# Mandela Strategies: UWT Reading Discussion

Participants read a short thematic summary of Nelson Mandela's 1999 Davos address, complete an individual reflection worksheet, and compare workplace applications across small groups.

**Time:** 25 minutes. Relationship Makers Handbook suggests 15 to 30 minutes; 25 minutes fits quiet reading, small-group analysis, and brief whole-room sharing.
**People:** 4 to 24. Independent reading, small groups of 3 to 5 (e.g. 13 splits into 4, 3, 3, 3), paired or single-traveler rotation, and plenary debrief

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Examine current work challenges against principles of negotiated transition and identify practical limits and experiments.
**Use it when:** Use during retrospectives or planning sessions when a team faces persistent deadlocks or needs fresh perspectives on collaboration.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the session requires fast operational decisions, technical debugging, or when participants lack time to read.

## Materials and tools

- One printed copy of the Participant Reading and Worksheet per person
- Pens or pencils
- Timer

## Before participants arrive

1. Print the Participant Reading and Worksheet double-sided for each person.
2. Arrange seating into tables or clusters of 3 to 5 people.

## Say this to open

We will read a short summary of themes from Nelson Mandela's 1999 address at Davos regarding South Africa's transition from apartheid. Please take five minutes to read silently and write notes on your worksheet. Choose one theme that connects to a current project or a public scenario. You do not need to share sensitive or private workplace details.

## How to run it

### 1. Read and reflect (5 minutes)

Distribute the worksheet. Speak the opening script. Participants read the text silently and complete the three reflection prompts on their sheet. Fast readers can review their answers quietly.

### 2. Discuss in home groups (10 minutes)

In groups of 3 to 5, each person takes up to 2 minutes to explain which theme they chose, what differs in their context, and what practical step they might test. Listeners ask clarifying questions without debating or offering unprompted advice.

### 3. Exchange across groups (6 minutes)

One traveler from each group rotates clockwise to the next numbered table. In groups of 5, two travelers may move together. Travelers have 1 minute each to share one practical idea or caution from their home group. The host group notes similarities or differences.

### 4. Plenary debrief (4 minutes)

Reconvene the full room. Ask two or three volunteers to share one specific limit or experiment discussed. Keep contributions under 1 minute each. End on time.


## Debrief questions

- What important differences exist between national political transitions and ordinary organizational challenges?
- Which theme felt most practical for a project you support?
- What risk arises if someone copies high-level political rhetoric without changing everyday working habits?

**Finished output:** Completed individual worksheets identifying a selected theme, contextual differences, and a concrete action to test.

## Remote

Distribute the worksheet text in a shared digital document. Allow 5 minutes of quiet time with microphones muted. Move participants to breakout rooms of 3 to 5 for 10 minutes. For step 3, either re-mix breakout rooms automatically or ask one traveler per room to move to the next numbered breakout room for 6 minutes. Debrief in the main room.

## Hybrid

Provide remote participants with a digital document and in-person participants with printed sheets. Group remote participants together in one or more virtual breakout rooms to avoid room feedback. During Step 3, remote travelers rotate only among virtual breakout rooms, while in-person travelers rotate between physical tables. If there is only one remote group, that group stays in place and pairs up internally to swap notes. In the final debrief, alternate between in-person speakers and remote chat or voice comments.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may read along or listen if an audio screen-reader or quiet partner reading is preferred.
- Participants may analyze a public case study or hypothetical project instead of their own organization.
- Any person may pass during group sharing by stating pass without explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants focus exclusively on South African history rather than operational work.**

Acknowledge the historical scale, then direct attention to question 2 on the worksheet: how does that differ from our current deliverable?

**A participant uses the session to air confidential interpersonal grievances.**

Remind the group to keep examples focused on project structures, communication rhythms, and work practices rather than individual personal disputes.


## Terms used here

- Apartheid: The legal system of racial segregation and white minority rule enforced in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s.
- Davos Address (1999): Nelson Mandela's speech to the World Economic Forum reflecting on South Africa's constitutional transition, cross-sector partnership, and ongoing economic challenges.

## Participant material: Participant Reading and Worksheet

READING: THEMES FROM NELSON MANDELA'S 1999 DAVOS ADDRESS
In his 1999 address to the World Economic Forum, Nelson Mandela reflected on South Africa's transition from apartheid to constitutional democracy. He emphasized three central themes:
1. Learning through persistent dialogue: Sustained negotiation with political adversaries was required to build democratic institutions, even amidst profound mistrust.
2. Democracy and material realities: Political rights must be accompanied by tangible improvements in daily living conditions, such as housing, healthcare, and jobs, or peace remains fragile.
3. Shared responsibility and partnership: Effective governance requires practical cooperation across government, business, and civil society, recognizing international interdependence while confronting domestic inequities.
Mandela emphasized that national reconciliation was not an instantaneous achievement, but an ongoing process requiring continuous, practical effort across sectors.

WORKSHEET
1. Relevance: Which theme is most relevant to a challenge you see today, and why?
2. Context and limits: What critical differences exist between South Africa's historic transition and your current situation?
3. Practical trial: What is one small, concrete action you could try based on this principle?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 240-243. The reading text is adapted from Nelson Mandela's 1999 address published by the World Economic Forum.

Relationship Makers Handbook referenced an unverified reading titled Mandela's Five Strategies from Davos and suggested role-playing Mandela. UWT replaced the unverified reading with a concise paraphrase of the public 1999 Davos address themes, added an individual worksheet on relevance and limits, replaced the role-play suggestion with analytical peer dialogue, structured group arithmetic to handle groups of 3 to 5, and clarified rotation mechanics across tables and hybrid breakouts.

[World Economic Forum](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2013/12/nelson-mandelas-address-to-davos-1999/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/mandela-strategies/