violently with 911 in the emergence of transnational terrorist networks fueled by an ideology that perverted one of the world's great religions and asserted a struggle not just between islam and the west but between islam and modernity and an ill-advised u.s invasion of iraq didn't help accelerating a sectarian conflict russia already humiliated by its reduced influence since the collapse of the soviet union feeling threatened by democratic movements along its borders suddenly started reasserting authoritarian control and in some cases meddling with its neighbors china emboldened by its economic success started bristling against criticism of its human rights record it framed the promotion of universal values as nothing more than foreign meddling imperialism under a new name within the united states within the european union challenges the globalization first came from the left but then came more forcefully from the right as you started seeing populist movements which by the way are often cynically funded by right-wing billionaires intent on reducing government constraints on their business interests these movements tapped the unease that was felt by many people who lived outside of the urban cores fears that economic security was slipping away that their social status and privileges were eroding that their cultural identities were being threatened by outsiders somebody that didn't look like them or sound like them or pray as they did and perhaps more than anything else the devastating impact of the 2008 financial crisis in which the reckless behavior of financial elites resulted in years of hardship for ordinary people all around the world made all the previous assurances of experts ring hollow all all those assurances that somehow financial regulators knew what they were doing that somebody was minding the store that global economic integration was an unadultered good because of the actions taken by governments during and after that crisis including i should add by aggressive steps by my administration the global economy has now returned to healthy growth but the credibility of the international system the faith in experts in places like washington or brussels all that have taken a blow [Music] and a politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment began to appear and that kind of politics is now on the move it's on a move at a pace that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago i am not being alarmist i am simply stating the facts look around strong man politics are ascendant suddenly whereby elections and some pretense of democracy are maintained the form of it but those in power seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning in the west you've got far-right parties that oftentimes are based not just on platforms of protectionism and closed borders but also on barely hidden racial nationalism many developing countries now are looking at china's model of authoritarian control combined with mercantilist capitalism as preferable to the messiness of democracy [Music] who needs free speech as long as the economy is going good the free press is under attack censorship and state control of media is on the rise social media once seen as a mechanism to promote knowledge and understanding and solidarity has proved to be just as effective promoting hatred and paranoia and propaganda and conspiracy theories so on madiba's 100th birthday we not stand at a crossroads a moment in time at which two very different visions of humanity's future compete for the hearts and the minds of citizens around the world two different stories two different narratives about who we are and who we should be how should we respond should we see that wave of hope that we felt with madiba's release from prison from the berlin wall coming down should we see that hope that we had as naive and misguided should we understand the last 25 years of global integration is nothing more than a detour from the previous inevitable cycle of history where might makes right and politics is a hostile competition between tribes and races and religions and nations compete in a zero-sum game constantly teetering on the edge of conflict until full-blown war breaks out is that what we think let me tell you what i believe i believe in nelson mandela's vision i believe in a vision shared by gandhi and king and abraham lincoln i believe in a vision of equality and justice and freedom and multiracial democracy built on the premise that all people are created equal and they're endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights and i believe that a world governed by such principles is possible and that it can achieve more peace and more cooperation pursuit of a common good that's what i believe and i believe we have no choice but to move forward that those of us who believe in democracy and civil rights and a common humanity have a better story to tell and i believe this not just based on sentiment i believe it based on hard evidence the fact that the world's most prosperous and successful societies the ones with the highest living standards and the highest levels of satisfaction among their people happen to be those which have most closely approximated the liberal progressive ideal that we talk about and have nurtured the talents and contributions of all their citizens the fact that authoritarian governments have been shown time and time again to breed corruption because they're not accountable to repress their people to lose touch eventually with reality to engage in bigger and bigger lies that ultimately result in economic and political [Music] and cultural and scientific stagnation look at look at history look at the facts the fact that countries which rely on rabid nationalism and xenophobia and doctrines of tribal racial or religious superiority as their main organizing principle the thing that that holds people together eventually those countries find themselves consumed by civil war or external war check the history books the fact that technology cannot be put back in a bottle so we're stuck with the fact that we now live close together and populations are going to be moving and environmental challenges are not going to go away on their own so that the only way to effectively address problems like climate change or mass migration or pandemic disease will be to develop systems for more international cooperation not less we have a better story to tell but to say that our vision for the future is better is not to say that it will inevitably win because history also shows the power of fear history shows the lasting hold of greed and the desire to dominate others in the minds of men especially men history shows how easily people can be convinced to turn on those who look different or worship god in a different way so if we're truly to continue madiba's long walk towards freedom we're going to have to work harder and we're going to have to be smarter we're going to have to learn from the mistakes of the recent past and so in the brief time remaining let me just suggest a few guide posts for the road ahead guideposts that draw from madiba's work his words the lessons of his life first madiba shows those of us who believe in freedom and democracy we are going to have to fight harder to reduce inequality and promote lasting economic opportunity for all people now i don't believe in economic determinism human beings don't live on bread alone but they need bread and history shows that societies which tolerate vast differences in wealth feed resentments and reduce solidarity and actually grow more slowly and that once people achieve more than mere subsistence then they're measuring their well-being by how they compare to their neighbors and whether their children can expect to live a better life and when economic power is concentrated in the hands of the few history also shows that political power is sure to follow and that that dynamic eats away at democracy sometimes it may be straight out corruption but sometimes it may not involve the exchange of money it's just folks who are that wealthy get what they want and it undermines human freedom and madiba understood this this is not new he warned us about this he said where globalization means as it so often does that the rich and the powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poor and the weaker then we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom that's what he said so if we are serious about universal freedom today if we care about social justice today then we have a responsibility to do something about it and i would respectfully amend what madiba said i don't do it often but i'd say it's not enough for us to protest we're going to have to build we're going to have to innovate we're going to have to figure out how do we close this widening chasm of wealth and opportunity both within countries and between them and and how we achieve this is going to vary country to country and i know your new president is committed to rolling up his sleeves and trying to do so but we can learn from the last 70 years that it will not involve unregulated unbridled unethical capitalism it also won't involve old-style command and control socialism from the top that was tried it didn't work very well for almost all countries progress is going to depend on an inclusive market-based system one that offers education for every child that protects collective bargaining and secures the rights of every worker that breaks up monopolies to encourage competition in small and medium-sized businesses in it and has laws that root out corruption and ensures fair dealing in business that maintains some form of progressive taxation so that rich people are still rich but they're given a little bit back to make sure that everybody else has something to pay for universal health care and retirement security and invest in infrastructure and scientific research that builds platforms for innovation i should add by the way right now i'm actually surprised by how much money i got and let me tell you something i don't have half as much as most of these folks or a 10th or 100th there's only so much you can eat there's only so big a house you can have there's only so many nice tricks you can take i mean it's enough you don't have to to to take a vow of poverty just to say well let me help out i love a few of the other folks let me look at that child out there who doesn't have enough to eat or need some school fees let me help him out i'll pay a little more in taxes it's okay [Music] i can afford it i mean it shows a poverty of ambition to just want to take more and more and more instead of saying well i've got so much who can i help how can i give more and more and more that's ambition that's impact that's influence what what what a an amazing gift to be able to help people not just yourself where was i i had lived you get the point it involves promoting an inclusive capitalism both within nations and between nations and as we pursue for example sustainable development goals we have to get past the the charity mindset we've got to bring more resources to the forgotten pockets of the world through through investment and entrepreneurship because there is talent everywhere in the world if given an opportunity when it comes to the international system of commerce and trade it's legitimate for poorer countries to continue to seek access to wealthier markets and by the way wealthier markets that's not the big problem that you're having that a small african country is sending you tea and flowers that's not your biggest economic challenge it's also proper for advanced economies like the united states to insist on reciprocity from nations like china that are no longer solely poor countries to make sure that they're providing access to their markets and that they stop taking intellectual property and hacking our servers but but even as as there are discussions to be had around trade and commerce it's important to recognize this reality while the outsourcing of jobs from north to south from east to west while a lot of that was a dominant trend in the late 20th century the biggest challenge to workers in countries like mine today is technology and the biggest challenge for your new president when we think about how we're going to employ more people here is going to be also technology because artificial intelligence is here and it is accelerating and you're going to have driverless cars and you're going to have more and more automated services and that's going to make the job of giving everybody work that is meaningful tougher and we're going to have to be more imaginative and the pace of change is is going to require us to do more fundamental reimagining of our social and political arrangements to protect the economic security and the dignity that comes with a job it's not just money that a job provides it provides dignity and structure and a sense of place and a sense of purpose and so we're going to have to consider new ways of thinking about these problems like a universal income review of our work week how we retrain our young people how we make everybody an entrepreneur at some level but we're going to have to worry about economics if we want to get democracy back on track second madiba teaches us that some principles really are universal and the most important one is the principle that we are bound together by a common humanity and that each individual has inherent dignity and worth now it's surprising that we have to affirm this truth today more than a quarter century after madiba walked out of prison i still have to stand here at a lecture and devote some time to saying that black people and white people and asian people and latin american people and women and men and and gays and straight that we are all human that our differences are superficial and that we should treat each other with care and respect i would have thought we would have figured that out by now i thought that basic notion was well established but it turns out as we're seeing in this recent drift into reactionary politics that the struggle for basic justice is never truly finished so we've got to constantly be on the lookout and fight for people who seek to elevate themselves by putting somebody else down and by the way we also have to actively resist this is important particularly in some countries in africa like my own uh father's homeland i i some i've made this point before we have to resist the notion that basic human rights like freedom to dissent or the right of women to fully participate in the society or or the rights of minorities to equal treatment or the rights of people not to be beat up and jailed because of their sexual orientation we have to be careful not to say that somehow well that doesn't apply to us that those are western ideas rather than universal imperatives again madiba you know he anticipated things he knew what he was talking about in 1964 before he received the sentence that condemned him to die in prison he explained from the dock that the magna carta the petition of rights the bill of rights are documents which are held in veneration by democrats throughout the world in other words he didn't say well those folks weren't written by south africans so i guess i can't claim them no he said that's part of my inheritance that's part of the human inheritance that applies here in this country to me and to you and that's part of what gave him the moral authority that the apartheid regime could never claim because he was more familiar with their best values than they were he had read their documents more carefully than they had he went on to say political division based on color is entirely artificial and when it disappears so will the domination of one color group by another that's nelson mandela speaking in 1964 when i was three years old [Applause] what was true then remains true today basic truths do not change it is a truth that can be embraced by the english and by the indian by the mexican and by the bantu and by the luo and by the american it is a truth that lies at the heart of every world religion that we should do unto others as we'd have them do unto us that we see ourselves in other people that we can recognize common hopes and common dreams and it is a truth that is incompatible with any form of discrimination based on race or religion or gender or sexual orientation and it is a truth that by the way when embraced actually delivers practical benefits since it ensures that a society can draw upon the talents and energy and skill of all its people and if you doubt that just ask the french football team that just won the world cup [Music] because not all of those folks not all of those folks look like gauls to me but they're french they're french [Music] embracing our common humanity does not mean that we have to abandon our unique ethnic and national and religious identities but even never stopped being proud of his tribal heritage he didn't he didn't stop being proud of being a black man and being a south african but he believed as i believe that you can be proud of your heritage without denigrating those of a different heritage in fact you dishonor your heritage it would make me think that you're a little insecure about your heritage if you've got to put somebody else's heritage down yeah that's right [Music] don't you get a sense sometimes but again i'm mad living here that that that these people who are so intent on on putting people down and pumping themselves up that they're small hearted that that there's uh there's something something they're just afraid of madiba knew that we cannot claim justice for ourselves when it's only reserved for some adipa understood that we can't say we've got a just society simply because we've replaced the color of the person on top of an unjust system so the person looks like us even though they're doing the same stuff and somehow now we've got justice that doesn't work it's not justice if now you're on top so i'm going to do the same thing that those folks were doing to me now i'm going to do it to you that's not justice i detest racialism he said whether it comes from a black man or a white man now we have to acknowledge that there is disorientation that comes from rapid change in modernization and the fact that the world has has shrunk and we're going to have to find ways to lessen the fears of those who feel threatened in the west current debate around immigration for example it's not wrong to insist that national borders matter that's whether you're a citizen or not is going to matter to a government that laws need to be followed that in the public realm newcomers should make an effort to adapt to the language and customs of their new home those are legitimate things and we have to be able to engage people who who do feel as if things are not orderly but that can't be an excuse for immigration policies based on race or ethnicity or religion there's got to be some consistency and we can enforce the law while respecting the essential humanity of those who are striving for a better life for a mother with a child in her arms we can recognize that could be somebody in our family that could be my child third madiba reminds us that democracy's about more than just elections you know when he was freed from prison madiba's popularity well you couldn't even measure he could have been president for life am i wrong who was going to run against him [Music] i mean remember poster was popular but come on kelsey was a young he was too young had he chose madiba could have governed by executive fiat unconstrained by checks and balances but instead he helped guide south africa through the drafting of a new constitution drawing from all the institutional practices and democratic ideals that had proven to be most sturdy mindful of the fact that no single individual possesses a monopoly on wisdom no individual not mandela not obama are entirely immune to the corrupting influences of absolute power if you if if you can do whatever you want and everyone's too afraid to tell you when you're making a mistake no one's immune from the dangers of that mandela understood this he said democracy is based on the majority principle this is especially true in a country such as ours where the vast majority have been systematically denied their rights at the same time democracy also requires the rights of political and other minorities be safeguarded he understood it's not just about who has the most votes it's also about the civic culture that we build that makes democracy work so we have to stop pretending that countries that just hold an election where sometimes the winner somehow magically gets 90 percent of the vote because all the opposition is locked up or can't get on tv is a democracy democracy depends on strong institutions and it's about my minority rights and checks and balances and freedom of speech and freedom of expression and a free press and the right to protest and petition the government and an independent judiciary and everybody having to follow the law and yes democracy can be messy and it can be slow and it can be frustrating i know i promise [Music] but the efficiency that's offered by an autocrat that's a false promise don't take that one because it leads invariably to more consolidation of wealth at the top and power at the top and it makes it easier to conceal corruption and abuse for all its imperfections real democracy best upholds the idea that government exists to serve the individual and not the other way around and it is the only form of government that has the possibility of making that idea real so for those of us who are interested in strengthening democracy it's also stopped it's time for us to stop paying all of our attention to the world's capitals and the centers of power and to start focusing more on the grassroots because that's where democratic legitimacy comes from not from the top down not from abstract theories not just from experts but from the bottom up knowing the lives of those who are struggling as a community organizer i learned as much from a laid off steel worker in chicago or a single mom in a poor neighborhood that i visited as i learned from the finest economists in the oval office democracy means being in touch and in tune with life as it's lived in our communities and that's what we should expect from our leaders and it depends upon cultivating leaders at the grassroots who can help bring about change and implement it on the ground and can tell leaders that in fancy buildings this isn't working down here and to make democracy work madiba shows us that we also have to keep teaching our children and ourselves and this is really hard to engage with people not only who look different but who hold different views this is hard most of us prefer to surround ourselves with opinions that validate what we already believe you notice the people who you think are smart are the people who agree with you funny how that works but democracy demands that we're able also to get inside the reality of people who are different than us so we can understand their point of view maybe we can change their minds but maybe they'll change ours and you can't do this if you just out of hand disregard what your opponents have to say from the start and you can't do it if you insist that those who aren't like you because they're white or because they're male that somehow there's no way they can understand what i'm feeling that somehow they lack standing to speak on certain matters madiba he lived this complexity in prison he studied afrikaans so that he could better understand the people who were jailing him and when he got out of prison he extended a hand to those who had jailed him because he knew that they had to be a part of the democratic south africa that he wanted to build to make peace with an enemy he wrote one must work with that enemy and that enemy becomes one's partner so those who traffic and absolutes when it comes to policy whether it's on the left or the right they they make democracy unworkable you can't expect to get a hundred percent of what you want all the time sometimes you have to compromise that doesn't mean abandoning your principles but instead it means holding on to those principles and then having the confidence that they're going to stand up to a serious democratic debate that's how america's founders intended our system to work that through the testing of ideas and the application of reason and proof it would be possible to arrive at a basis for common ground and i should add for this to work we have to actually believe in an objective reality this is another one of these things that i didn't think i had to lecture about you have to believe in facts without facts there's no basis for cooperation if i say this is a podium and you say this is an elephant it's going to be hard for us to cooperate i can find common ground for those who oppose the paris accords because for example they might say well it's it's not going to work you can't get everybody to cooperate or they might say it's more important for us to provide cheap energy for the poor even if it means in the short term that there's more pollution i at least i can have a debate with them about that and i can show them why i think clean energy is the better path especially for poor countries that you can leapfrog old technologies i can't find common ground if somebody says climate change is just not happening when almost all the world's scientists tell us it is i don't know where to start talking to you about this if you start saying it's an elaborate hoax i don't know what to where do we start [Music] unfortunately too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth people just make stuff up they just make stuff up we see it in the growth of state-sponsored propaganda we see it in internet driven fabrications we see it in the in the blurring of lines between news and entertainment we see the the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they're caught in a lie and they just double down and they lie tomorrow look let me say politicians have always lied but it used to be if you caught them lying they'd be like oh man now they just keep on lying they just i mean this is by the way i this is what i think mama gracious was talking about in terms of maybe some sense of humility that madiba felt like sometimes just basic stuff me just not completely lying to people i think is pretty basic i i didn't i don't think myself a great leader just because i don't just completely make stuff up i mean you you thought you'd think that was kind of just a baseline anyway we see it in the promotion of anti-intellectualism and the rejection of science from leaders who who find critical thinking and analysis and data somehow politically inconvenient and as with the denial of rights the denial of facts runs counter to democracy it could be its undoing which is why we have to zealously protect independent media and we have to guard against the tendency for social media to become a purely a platform for spectacle and outrage and disinformation and we have to insist that our schools teach critical thinking to our young people not just blind obedience which i'm sure you are thankful for leads me to my final point we have to follow madiba's example of persistence and of hope it's tempting right now to give in to cynicism to believe that recent shifts in global politics are too powerful to push back that the the pendulum has swung permanently and just as people spoke about the triumph of democracy in the 90s now you're hearing people talk about the end of democracy and the triumph of tribalism and the strong man we have to resist that cynicism because because we've been through darker times we've been in lower valleys yes by the end of his life madiba embodied the successful struggle for human rights but that journey was not easy it wasn't preordained the man went to prison for almost three decades he split limestone in the heat and he slept in a small cell and was repeatedly put in solitary confinement and i remember talking to some of his former colleagues saying how they hadn't realized when they were released just the sight of a child the idea of holding a child they had missed they they it wasn't something available to them for decades and yet somehow his power actually grew during those years and the power of his jailers diminished because he knew that if you stick to what's true if you if you know what's in your heart and you're willing to sacrifice for it even in the face of overwhelming odds [Music] and it might not happen tomorrow it might not happen next week it might not even happen in your lifetime things may go backwards for a while but ultimately wright makes might not the other way around ultimately the better story can win out and as strong as madiba's spirit may have been he would not have sustained that hope had he been alone in the struggle part of what buoyed him up was he knew that each year the ranks of freedom fighters were replenishing young men and women here in south africa in the anc and beyond but also black and white and indian from across the countryside across the continent around the world who in those most difficult days would keep working on behalf of his vision and that's what we need right now we don't just need one leader we don't just need one inspiration what we badly need right now is that collective spirit and i know that those young people those hope carriers are gathering around the world because history shows that whenever progress is threatened and the things we care about most are in question we should heed the words of robert kennedy who spoke here in south africa he said our answer is the world's hope it is to rely on youth [Music] it's to rely on the spirit of the young so young people who are in the audience who are listening my message to you is simple keep believing keep marching keep building keep raising your voice every generation has the opportunity to remake the world mandela said young people are capable when aroused of bringing down the towers of oppression and raising the banners of freedom now is a good time to be aroused now's a good time to be fired up and for those of us who care about the legacy that we honor here today about equality and dignity and democracy and solidarity and kindness those of us who remain young at heart if not in body we have an obligation to help our youth succeed some of you know here in south africa my foundation's been convening over the last few days 200 young people from across this continent who are doing the hard work of making change in their communities who reflect madiba's values who are poised to lead the way people like abbas mafindi a journalist from uganda who founded the media challenge initiative to help other young people get the training they need to tell the stories that the world needs to know people like karen wacholi who's an entrepreneur from kenya and founded the emerging leaders foundation to get young people involved in the work of fighting poverty and promoting human dignity people like enoch who directs the afghan children's mission which helps children in uganda and kenya get the education that they need and then in his spare time enoch advocates for the rights of children and founded an organization called lead minds africa which does exactly what it says you meet these people you talk to them they will give you hope they are taking the baton they know they can't just rest on the accomplishments of the past even the accomplishments of those as momentous as nelson mandela's they stand on the shoulders of those who came before [Music] including that young black boy born 100 years ago but they know that it is now their turn to do the work madiba reminds us that no one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion people must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate they can be taught to love for love comes more naturally to the human heart love comes more naturally to the human heart let's remember that truth let's see it as our north star let's be joyful in our struggle to make that truth manifest here on earth so that a hundred years from now future generations will look back and say they kept the march going that's why we live under new banners of freedom thank you very much south africa thank you so ladies and gentlemen if we could have our seats obama it is a work of dreams to speak after you and as you said in your own speech a vision come manifest for all the little girls and the little boys who are sitting in this audience today they are here they are wearing their school uniforms they are from all over the country and they have solely come to hear from you what it is that they can do to make the world that you dream of a possibility when my father introduced me to your campaign i was only 14 years old and i barely understood what it meant to unite people around a politics of purpose the purpose that you have been given to rebuild in moments of crisis president trump the purpose that you have been given to rebuild a country that is struggling economically to make freedom something that is a living reality for all south africans ladies and gentlemen our own purpose to make this country work for all those who live in it and when we say make it work for people who live in it we don't mean idolizing our freedom because we can lose it the maintenance of our freedom requires us to take responsibility and mandela himself said in long walk to freedom i quote i have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill the only one at the only one only fine sorry that there are many more hills to climb i have taken a moment here to rest to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me to look back on the distance i have come but i can only rest for a moment for with freedom comes responsibilities and i dare not linger for my long walk is not ended may we learn from madiba to be inspired by the gains that we have made as a country and as a globe to move forward and achieve more towards the entrenchment of justice of dignity and of freedom amanda i wet

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Length: 178min 58sec (10738 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 17 2018