Nelson Mandela Day is an internationally celebrated day that is a really important and much loved day here in South Africa but also throughout the world.

Mandela Day is celebrated every year on the 18th of July, Nelson Mandela’s birthday! It was officially declared by the UN in 2009 shortly after the famous 46664 concert.

This day is not intended to be a public holiday, but rather a day to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s former president, and his values through committing good deeds in his honour.

Nelson Mandela was a South African politician who fought against Apartheid so that all people could be treated equally. Because Nelson Mandela fought social injustice for 67 years on Mandela day the call to action is for people to do 67 minutes of good toward their chosen charity or in any way that is real to them.

Here are some great Purple Mash literacy activities all about Nelson Mandela!

• Allow your learners to create an information sheet on Nelson Mandela where they can write down everything they know about him.
• Or a Storyboard where they can explore the facts about Apartheid:
• Another favourite is to allow your learners to put on their journalist hats and create a newspaper article on Nelson Mandela and his release from prison:
• Or allow them to pretend to be him and write in the first person answering interview questions:

Have fun with your learners as you strengthen their literacy skills.