Desmond Tutu Honored as a Global Reference for Hope

South African Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize, Desmond Tutu, was honored today by the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela's widow, Graça Machel, as a global reference of hope.

"There cannot be a just world if those who believe in peace and justice cannot continue to speak the truth before power," said Piyushi Kotecha, CEO of the Desmond Tutu & Leah Tutu Foundation, at the opening of a videoconference that marked the 90th anniversary of the South African anti-apartheid activist.

The conference, under the theme 'Truth and power, there is no future without justice' this year, culminated a week of events in South Africa designed to mark 90 years of the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town.  

In this sense, the widow of Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, urged today's society to "change its behavior, if you want to eradicate the violence that women and children are targeted."

"We are a society at war with itself", stressed Graça Machel, calling for a "soul therapy".

In the dedication to his "spiritual brother", the Dalai Lama stressed that "it is important to follow Archbishop Tutu's example of serenity because it is the foundation of compassion that will bring peace to the world."

For her part, the former Attorney General of South Africa, Thuli Mandonsela, considered that "it is time to stand up for truth and justice, particularly social justice, as an investment in Peace".

Former Irish President Mary Robinson argued that "the dignity and rights of all human beings is an imperative of global justice.

Each of the interventions was interspersed with musical performances, such as that of the South African choir Soweto Gospel Choir.

In the end, North American actors Samuel L. Jackson and Alfre Woodard called for "this World can be a more humane and fairer place", in a brief message of tribute to the South African archbishop.