EDUCATON: MAKE EVERYDAY A MANDELA DAY. · 2020-07-17 · PHOTOS: WAYNE FLORENCE This marine species of moss animal was described by Iziko Museums scientists in 2007. It was collected

EDUCATON: PUBLIC PROGRAMMES

INTERNATIONAL MANDELA DAY 18 JULY 2020

#ActionAgainstPoverty #MandelaDay2020#COVID19

TAKE ACTION, INSPIRE CHANGE.

MAKE EVERYDAY A MANDELA DAY.

HOW DID INTERNATIONAL MANDELA DAY COME ABOUT?

In recognition of the former South African president’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared 18 July – Nelson Mandela’s birthday – International Mandela Day.

Resolution A/RES/64/13 recognisesMandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity in: • conflict resolution • race relations• promotion and protection of human rights• reconciliation • gender equality and the rights of children

and other vulnerable groups • the fight against poverty • the promotion of social justice

WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL MANDELA DAY?

International Mandela Day has enjoyed more than 10 years of global support and solidarity since it was launched by the United Nations in 2009.

This year, the world is facing intersecting struggles and challenges – namely the Covid-19 pandemic that has led to many countries instituting lockdowns preventing people from engaging in income-generating activity. We have also seen global anti-racist protests, sparked by events in the US, and, closer to home, gender-based violence continues to rock the nation.

In 2020 the Nelson Mandela Foundation is focusing its International Mandela Day efforts on education, and food and nutrition.

HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:

https://www.mandeladay.com/pages/what-can-i-do

In a recent study of world biodiversity, it was estimatedthat there was a total of about 10.95 million species ofanimals, plants, of which only 1.43 million species (13%)have been given names.

Understanding the life around us is very important as itimpacts on human life in numerous ways – we needorganisms for food; some species cause disease; someare pests for crops and livestock; and many species are ofecological and environmental importance.

Scientists face ongoing challenges in finding appropriatenames for the new organisms they are describing andthey often name them in honour of other people. NelsonMandela is no exception in this regard.

MANDELA IMMORTALISED IN BIODIVERSITY

A YELLOW-FLOWERING SELECTION OF STRELITZIA REGINAE WAS AFFECTIONATELY NAMED “MANDELA’S GOLD” (SANBI, 1996).

TATA MADIBA AT IZIKO MUSEUMS OF SOUTH AFRICA

Tata Madiba: Father of our Democracy, Father of our Nation, on exhibition at the Iziko South African Museum, brings together objects, specimens and artworks to stimulate conversation about Madiba’s life, struggles and legacy.

A focal point of this exhibition is the artistic recreation of Madiba’s Robben Island cell, conceptualized and created by Stellenbosch-based photographer and artist, Erhardt Thiel.This exhibition also looks at the various biodiversity named after Nelson Mandela!

https://www.iziko.org.za/exhibitions/tata-madiba-father-our-democracy-father-our-nation-0

Vulcanobatrachus mandelai

PHOTOS: ROGER SMITH

One such species of organism named after Nelson Mandela is the Vulcanobatrachusmandelai – a long-extinct type of frog related to the modern platanna that lived in avolcanic crater lake in Northern Cape some 70 million years ago. Fossils of this frogwere first discovered in a borehole core by diamond prospectors. Iziko Museumpalaeontologist, Dr Roger Smith excavated a pit and recovered many specimensincluding tadpoles. The name means “volcano frog from mandela-land.

Australopicus nelsonmandelai

The Australopicus nelsonmandelai is a five million-year-old species of true woodpecker, described in 2012 from the West Coast Fossil Park at Langebaanweg. It is the first pre-Pleistocene woodpecker from Africa.

PHOTOS: ALBRECHT MANIGOLD AND ANTOINE LOUCHART

Microporella madiba

PHOTOS: WAYNE FLORENCE

This marine species of moss animal was described by Iziko Museums scientists in 2007. It was collected living on mussel shells in the kelp forests of RobbenIsland, and named after Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela who was imprisoned on the type locality, Robben Island.

Carebara madibai

Photos: Nokuthula Nhleko

Carebara madibai - A species of African leaf-litter inhabiting ant named by Georg Fischer and Frank Azorsa of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA: It was named in memory Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918–5 December 2013), who was nicknamed Madiba by his people, former South African president and anti-apartheid revolutionary, often also described as the “father of the nation”.

Belesica madiba

PHOTOS: SIMON VAN NOORT

This ichneumon wasp was described in 2014 by Iziko Museums scientists. It was collected in the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, South Africa. This species was dedicated to ‘Madiba’ for the enlightenment he brought to South Africa and the rest of the world.

Mandelia mirocornata

PHOTO: WILHELM VAN ZYL

Mandelia mirocornata - a new genus and species of nudibranch molluscdescribed in 1999 by Ángel Valdés and Terrence Gosliner of the California Academy of Sciences, from specimens collected at Bakoven on the Cape Peninsula. This South African genus is named Mandelia to honour Nelson Mandela, who led the struggle for a multi-racial government in South Africa.

Capederces madiba

PHOTO: SIMON VAN NOORT

Capederces madibai – this long-horned beetle was described in 2017. It was collected from the Albany district in south-eastern South Africa in 1927. The species is dedicated to Nelson Mandela, also known by his clan name Madiba, a South African hero and Nobel Peace Prize holder, who passed away on 5 December 2013 at the age of 95.

Triacanthella madiba

This species of springtails was described in 2012 and was the first species of this genus to be found in Africa. It was collected from bat guano in a cave on Table Mountain.

Springtails are not insects. They are classified along with insects and crustaceans in the class Arthropoda.

PHOTO: CHARLENE JANION SCHEEPERS

PLANT CULTIVARS

PHOTOS: SANBI, ANDREW MASSYN

No plant species have yet been scientifically named after Nelson Mandela. However,horticultural selections of a Strelitzia, a King Protea (the national flower) and mostrecently a Rose have been dedicated to his memory. A yellow-flowering selection ofStrelitzia reginae was affectionately named “Mandela’s Gold” by the KirstenboschNational Botanical Gardens (South African National Biodiversity Institute) in 1996.

• WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER FOR AT LEAST 20 SECONDS • USE HAND SANITISERS • NEVER TOUCH YOUR EYES, NOSE OR MOUTH WITH UNWASHED HANDS • COVER YOUR MOUTH AND NOSE WHEN COUGHING AND SNEEZING • KEEP A DISTANCE OF 2 METERS BETWEEN YOU AND THE PERSON WITH A COUGH • AVOID CROWDED AREAS • AVOID HAND SHAKE AND OPT FOR AN ELBOW GREETING RATHER

DEFEAT COVID-19

SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION URGENTLY IF YOU NOTICE THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS:• SHORTNESS OF BREATH • FEVER WITH A COUGH AND HIGH BODY TEMPERATURE • SORE THROAT • FATIGUE

• https://undocs.org/A/RES/64/13

• https://www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/

• https://www.mandeladay.com/

• https://www.iziko.org.za/exhibitions/tata-madiba-father-our-democracy-father-our-nation-0

• https://www.gov.za/NelsonMandel%20Month2020

• https://sacoronavirus.co.za/

REFERENCES