
[email protected]
Zoleka Mandela
Global Ambassador for Child Health Initiative, Daughter of Nelson Mandela & Cancer Survivor
Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of the late President Nelson Mandela, is a breast cancer survivor, author, global advocate and campaigner.
Mandela is the founder of the Zoleka Mandela Foundation, a social upliftment foundation which was established in 2013. The foundation aims to educate people about breast cancer, road safety and social responsibilities. The foundation also seeks to assist young people with personal growth, volunteerism and accountability.
Mandela served as Ambassador for the Child Health Initiative (CHI) and its advocacy campaign, leading a global call to action for adolescent health. She currently campaigns as a leading advocate for action on road traffic injury and traffic safety in memory of her daughter Zenani Mandela, who was killed in a road crash in Johannesburg aged just 13.
Mandela has also campaigned globally on cancer and NCDs with the Union of International Cancer Control (UICC) and NCD Alliance. Her campaigning achievements have been recognized by the United Nations Millennium Campaign and the United Nations Development Program, and she has addressed the UN General Assembly on her campaign issues.
Mandela is inspired by her grandfather, Nelson Mandela, her grandmother Winne Mandela, and her family to campaign for humanitarian causes as a committed social activist. Following the legacy of her grandparents, she is a passionate supporter of civil rights and women’s empowerment.
Mandela is a breast cancer survivor herself and has battled many addictions to drugs and alcohol, and has struggled with sexual abuse, as she detailed in her autobiography, When Hope Whispers, in 2013. In sharing her story, she hopes that her life will inspire people to follow many of their dreams despite life’s frequent ebbs and expected flows.
In 2016, Mandela was chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 Women and she is a United Nations global ambassador on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and child health.
Related Speakers View all
![]() |
Patricia Arquette
Academy Award-Winning Actress, Activist, Humanitaria...
|
![]() |
Hoda Kotb
Award-Winning Broadcast Journalist, Television Perso...
|
![]() |
Shree Bose
Grand Prize Winner of the First Google Global Scienc...
|
![]() |
Suzanne Somers
Celebrity Alternative Medicine Advocate, Author & Br...
|
![]() |
Joan Lunden
Award-Winning Journalist, Best-Selling Author, Healt...
|
![]() |
Sherry Lansing
Former CEO of Paramount Pictures & Founder of The Sh...
|
![]() |
Dr. Kristi Funk
Founder of Pink Lotus Breast Center; Breast Cancer S...
|
![]() |
Mina Bissell
Iranian-American Biologist; Known for her Research o...
|
![]() |
Martina Navratilova
Retired World #1 Tennis Player, International Tennis...
|
![]() |
Shannon Miller
Olympic Gold Medalist, Health Advocate & Cancer Surv...
|
![]() |
Jane Fonda
Actress, Feminist, Author, Political Activist, Forme...
|
![]() |
Carly Fiorina
Businesswoman, First Woman to Lead a Fortune Top 20 ...
|
|
Dr. Jackie Walters
Award-Winning OB-GYN; Two-Time Breast Cancer Survivo...
|
![]() |
Ai-jen Poo
Co-founder of National Domestic Workers Alliance; Di...
|
![]() |
Angela Glover Blackwell
Founder & Former CEO, PolicyLink
|
![]() |
Lara Logan
Journalist, Former "60 Minutes" Correspondent & Chie...
|
![]() |
Giuliana Rancic
Entertainment Journalist & Breast Cancer Survivor
|
![]() |
Cynthia Nixon
Actress Known for her Role as Miranda Hobbes on HBO'...
|
![]() |
Dominique Dawes
Olympic Gold Medal-Winning Gymnast, Former Co-Chair ...
|
![]() |
T.J. Hills
Best-Selling Author, Breast Cancer Prevention & Wome...
|