Mandela Rhodes Foundation Celebrates 20 Years of Developing Exceptional Leaders in South Africa

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation was founded by the late President Nelson Mandela.

Mandela formed the foundation in 2003, intending to "close the circle of history" by uniting with Celil John Rhodes's resources that assisted with the advancement of Africa.

In 2005, the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship was launched.

Today, on 28th September, the foundation is celebrating 20 years of developing exceptional leaders across several regions of South Africa and countries on the African continent.

This year, 2023, also marks 10 years since the passing of Nelson Mandela, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for being an anti-apartheid activist and politician.

In 1994, Mandela went on to serve as the first South African President.

Mandela, who is best known for not only being the first South African President but also for installing democracy and peacefully destroying the Apartheid regime in South Africa, created the foundation to address racist inequalities that stem from colonialism.

The foundation was created with a focus on four core values, including reconciliation, education, entrepreneurship and leadership.

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation essentially provides young leaders who were born on the African continent with a chance at transformative change.

In an interview, Judy Sikuza, the CEO of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, said: "We understand that the majority of young people need to be educated, need to be trained in leadership, to actually step up into making those fundamental decisions for our society."

In the last 20 years, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation has awarded a huge 622 scholarships to students from 33 different African countries.

Speaking to reporters about the programme boasting "that sense of inclusion and that sense of diversity", Sikuza added: "What we always kind of pride ourselves on in our programme is that we are actually open to all African students, and we are one of the very few, if not the only scholarships that actually allow for that."

The CEO also encouraged young African citizens to apply for the programme by saying: "If you're a young person looking at your society and saying, 'I want to contribute, I want to be around likeminded individuals who believe in a world in which we do have agency and feel empowered to make a difference', then this programme is for you."

But Sikuza also warned: "You must be ready to be stretched... you are actually forced and pushed to actually challenge yourself."

The CEO also spoke about how the Mandela Rhodes Foundation makes extra efforts to empower its students. She said: "We also create a space in our programme for our scholars to be able to become those holistic and wholehearted leaders who can actually go into society and step in with real ethic, with real courage."

Zolani Metu, who was born in South Africa and studied Mental Health at the University of Cape Town through a Mandela Rhodes Foundation scholarship, revealed that the foundation provides young aspiring leaders with essential leadership skills.

Metu said: "I remember hearing about how leadership is a process, and I think Mandela Rhodes basically facilitates that whole process."

"One thing that the foundation has done very well is to promote the spirit of Nelson Mandela. The spirit that 'You are because I am' – I think that we have held on to that," said Tulani Nkuntse, a South African student who studied Public Administration at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University through a foundation scholarship.

Reflecting on the impact that the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and Scholarship has had on young people, CEO Sikuza concluded: "Nelson Mandela envisioned an Africa that could take its rightful place on the global stage, represented by leaders of outstanding moral clarity. We are proud to be developing those leaders."