Nelson Mandela launches Elders to save world

Global Elders [from left]: Peter Gabriel, Muhammad Yunus, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson

Greeted by a 30-strong choir and hailed by a line-up of fellow elder statesmen eager to embrace him, Nelson Mandela celebrated his 89th birthday yesterday with a new initiative demonstrating the moral authority he still carries deep into his retirement.

The former South African president will be the leading figure in the "Global Elders", a group of "12 wise men and women" who will address global problems by offering expertise and guidance.

A frail yet still magnetic figure, Mr Mandela was greeted in Johannesburg at South Africa's Constitutional Court - where he was once held prisoner - by a choir that sang his praises before he outlined the Elders' objectives.

"The Elders can become a fiercely independent and robust force for good, tackling conflicts and intractable issues, especially those that are not popular," said Mr Mandela.

The group will "speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes, working wherever our help is needed".

He added: "This group derives its strength not from military, political or economic power, but from the independence and integrity of those who are here."

The club's members will comprise former presidents, elder statesmen, leaders and activists and probably five Nobel laureates.

There will eventually be 12 Global Elders - but the exact make-up of the group was in flux right up until yesterday's announcement.

As well as Mr Mandela and his wife, Graca Machel, the group comprises Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town; Jimmy Carter, the former American president; Mary Robinson, the former Irish president; Kofi Annan, the former secretary general of the United Nations; and Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate economist and founder of the Green Bank in Bangladesh, where he is known as "banker to the poor". All were at the launch in Johannesburg yesterday.

Li Zhaoxing, until two months ago the foreign minister of China, has also been invited to join, along with Ela Bhatt, the Indian activist and founder of a women's association. Gro Harlen Bruntland, formerly prime minister of Norway and director of the World Health Organisation, may also become a member.

An empty chair was set on stage yesterday and will be reserved at all Elders meetings for the Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now the prisoner of the military junta despite her victory in a democratic election in 1990.

The initiative was the brainchild of Sir Richard Branson and the musician Peter Gabriel. As long ago as 2001, they approached Mr Mandela to ask if he and his wife would lead the project.

Sir Richard, Gabriel, the United Nations Foundation and a number of private benefactors are funding the initiative. The Elders should meet twice a year and maintain regular contact via video conferencing.

Archbishop Tutu emphasised that much of their work is likely to take place behind closed doors. "There may be things we can accomplish because people have been able to use their persuasive abilities in confidence. One of the ways to be effective is that no one gets to know precisely what we have done," he said.

But if their work is in private, it will be hard to gauge the Elders' success or failure.

Sceptics ask whether a group of 12 ageing and largely retired figures can possibly exert real influence over the world's most intractable conflicts. Mr Mandela himself rarely leaves Johannesburg and has ceased giving regular speeches.

Instead, much will rest on his moral authority, as well as his ability to generate enthusiasm for tackling injustice and hardship.

"Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict and inspire hope where there is despair," he said.

Mr Mandela also emphasised that he is now "trying to take my retirement seriously", and his role is likely to be symbolic and inspirational rather than practical.

Certainly there was little doubt yesterday just how inspiring a figure he remains. His colleagues among the Global Elders paid a series of warm, if sentimental, tributes to him.

Muhammad Yunus spoke of how being on the same platform as Mr Mandela was "the proudest day of my life", while Li Zhaoxing demonstrated a surprisingly poetic sensibility by turning to Mr Mandela and reciting the first verse of Shakespeare's 18th sonnet: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day..."

But the last word went to Archbishop Tutu who, visibly moved as the frail figure of Mr Mandela was helped offstage, murmured rapturously into the microphone: "Isn't goodness beautiful?"