In an exciting prelude to the unveiling of the Nelson Mandela statue on Friday 9 Oct, a time capsule was buried beneath the granite plinth of our newly erected Nelson Mandela statue.
The event, held on Friday 1st October, saw the capsule placed in its especially prepared site and buried by the children with the choir from Saint Denis’s singing in the background. The Lord Provost and Chairman, Brian Filling also attended.
The contents of the capsule represent the thoughts and reflections of a cross section of pupils from schools across Glasgow and the West of Scotland. These eight schools engaged with the learning resource pack which was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation (NMSMF) and developed by the West of Scotland Education Development Centre (WoSDEC). This resource is titled, ‘When Mandela Danced in the Square’. It is mapped to the Scottish curriculum and covers the life of Mandela and the associated lessons for human rights, challenging racism and on taking action for a better world.
The Pupils’ reflections on Mandela’s characteristics and values, their views on society today, and their hopes for the future are inspiring. Their letters videos, sound files and artwork will be archived for future generations. These are encased within the sealed steel capsule.
The event was an exciting day for all of the children who participated. There has been a fair bit of media coverage too including this from the Scotsman.
Here are some memories from the occasion, along with the animation above which provides a flavour of some of the videos, songs and artwork which the capsule contains.
