The Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture Series invites prominent global leaders and thinkers to drive debate on pressing social issues. As one of the most significant events on the Foundation’s calendar, the lecture provides a platform for critical dialogue, often around complex and challenging topics, aimed at fostering reflection and inspiring action towards social justice.
In 2024, the lecture was delivered by Nobel Literature laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah on Saturday, 28 September. Over the years, the lecture has featured a distinguished roster of speakers, including Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai, Prime Minister of Barbados the Honourable Mia Mottley, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Dr Fatou Bensouda, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, South Africa’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, former United States President Barack Obama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, Chilean-American author and human rights activist Ariel Dorfman, Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus, Director of Egypt’s Library of Alexandria Ismail Serageldin, former Irish President and philanthropist Mary Robinson, philanthropist Mo Ibrahim, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, economist Thomas Piketty, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed.
This year, the lecture will be delivered by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
