Mandela as a champion of evidence-led decision making: South Africa’s first democratic census

This video is a tribute to one of the most iconic figures of our generation; Nelson Mandela, who passed away peacefully on the 5th of December 2013. Mandela was an icon in many ways, but one of the lesser known attributes of this great man was his belief that evidence led decision making was the best way to create policies.

In 1998, after the completion of the first democratic South African Census, President Mandela made a speech showing his unique understanding and value for evidenced-based decision making. He said, “We embarked four years ago on unity and freedom and build a better life for all South Africa we decided to hold a national census in 1996 five years earlier than was expected, we were acting upon on urgent need for accurate information and so that our decisions would be based on the real situation.”
At APHRC, we are at the forefront of not only producing scientific evidence to inform policy decisions but to also create a paradigm shift where evidence becomes the guiding light for all policy decisions across the region.
These videos are courtesy of the Stats South Africa Office in memory of the life and contributions of former President Nelson Mandela. The footage was taken at an event following the release of South Africa’s first democratic census.