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Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change
The Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change aims to strengthen social capital for consensus building and facilitate dialogue to promote participatory forms of governance at national and international levels. Anchored in the UN Secretary General’s Our Common Agenda, the project focuses on ways to build shared values and trust-based relationships between people and institutions through the collection, dissemination and application of knowledge. The Project’s philosophy is anchored in Nelson Mandela’s fundamental leadership insights: promoting a culture of value-based and adaptive leadership, resilience, and empathy, and reflecting a determination to create space to foster social change.
The project brings UNSSC together with seven universities: American University of Beirut, Lebanon; Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York; IE University, Spain; Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, University, India, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore; Singapore; the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, South Africa; and Universidad Austral, Argentina. Each university serves to connect to other universities within its region.
On 29 and 30 April 2024, the founding partners of the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change, as well as special guests and observers, came together on UNSSC’s campus in Turin, Italy for the first meeting to co-create the project and develop essential ownership of its results.
An essential element of the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change lies in its learning and capacity-building initiatives. These programmes, modules and offerings are designed to train and uplift changemakers, grounded in Nelson Mandela’s approach to leadership, and highlighting values such as resilience, humility, and the capacity to bridge divides in a context of polarisation.
Insights and impact
Representatives from our partnering institutions share what the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change signifies for them and their universities, as well as the impact they expect to see as a direct result of the Project.
Leadership for social change
Our academic partners share what excites them the most about the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change and how effective leadership can drive meaningful social change.
Meet our partners
We introduce key actors of the project by exploring their experiences, goals and interests related to the topic of social change.
Our partner entities are constantly developing activities under the umbrella of the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change. These initiatives, co-created within a framework of mutual trust, reflect the Project’s collaborative spirit and are implemented in alignment with Nelson Mandela’s legacy and the core values of the United Nations—ranging from consensus-building and the peaceful resolution of conflicts to human rights, sustainable development, and efforts to bridge social divides.
An initiative of the Colin Powell School at the City College of New York (CCNY), this course will engage students in exploring Nelson Mandela’s legacy and approach to leadership, with particular emphasis on global and non-Western perspectives to overcome polarization. The course will be taught by Richard Stengel, co-author of Nelson Mandela's autobiography The Long Walk to Freedom. Fifteen undergraduate students will be selected and receive a participation stipend.
Organized by IE University, this monthly series explores the realities and challenges of specific world regions to promote knowledge, dialogue and intercultural understanding. Each edition will feature speakers from multilateral organizations and partner universities involved in the Nelson Mandela project. The series is designed for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty experts, guests and the broader IE community.
The series, organized by IE University, is a set of thematic sessions focused on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, developed in collaboration with student societies – including the Economics Society, the SDG Club and the International Relations Society. The series is designed for undergraduate and master’s students, as well as faculty, staff, alumni and friends of IE University.
This immersive journey offers 26 Bachelor in International Relations (BIR) students the opportunity to broaden their perspectives and push their boundaries. Through direct engagement with local community leaders and policymakers, participants will explore Nepal’s rich cultural traditions and natural landscapes, including a trek through the Himalayas. The experience is designed to foster cross-cultural understanding, awareness of diverse worldviews, and the development of teamwork and problem-solving skills under pressure.
In 2026, the American University of Beirut is launching the MENA regional hub of the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change. The MENA regional hub is a space that convenes knowledge production, co-creation, exchange, learning, networking, and other innovative activities which seek to advance Nelson Mandela's global values and principles.
Austral University is dedicating selected episodes of the "Diálogos de Gobernanza Global" (Global Governance Dialogues) series to the Nelson Mandela project. The series was created in 2021 and is organized by the Centro de Estudios de Gobernanza Global (Global Governance Study Center) at Universidad Austral. Sessions are run between mid-2025 and mid-2026 with Nelson Mandela project partners on pressing global issues.
- First Partners Meeting Handbook.
- Second Partners Meeting Handbook
- Blogpost “Promover el diálogo para reparar las grietas: el ejemplo de Mandela”, by Alfonso Santiago, Austral University