Nelson Mandela Anti Racism Week

Nelson Mandela Anti-Racism Week at University of Galway

Nelson Mandela said that ‘the world is now in greater need than ever for men and women of peace to stand up and let their voices be heard and their commitment felt’.

We are delighted to announce that Nelson Mandela Anti-Racism Week will occur on campus from 19th – 22nd March this year. This week of events is programmed to coincide with International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, annually observed on March 21st. It is also designed to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the awarding of an honorary doctorate to Nelson Mandela by the University of Galway in 2003. It is particularly poignant, given that March 21st was initially chosen by the United Nations in commemoration of atrocities by the apartheid regime when the South African police killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against racist apartheid ‘pass laws’ in 1960, known as the Sharpeville massacre. The main impetus for this annual day of recognition and action is to create awareness and to challenge individual, cultural and institutional racism internationally.