The Nelson Mandela Foundation has unveiled a new collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in collaboration with their long-time strategic partner, Glorious. The project is called “Digital Patronage” and offers benefits such as membership and association with the foundation.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organization established by former South African President Nelson Mandela in 1999 with the goal of promoting his vision of freedom and social equality.
Currently, the foundation is led by South African Njabulo Simakahle Ndebele, a writer, professor, former vice-chancellor, and current director of the University of Cape Town. Over the past year, the organization has made the decision to venture into the new and innovative realms of technology.
Among the services that stand out is the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the initiative that has been launched through a partnership with Glorious Digital, a creative NFT studio and marketplace that collaborates with various artists, musicians, athletes, and celebrities to create digital artworks that are authentic, timeless, and exclusive.
This time, the partnership between the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Glorious has been announced, along with the launch of “Digital Patronage,” an NFT artwork that will grant a lifetime membership and a direct connection to the foundation of the former South African president.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation, in collaboration with Glorious, presented this new project with the aim of providing the first philanthropic membership, designed exclusively to build a global community of advocates for the causes and values that have been disseminated by Madiba for so many years and throughout the world, leaving behind a legacy immortalized for eternity.
This innovative and exclusive membership will offer the opportunity to associate and join the iconic Nelson Mandela Foundation, along with a global community of supporters who come together to defend Mandela’s legacy.
It has been officially announced that there will be a total of 1918 NFT memberships available, and each non-fungible token will be a unique and exclusive artwork related to the Foundation. They will have a fixed value of $1000 USD.
Beyond receiving an artwork as an NFT, by acquiring a Digital Patronage, owners will have the opportunity to join a community of individuals to share and promote Madiba’s values and receive exclusive benefits, including:
- Digital artworks from the archive.
- Exclusive invitations to the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
- Online and offline events.
- Unique opportunities to participate in the Foundation’s activities and initiatives.
- Access to an exclusive digital portal for community members.
- Exclusive access to future limited edition digital artworks that the Nelson Mandela Foundation will release in the form of non-fungible tokens.
This is not the first time the Nelson Mandela Foundation has released a collection of NFTs. In 2022, on the occasion of the “International Nelson Mandela Day” celebrated on July 18th, they launched a collection featuring unpublished photos, historical archives, personal documents, and more, aiming to reflect and honor the South African Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In February 2022, the Foundation also released a collection of Mandela’s paintings and handwritten correspondence as NFTs titled “My Robben Island” on Nifty Gateway.
Lastly, in March 2022, an auction was held for an NFT featuring Nelson Mandela’s original 1962 arrest warrant. A total of $130,000 USD was raised, and the funds were donated to the Liliesleaf Museum in South Africa, which received the original document as a donation in 2004.
Written by Rodrigo Catalan (TW: @RodrigoCatalanB) for NFT Express.