Nelson Mandela's teachings and principles are still relevant today, as one of "the things he taught us was to acknowledge the past, face the present and build a non-racial society", according to Prof. Ntsikelelo Breakfast, Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and Political Studies at the University of Nelson Mandela.
"The period of Mandela is a period of political transition to democracy. So he framed a discourse of democracy, a discourse of respect for human rights", the professor adds.
In addition, due to Mandela's values, South Africa got "the opportunity" to be "branded as a democracy by introducing a new foreign policy that advocates for the respect of human rights".
"That's why, for instance, we've taken a position regarding the conflict that is between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, which is inspired by the thinking of a former president Mandela," Prof. Breakfast says.
Apart from South African democracy, Mandela also "contributed to the architecture of democracy even in other parts of the globe".
"Two weeks ago I was in the Middle East and there were some people that I came across. They were very happy about the role that we are playing internationally", Prof. Breakfast recalls.
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