Desmond Tutu was in Denver last night as part of the Insight Speaker Series. Thanks to the organizer Elizabeth Weiland I was able to score a front row seat and access to the reception after the event.
Mr. Tutu appeared still very dynamic and energetic at the age of 76. Stil a force to reckon with. Mayor Hickenlooper introduced him as one of the most inspirational speakers of the 20th century.

WHAT DID HE HAVE TO SAY?
He spoke a lot about humanity and gave a great definition of Ubuntu: ” It is the essence of being human. A person has Ubuntu. He/she depends utterly on others. A person with Ubuntu is meant to be in line with harmony. A person is a person through others”. These are the words that made us choose the name Ubuntu Now for our nonprofit corporation.

He then switched over to the power transition process of 1994 in South Africa. He was 63 and Nelson Mandela even 76 years old when they first allowed to vote in their country.

He also spoke about forgiveness and mentioned that “I am sorry” are some of the most difficult words in any language.

He spoke about the principle of “restorative justice” and that revenge never closes any matter.

MY TAKE
It was a very inspirational speech. It triggered me to make up with the 2 people on this planet that I am not on good terms with.

But I also noticed that he left out a lot of things he could have talked about. Most people in the audience have heard the story of 1994 before. He did not mention 2008 and the current struggles in South Africa at all. The words rape, violence, HIV/AIDS were left out even though often speaks about this at other destinations. He also did not mention the 2010 Soccer World Cup and the opportunities that arise for the country in that context.

I was able to spike to the Archbishop briefly after the event and wished him the he lives long enough to see victory in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in his country.

I don’t get face to face time with Nobel Peace Prize laureates very often (this was a first) so this was a big day for me - regardless of the things Desmond Tutu choose not to mention last night.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Desmond Tutu A tireless campaigner for justice
• Happy B-Day To You, Tutu!
• Extraordinary life

Posted under Everything Else