A Liverpool charity created to celebrate and commemorate Nelson Mandela's legacy has announced it is launching a new project.
The new oral history project, will bring together stories of community activists in Toxteth and their first-hand memories of anti-apartheid struggles.
Mandela 8 was awarded £95k from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to carry out the project which will involve recruiting 15 heritage research volunteers with support and training from National Museums Liverpool as well as 15 young people who will be provided with digital skills training to support the recording of heritage stories.
Sonia Bassey, MBE, chair of Mandela8 said: “We are excited to get started with this project that will leave a lasting legacy for our community so they continue to know the valuable contribution activists in communities made to society and social justice long after we are gone.
“We are delighted with the additional funding secured for the engagement programme for the Nelson Mandela memorial.
"It will be a truly inclusive centrepiece of the park, ensuring his legacy, values and ideals are formally marked, promoting social and racial understanding, tolerance and tackling issues around cultural diversity.”
Mandela 8 launched in 2015, following the death of Nelson Mandela, and has been campaigning for a permanent memorial to the South African leader and freedom fighter in Liverpool.
In 2018, Mandela 8 announced the building of a memorial at the lake in Princes Park, involving a bridge across the lake and artwork installation following a visit by members of Mandela 8 to relatives of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.
Members of Nelson Mandela's family then visited the city in February 2019, attending an event at Princes Park, where they gave their blessing to the plans, as well as events including at the Kuumba Imani centre on Princes Avenue, and a TUC fundraising dinner.
His eldest daughter Dr Makaziwe ‘Maki’ Mandela and granddaughter Tukwini Mandela also met Prince Charles at St. George's Hall during his visit to the city.
Heather Ring, director of Wayward, who designed the memorial said: “Wayward is deeply honoured to be selected to design the Nelson Mandela Memorial, Liverpool.
"This important remembrance is for future generations to discover how the men and women in the great City of Liverpool stood with Nelson Mandela throughout his struggle to end apartheid and heal a fractured nation.
"The design of the memorial reflects upon the gardens Mandela tended to while incarcerated, notably in oil drums at Pollsmoor Prison, which stood as symbols of resistance, tools for resilience, spaces for reflection and platforms for community.”
