US former president, Barack Obama is to deliver a high-profile address in July to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth.
The July 17 speech, which was announced on Monday, will be paired with a five-day gathering of young African leaders that will include workshops and training, as well as a town hall with Obama. The Obama Foundation said it had received 10,000 applications for the 200 available slots in the program.
Obama, whose father was from Kenya, visited Africa a few times as President, though he never met Mandela on those trips as the anti-apartheid leader was ailing. They had met once earlier, in 2005, when Mandela was visiting the United States.
Obama has spoken and written extensively on Mandela’s influence in his life, including inspiring his early political activism. He flew to South Africa in 2013 to speak at Mandela’s funeral.
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