The Nelson Mandela Foundation was established after Mr Nelson Mandela’s retirement on August 19, 1999 and leads the development of the vision and values of Mr Mandela’s life and work. Through the creation of strategic networks and partnerships, the Nelson Mandela Foundation directs resources, knowledge and practice to add value and demonstrate new possibilities. The Nelson Mandela Foundation embodies the spirit of reconciliation, ubuntu, and social justice. The Foundation’s work is a celebration of Mr Mandela’s life. The Foundation’s specific role is to establish a vibrant and dynamic Centre of Memory and Dialogue that accurately portrays the life and times of Mr Mandela, makes his archival records available to the world and facilitates dialogue around critical social
issues.
In November 2006 the Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved a new vision for the Foundation. In many ways it signalled a return to the Foundation’s original mandate which was to consolidate and propagate Mr Mandela’s legacy. The Nelson Mandela Foundation, through the Centre of Memory and Dialogue as its core work, contributes to the making of a just society by promoting the vision, values and work of its Founder and convening dialogue around critical social issues, while continuing to provide support to its Founder.
Four guiding principles inform the five-year Strategic Plan of the Foundation that emerged from a year-long review: