Nelson Mandela

Ladies and Gentlemen of the council we are gathered here today to discuss the attributes and qualities of hero’s and leaders that teenagers of today can aspire to. What is a hero? What is a leader? And who can represent these qualities to young people of today?

The nature of a hero is to have a combination of skills, behaviours and attitudes that allow them to interpret a situation and take appropriate action to achieve beneficial results and outcomes for everyone. In this way the leader achieves the respect and admiration of the people they have had a beneficial effect on. A leader may be seen as heroic if the circumstance that they triumph over involves the real prospect of personal harm or death.

The qualities of a leader or hero that I will present to you today are the ones that young people can aspire to through changing the lives of their fellow citizens, while they themselves may experience great physical and emotional hardship during the struggle for justice.

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A person I believe embodies both the characteristics of a leader and a hero is a man who was imprisoned being a terrorist yet emerged as an undisputed global leader. This man is Nelson Mandela.

This man is adored like a favourite uncle, idolised like a rock star, respected like a religious icon and one of the world’s most inspirational leaders.

Mandela has dedicated his life to restoring harmony and equal rights among all South Africans. He fought against white domination and black domination and tried to re-establish the ideal of a democratic and free society. ...

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