Beach cleanup in Mattakkuliya to commemorate Nelson Mandela International Day

The South African High Commission and Clean Ocean Force Lanka will carry out a beach cleanup at Crow Island Beach Mattakkuliya, Colombo 15, with members of the diplomatic corps to commemorate Nelson Mandela International Day, from 7.30 am on Thursday (18), the South African High Commission in Colombo said.

In November 2009, in recognition of former South African President Nelson Mandela’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July “Nelson Mandela International Day”. The global theme for Nelson Mandela International Day 2024 is “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity.” The context, of course, is a world in which inequity continues to grow and in which we are still reckoning with the destructive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which exposed existing disparities and damaged vulnerable communities in all kinds of ways. Climate change, war and conflict are leading to the displacement and impoverishment of a multitude of communities and even whole societies.