The Guadiana International Bridge, which connects the Algarve to Spain, will be called “Ponte Mandela” for a day. It will be this Saturday, July 18th, in honor of the Madiba, he who was one of the world's leading human rights activists, winner of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize and former president of South Africa.
The initiative takes place on Mandela's birthday, recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009 as Nelson Mandela International Day.
The day is also marked by the renaming, for one day, of bridges around the world as “Ponte Mandela” and one of this year's awards is the Guadiana International Bridge.
The ceremony is scheduled for 10:00 am, next to the old Customs house, under the bridge.
Representatives of various entities will be present at the initiative, namely the University of Algarve, the National Support Center for the Integration of Migrants (CNAIM), the three cross-border municipalities, the Institute of Solidarity and University Cooperation, among others.
«Today, in times of pandemic, we learn more about the importance of borders and we are also looking for new bridges of dialogue and contact, with no more encouraging example than the story of the “most beloved statesman in the world”», says the Chamber of Castro Marim .
“Like all bridges, whether physical or symbolic, the Guadiana International Bridge, built 29 years ago, has structurally changed community relations. The south of Portugal and the south of Spain were closer than ever, the social and cultural relations between the inhabitants of the two sides of the border were increased, ties were strengthened, the languages and economic development of the territory of Portugal came closer. Baixo Guadiana was notorious», he adds.
In addition to this initiative in bridges around the world, there will be a world digital conference – E-World Congress Pontes MandelaSummit, which will bring together more than 30 countries around the world and speakers such as José Ramos Horta (former president of Timor-Leste and laureate with 1996 Nobel Peace Prize), Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate), Kailash Satyarthi (India, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate), Her Royal Highness Princess Rym Ali of Jordan , Carlos Moedas (former EU commissioner and member of the Board of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation), among many others.
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