The daughter of Nelson Mandela is giving a talk in Liverpool

It has been announced that Dr Makaziwe (Maki) Mandela will be delivering a lecture at the Dr Martin Luther King Jr building, part of the International Slavery Museum, on Tuesday 12 February 2019.

The title is: Unity: what that meant to Nelson Mandela.

Dr Maki Mandela, the eldest daughter of Evelyn Mase and Nelson Mandela, is visiting Liverpool at the invitation of Mandela8 and Liverpool City Council to commemorate the 29 year anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison on 11 February 1990, and to mark the start of works on site for the Mandela8 memorial in Princes Park, Liverpool 8. The special memorial will honour the struggles, achievements and life of the revolutionary South African leader.

The lecture timings are: 5.45pm doors open, 6.15pm event start, 7.30pm event ending on Tuesday 12 February 2019. The lecture is free but booking is essential. You can reserve your tickets now from Eventbrite here.

Dr Mandela has had a full and varied career. She has presented numerous papers over the years, including on the role of women in a changing South Africa. She has been intricately involved in developing a substantial portfolio within Nozala, a women’s investment group, and using these funds in the economic empowerment of women in South Africa. Dr Mandela is currently the Chair of House of Mandela, a business that she started with her daughter Tukwini Mandela in 2010.

The city of Liverpool has a long-standing affiliation with the work of Nelson Mandela, dating as far back as the early 1980s. The city, and in particular Liverpool 8, fought in unity with numerous anti-apartheid marches and boycotted many South African products, as well as supporting the Free Nelson Mandela Campaign.

Several objects in the collection of the International Slavery Museum document this history. The Museum holds 53 photographs of the Mandela Freedom Festival held in Toxteth on 17 July 1988 and a banner made by the Liverpool 8 Against Apartheid group, which came together in around 1985 to show solidarity with the Black population of South Africa during its apartheid era. The group’s activities included boycotting products made in South Africa and picketing organisations supporting the regime with leafleting outside shops that sold South African products. The group disbanded in 1990 after the freeing of Nelson Mandela.

Dr Richard Benjamin, Head of the International Slavery Museum said: “It is an honour to invite Dr Maki Mandela to speak at the International Slavery Museum. This will be a marvellous opportunity for the people of Liverpool to meet and hear an inspirational figure such as Dr Mandela talk about her own life and that of her iconic father. This is a city that proudly supported the anti-apartheid movement and in a Museum which continues to fight for freedom and equality.”

Sonia Bassey MBE, Mandela8 Chair and one of the founding members said: “We are delighted to be able to collaborate with National Museums Liverpool to enable this lecture to take place, and we are looking forward to this rare opportunity to hear from Dr Maki talking about her father and his works.”

The International Slavery Museum highlights the international importance of enslavement and slavery, both in a historic and modern context. Working in partnership with other organisations with a focus on freedom and enslavement, the Museum also provides opportunities for greater awareness and understanding of the legacies of slavery today.