Cape Town – Struggle stalwarts Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Gertrude Shope, Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya and one of SA’s youngest innovators, Siya Xuza, have received top awards at this year’s annual Ubuntu Awards.
The awards, hosted by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, are held to celebrate South African citizens who play an active role in projecting a positive image of South Africa internationally through their good work.
This year’s awards marked the centenary of struggle icon, Oliver Reginald Tambo, who was the longest serving President of the now governing ANC. Born in 1917, the late struggle stalwart, who passed away in 1993, would have turned 100 years old this year.
For her contribution to the struggle, Madikizela-Mandela was honoured with the O.R. Tambo Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Saturday night for her sacrifices and the pain endured while fighting the apartheid government.
While she could not travel to Cape Town to receive the award, a family member received the award on her behalf. In a special message conveyed through the relative, Madikizela-Mandela thanked South Africa for “allowing her to lead a worthwhile cause to a great future”, saying she is “far from done”.
Displaying her famous “cobra” sign when called upon to receive her award, Semenya thanked God and her parents for making her the person she is today.
Also receiving a standing ovation on the night was Siyabulela Xuza, an energy engineering Harvard University graduate, for his passion of harnessing the power of the sun for clean, affordable energy.
Xuza, who conducted research geared towards making cheaper solar cells, received the Ubuntu Youth Diplomacy Award for his work.
Only 28 years old, Xuza has already had a planet named after him for developing a record-breaking rocket and creating safer, more energy-efficient rocket fuel.
Other winners on the night include Pretty Yende (Ubuntu Arts and Cultural Diplomacy Award: Youth); Esther Mahlangu (Ubuntu Arts and Cultural Diplomacy Award: Veteran) and Chinese Ambassador Tian Xuejun (O.R. Tambo Lifetime Achievement in Diplomacy Award).
Organisations that were recognised for sterling work in their fields include Sasol, which was honoured in the two Ubuntu Economic Diplomacy Award in the Africa and global categories.
Non-profit organisations Babies Behind Bars and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation each received the Ubuntu Social Responsibility Award.
Not yet uhuru
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said anchoring this year’s awards on the legacy of O.R. Tambo resonated well with what he stood for – which is political freedom to be accompanied by economic emancipation.
“May we take this opportunity to thank them for having shared their dads, their moms, their uncles and their aunts with us.
“We will continue to champion the diplomacy of ubuntu... I want to say to the Adelaide and O.R. Tambo Foundation, our journey to socio-economic transformation [is not over]. The real uhuru that our forebears fought for, led and died for -- we have not achieved as yet.
“…It is not yet uhuru if the majority of our people are still spectators and they are not in the mainstream of our economy.
“Ours is about fighting the triple challenge [of poverty, inequality and unemployment] in our country… and our continent. Africans cannot continue to be spectators when more than 60% of our population is young, many of them unemployed,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
