[The Elders Series] Nelson Mandela and The State of Hope

In 2007, Nelson Mandela founded The Elders with a mission of engaging with “global leaders and civil society at all levels to resolve conflict and address its root causes, to challenge injustice, and to promote ethical leadership and good governance”. 

Across our special podcast series we've explored these very issues and considered how and why Mandela's vision remains so important to tackling some of the world's intractable challenges, from nuclear threats to lack of access to justice and the accelerating impacts of climate change.

Widely regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice, Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist. Today, the reverberance of Nelson Mandela’s legacy is felt strongly all around the world.

In our final episode of this series, hosts Hazami Barmada and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland, former UN High-Commissioner For Human Rights and Chair of The Elders) are joined by the Deputy Chair and co-Founder of The Elders, Graça Machel to recall Mandela's legacy. 

Together, we ask: where do we draw a sense of hope and how do we find a way forward? Why is hope critical in galvanizing action and how can accountability transform hope into real change?

Speaker Biographies:

Graça Machel is Deputy Chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights.

Graça Machel co-founded The Elders with her husband, Nelson Mandela in 2007. She is a renowned international advocate for women’s and children’s rights. As Education Minister in Mozambique’s post-war government, she oversaw an increase in primary school enrolment from 40% of children in 1975 to over 90% of boys and 75% of girls by 1989. In 1994, she was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to assess the impact of armed conflict on children. Her landmark report established a new and innovative agenda for the comprehensive protection of children caught up in war. Graça Machel is Founder and President of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC) and Founder of the Graça Machel Trust.

Mary Robinson is former President of Ireland, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights.

Mary Robinson was the first woman President of Ireland (1990–1997) and is a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2002). A tireless advocate for justice, she was President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative from 2002 to 2010. Mary Robinson served as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa from 2013-2014, stepping down in July 2014 to take up the post of Special Envoy for Climate Change. She continued in this post until the end of December 2015 which saw the successful conclusion of the COP21 Climate Summit and the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In 2016, Mary Robinson served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate.

Hazami Barmada is the Founder & CEO of Humanity Lab Foundation and co-Executive Producer & Host of the Finding Humanity Podcast.

Hazami is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, and public affairs and social impact expert recognized by Forbes as an “inspirational agent of change.” She has consulted for many leading global brands including the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, Aspen Institute, and the Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. Among her posts at the United Nations, she served as the Coordinator for the United Nations Secretary General's World Humanitarian Summit, an Advisor to the first-ever United Nations Secretary-General's Youth Envoy, as a member of the United Nations SDG Strategy Hub for the launch of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Hazami has a Masters from Harvard University where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management. She studied social and public policy at Georgetown University and has a BA in Anthropology and Sociology. Twitter: @hazamibarmada @TheHumanityLab

This special series of Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media, in collaboration with The Elders.

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