Nelson Mandela Foundation Goes Digital

COLTRANE · (#1 (**permalink**))

Nelson Mandela Foundation Goes Digital
Rodney Weidemann
Johannesburg

The Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) has appointed a new ICT
strategist and has also launched a redesigned Web site as part of the
Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Commemoration Project, held in
late September.

Digital Mall's founder and CEO, Yaron Assabi, will take on the role
of ICT strategist with the NMF, while his company has also sponsored
the redesigned Web site.

"ICT forms an integral part of everything we do at the NMF, and it is
our aim to use these technologies to demonstrate new possibilities to
expand our social development agenda. Digital Mall has enabled us to
explore new ways of doing this," says COO Tim Scholtz.

Digital Mall has redesigned the site in order to make it e-commerce-
enabled and has added a new content management system, which will
manage all content on the site and the addition of all future content
to the NMF Web site.

The site will act as the central repository for the NMF as it seeks
to continue Mandela's legacy and has been designed with ease of use
and clarity of purpose in mind.

"It is a privilege and an honour to be involved with the foundation
and the great work it does and we look forward to assisting the NMF
by using ICT solutions to further broadcast its message," says Assabi.

As part of its social contribution, Digital Mall has arranged a fund-
raising opportunity with the help of the three cellular operators.

Using an SMS-based solution, members of the public can interact with
and pledge support to the NMF via a short code SMS service that uses
Mandela's prison number, 46664. Each SMS is charged at R20, the
proceeds of which go to the foundation.

Digital Mall also helped the NMF to provide its first live Webcast,
allowing many people globally to view the launch of the Centre of
Memory and Commemoration Project, together with the launch of a new
exhibit tracing Mandela's time in prison entitled "46664: A Prisoner
in the Garden".

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