Report/Photos of the
GAJE and Roya Institute for Global Justice virtual celebration
Nelson Mandela International Day
on 17th July 2021.
Part 1 “Nelson Mandela: The International Human Rights Icon and the Man behind the Icon – Some Personal Reminiscences.”
Speaker: Prof. David McQuoid-Mason
Participants: About 70 people from 23 countries on the different continents around the world
Afghanistan ๐ฆ๐ซ | Indonesia ๐ฎ๐ฉ | Russia ๐ท๐บ |
Australia ๐ฆ๐บ | Iran ๐ฎ๐ท | South Africa ๐ฟ๐ฆ |
Bangladesh ๐ง๐ฉ | Kyrgyz ๐ฐ๐ฌ | Spain ๐ช๐ธ |
Canada ๐จ๐ฆ | Moldova ๐ฒ๐ป | Thailand ๐น๐ญ |
Czech Republic ๐จ๐ฟ | Montenegro ๐ฒ๐ช | Turkey ๐น๐ท |
Georgia ๐ฌ๐ช | Netherlands ๐ณ๐ฑ | UK ๐ฌ๐ง |
Germany ๐ฉ๐ช | Nigeria ๐ณ๐ฌ | USA ๐บ๐ธ |
India ๐ฎ๐ณ | Poland ๐ต๐ฑ | 23 Country |
Moderator: Prof. Jeff Giddings
The Session started with a song played by Johnny Clegg (With Nelson Mandela) – Asimbonanga (1999)
Thereafter, Prof. David McQuoid-Mason shared a brief background of Nelson Mandela and how he received his name โNelsonโ at his school, how as an individual he was, when Nelson Mandela realised that pacifist resistance wonโt change the government. In 1961, he was arrested for treason during the state of emergency and he defended himself in the Court of Law. Prof. shared Nelson Mandelaโs struggle against apartheid during his lifetime. He also shared his journey with soulful, kind hearted and full of joy personality Mandela to bring a positive change in the society.
Subsequently, few participations asked questions from Prof. McQuoid about his experience as a teacher and about his in flora and fauna where Prof. also shared his story on how he was inspired by portraits and decided to write books for children as well as parents.
Part 2: Celebration of Appreciation for David’s Justice-based Efforts and His Impact on Clinical Global Movement
Moderator: Prof. Ernest Ojukwu
The second part of the session started with a song played by: Drakensberg Boys Choir – Shosholoza (2008) (original version)
This video has a brief clip of Nelson Mandela in it. Apparently, he has said he used to sing this song to help him with the hard labor of Robben Island.
– Prof. Catherine Klein
Prof. Catherine Klein thanked Prof. David for being an extraordinary teacher, agent of change, one of the visionary organizer of GAJE and a friend. She also shared few pictures with memories and the journey of Prof. David with GAJE.
Prof. Maxim Tomoszek
Prof. Maxim shared what Prof. David means to his teaching career and highlighted two extra ordinary experiences which shaped his teaching career.
One of them was a discussion about stimulations and few faculties were having difficulty in implementing it in their courses. To this David shared his experience with those faculties how he organized a moot court at a football stadium with the objective to make them understand that wonderful teaching can be done at any setting.
– Prof. Leni Widi Mulyani
Prof. Leni shared her experience her first encounter with GAJE and David, first CLE session, first clinic and that GAJE has made a great impact in her teaching life.
Closing Remarks: Prof. Leah Wortham
Prof. shared five quotes from Nelson Mandela:
- Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world
- There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
- A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
- There can be no greater gift than that of giving oneโs time and energy to helping others without expecting anything in return.
- What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived, it is what difference we have made to the lives of others.
At the end of the session, Prof. Filip Czernicki (Co-President of the Global Alliance of Justice Education (GAJE) and President of the Polish Legal Clinics Foundation) and Prof. Seyed Masood Noori (Founder and Executive Director of the Roya Institute for Global Justice), thanked Prof. David McQuoid-Mason, the moderators, technical team, and all participants around the world for joining the event.
Mahak Rathee
Global Representative (India)
Roya Institute of Global Justice