Google Mandela business
By Techgirl

If there was a World Cup Competition for the biggest Nelson Mandela fan, I will surely make it to the Quarter Finals at least.  I have read every book and watched every movie about this Gandhi from South Africa.

Like most Indians, I also use Google’s search engine.  Also have a Gmail account and blog on Google’s blogging platform.

So, was happy to see Google announcing a $1.25 Million grant to the Nelson Mandela Foundation of Memory

“
Getting More People and Information Online in Africa -- including Nelson Mandela’s and Desmond Tutu’s Archives

As one of the most influential leaders of our time, and the face of South Africa’s incredible transition to democracy, Nelson Mandela’s name is almost synonymous with efforts to create meaningful dialogue and promote social justice. It is with huge excitement that today we announce a $1.25 million dollar grant to the Nelson Mandela Foundation Centre of Memory, which will help to preserve and digitize thousands of archival documents, photographs, and audio-visual materials about the life and times of Nelson Mandela.

The online Mandela archive, which will be made available to the global audiences in the future, will be a wealth of information for those wanting to learn about and research the life and legacy of this extraordinary African statesman. The online multimedia archive will include Mr Mandela’s correspondence with family, comrades and friends, prison diaries, and notes he made while leading the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa.

A grant of the same size has also been made to the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in Cape Town, for the documentation and digitisation of Desmond Tutu’s archive, as well as an interactive digital learning centre.
“

By the time I had finished reading the press release, there was a warm glow of positivity around my laptop.  Mandela great!  Google good for helping fans of great man Mandela!  Then the cold slap of realty hit my face.  The Google press release was signed by ‘Google’s New Business Development, EMEA, Daniel Lederman’.

What has Google’s New Business development division got to do with a grant to an iconic human rights figure?  More new business?

Techgoss note:  Techgirl is a senior Tech journalist who reports on the IT, KPO and KPO Sectors for a leading media house.  In her spare time, she dabbles in satire in her blog techgirltalk.blogspot.com.  Techgirl has been ejected from Twitter for satirizing an Indian Minister.  Her satire blog has links to her Times of India interview detailing her being kicked out of Twitter, and then being invited back.