Play your part on Mandela Day, every day

IMC CEO Miller Matola told the media yesterday, Wednesday 13 July, that his organisation was honoured to be part of Mandela Day and its initiatives, and therefore called on everyone to contribute in one way or another for the good cause to build a type of country envisioned by former president Mandela.

"Start doing it on an on-going basis"

"Whether you are in business, health, education, government or wherever, let's move beyond the Mandela Day and start doing it on an on-going basis and play our part as active citizens," he said, speaking at the Nelson Mandela Foundation headquarters in Houghton, Johannesburg.

DMASA CEO Brian Mdluli said marketers should not go out there just to sell products, but they should go there to start a 'social revolution'.

Mandela, now retired and reportedly in good spirit, was born on 18 July 1918 in Qunu, Eastern Cape. He will be 93 this year. The international Mandela Day has since been ratified by the UN.

The foundation, which said yesterday that one cannot think about SA without mentally associating it with Mandela, revealed that preparations were under way for next week's Mandela Day, which includes president Jacob Zuma's visit to Giyani in Limpopo Province.

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Four phase "Play Your Part" campaign

The IMC, which admitted that Brand SA has been seriously eroded locally and internationally of late by a wide range of events (widely covered by the media), said its Play Your Part campaign will take place in four phases, namely:

• Partner lock-down: get defined commitment from critical partners
  
• Inspire: demonstrate the power of working together
  
• Empower: give people the tools to take the first step
  
• Celebrate: record and share the impact of action.

The Play Your Part 'Inspire' campaign is set to be executed in digital, radio, and billboards ad, corporate print and editorial (press conferences), and partners' vision.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation yesterday pleaded with the media to move away from the 'if it bleeds, it leads' mentality and start telling positive, good stories.

SA, a member of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, SA) whose economy is ranked 25th in the world, is Africa's biggest economy. But the country faces serious challenges, ranging from seemingly unending labour strikes, high unemployment, threats to media freedom and free flow of information, to political elite's self-enrichment, deteriorating infrastructure (potholes, healthcare, education), rural underdevelopment and state corruption, among others.

For more, go to www.mandeladay.com, www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay and www.playyourpart.co.za.