Fausto Coronel, Grade 12
UWC Mostar
Having the opportunity to hold a dinner party, I would like to invite three famous figures who at their peak were recognised leaders globally. These were people that fought for different social causes, mainly socio-economic inequality, from truly different approaches, nevertheless they all achieved some type of
success while at it. Assuming they all attend the dinner, the main goal would be to learn how to deal with challenges one can find when being the front face of a social movement.
Starting with the most controversial guest; Mao Zedong. Through ‘Maoism’, he is considered to be one of the greatest communist theorists 1 . Though the torture used to accomplish his goals 2 could have been avoided, it has to be recognised how Zedong managed to unite half-a-billion people 3 under the communist ideology, along with leading a self-proclaimed Cultural Revolution at the age of 73 in 1966, without a major violent conflict 4 , and contrary to his successors 5 keeping power well distributed. Because of this, he has an invitation to the dinner party, expecting him to share what motivated him to keep going, just as he did during the Long March starting in 1934, where barely 5% of his troops survived a 368-day-long march through China 6 .
Going to the opposite side of the spectrum, the next guest was part of the British Royal Family; Lady Diana. Not only did she lead a campaign that promoted a worldwide ban on landmines, which won a Nobel Prize in 1997 7 , but she also raised awareness and broke stigmas on HIV, AIDS, and leprosy 8 , and
on top of this, she was a warmhearted mother 9 . Furthermore, beyond these mass media appearances, Diana was a donor for more than 100 charitable organisations during her lifetime 10 . I would be thrilled to know if and, if yes, how she managed to do philanthropic work even while, paraphrasing her own words, she felt misunderstood, with no one listening, not wanting to get out of bed, and as far as suffering from bulimia 11 .
For the third and final guest, one of the biggest figures who stood against racism in the world; he who fought against the Apertheid for more than 45 years, and had to spend 27 years in prison 12 because of this; Nelson Mandela. Besides simple activism, he achieved what many thought as impossible, becoming the
first black President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 13 . At the big stage, he proved himself right by implementing programmes and policies that helped stabilize the South African economy, as well as improving job and basic health-care opportunities 14 . It is easy to identify problems, but not so simple to
solve them, yet he could do both. Because of that, Nelson Mandela is the third guest.
Considering the reasons presented above, these are the people I would invite to a dinner party. Wonderfully, they showed that one can serve others regardless of a political ideology. These world leaders found themselves their way into the Hall of Fame of History by exhibiting that social struggles
may not be effortlessly solved, it might take losing troops in war, having a lousy mental health, or even twenty-seven years of a human life without freedom, but when people’s lives change for the better, then the quest was worth it.
Bibliography:
1 K. Szczepanski, “Biography of Mao Zedong, Father of Modern China”, [online] ThoughtCo. Available
at: <https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-of-mao-zedongs-life-195741> (2019) [Accessed 26 December
2021].
2 Ibid.
3 “Timeline of China’s Modern History” [online] CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY. Available at:
<https://www.chipublib.org/timeline-of-chinas-modern-history/> (Last updated on 2012) [Accessed 1st
January 2022].
4 History.com Editors, “Cultural Revolution” [online] HISTORY. Available at:
<https://www.history.com/topics/china/cultural-revolution> (Last updated on 2020) [Accessed 1st
January 2022].
5 J. Cocurullo, “Economic Changes in China from Mao Zedong to Deng Ziaoping, the Evolution of
Communist China”, [online] Teach 'n Thrive. Available at: <https://teachnthrive.com/history-
passages/world-history-passages/from-mao-to-deng-the-evolution-of-communist-china/> (No date)
[Accessed 26 December 2021].
6 History.com EDITORS, “Long March”, [online] HISTORY. Available at:
<https://www.history.com/topics/china/long-march> (Last updated on 2018) [Accessed 27 December
2021].
7 “Our History”, [online] MAG International. Available at: <https://www.maginternational.org/about-
mag/history/> (No date) [Accessed 27 December 2021].
8 K. Frost, “9 Reasons Princess Diana Was So Much More Than A Style Icon”, [online] Harper's
BAZAAR. Available at: <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a9639085/princess-diana-
charity-work/> (2018) [Accessed 27 December 2021].
9 Ibid.
10 C. Bhatia, “Princess Diana: Her Contributions to the World”, [online] IndianFolk. Available at:
<https://www.indianfolk.com/princess-diana-contributions-world-edited/> (2018) [Accessed 27
December 2021].
11 M. Bashir, “Panorama”, [transcript from] PBS. Available at:
<https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/royals/interviews/bbc.html> (1995) [Accessed 1
January 2022].
12 “Biography of Nelson Mandela”, [online] Nelson Mandela Foundation. Available at:
<https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography> (No date) [Accessed 28 December 2021].
13 “The Nelson Mandela Presidency - 1994 to 1999”, [online] South African History Online. Available at:
<https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/nelson-mandela-presidency-1994-1999> (Last updated on 19 July
2021) [Accessed 28 December 2021].
14 Ibid.
Image Courtesy: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Homelegance-VanBure-Round-Pedestal-Dining-Table-in-Rich-Cherry/34028250
success while at it. Assuming they all attend the dinner, the main goal would be to learn how to deal with challenges one can find when being the front face of a social movement.
Starting with the most controversial guest; Mao Zedong. Through ‘Maoism’, he is considered to be one of the greatest communist theorists 1 . Though the torture used to accomplish his goals 2 could have been avoided, it has to be recognised how Zedong managed to unite half-a-billion people 3 under the communist ideology, along with leading a self-proclaimed Cultural Revolution at the age of 73 in 1966, without a major violent conflict 4 , and contrary to his successors 5 keeping power well distributed. Because of this, he has an invitation to the dinner party, expecting him to share what motivated him to keep going, just as he did during the Long March starting in 1934, where barely 5% of his troops survived a 368-day-long march through China 6 .
Going to the opposite side of the spectrum, the next guest was part of the British Royal Family; Lady Diana. Not only did she lead a campaign that promoted a worldwide ban on landmines, which won a Nobel Prize in 1997 7 , but she also raised awareness and broke stigmas on HIV, AIDS, and leprosy 8 , and
on top of this, she was a warmhearted mother 9 . Furthermore, beyond these mass media appearances, Diana was a donor for more than 100 charitable organisations during her lifetime 10 . I would be thrilled to know if and, if yes, how she managed to do philanthropic work even while, paraphrasing her own words, she felt misunderstood, with no one listening, not wanting to get out of bed, and as far as suffering from bulimia 11 .
For the third and final guest, one of the biggest figures who stood against racism in the world; he who fought against the Apertheid for more than 45 years, and had to spend 27 years in prison 12 because of this; Nelson Mandela. Besides simple activism, he achieved what many thought as impossible, becoming the
first black President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 13 . At the big stage, he proved himself right by implementing programmes and policies that helped stabilize the South African economy, as well as improving job and basic health-care opportunities 14 . It is easy to identify problems, but not so simple to
solve them, yet he could do both. Because of that, Nelson Mandela is the third guest.
Considering the reasons presented above, these are the people I would invite to a dinner party. Wonderfully, they showed that one can serve others regardless of a political ideology. These world leaders found themselves their way into the Hall of Fame of History by exhibiting that social struggles
may not be effortlessly solved, it might take losing troops in war, having a lousy mental health, or even twenty-seven years of a human life without freedom, but when people’s lives change for the better, then the quest was worth it.
Bibliography:
1 K. Szczepanski, “Biography of Mao Zedong, Father of Modern China”, [online] ThoughtCo. Available
at: <https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-of-mao-zedongs-life-195741> (2019) [Accessed 26 December
2021].
2 Ibid.
3 “Timeline of China’s Modern History” [online] CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY. Available at:
<https://www.chipublib.org/timeline-of-chinas-modern-history/> (Last updated on 2012) [Accessed 1st
January 2022].
4 History.com Editors, “Cultural Revolution” [online] HISTORY. Available at:
<https://www.history.com/topics/china/cultural-revolution> (Last updated on 2020) [Accessed 1st
January 2022].
5 J. Cocurullo, “Economic Changes in China from Mao Zedong to Deng Ziaoping, the Evolution of
Communist China”, [online] Teach 'n Thrive. Available at: <https://teachnthrive.com/history-
passages/world-history-passages/from-mao-to-deng-the-evolution-of-communist-china/> (No date)
[Accessed 26 December 2021].
6 History.com EDITORS, “Long March”, [online] HISTORY. Available at:
<https://www.history.com/topics/china/long-march> (Last updated on 2018) [Accessed 27 December
2021].
7 “Our History”, [online] MAG International. Available at: <https://www.maginternational.org/about-
mag/history/> (No date) [Accessed 27 December 2021].
8 K. Frost, “9 Reasons Princess Diana Was So Much More Than A Style Icon”, [online] Harper's
BAZAAR. Available at: <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a9639085/princess-diana-
charity-work/> (2018) [Accessed 27 December 2021].
9 Ibid.
10 C. Bhatia, “Princess Diana: Her Contributions to the World”, [online] IndianFolk. Available at:
<https://www.indianfolk.com/princess-diana-contributions-world-edited/> (2018) [Accessed 27
December 2021].
11 M. Bashir, “Panorama”, [transcript from] PBS. Available at:
<https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/royals/interviews/bbc.html> (1995) [Accessed 1
January 2022].
12 “Biography of Nelson Mandela”, [online] Nelson Mandela Foundation. Available at:
<https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography> (No date) [Accessed 28 December 2021].
13 “The Nelson Mandela Presidency - 1994 to 1999”, [online] South African History Online. Available at:
<https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/nelson-mandela-presidency-1994-1999> (Last updated on 19 July
2021) [Accessed 28 December 2021].
14 Ibid.
Image Courtesy: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Homelegance-VanBure-Round-Pedestal-Dining-Table-in-Rich-Cherry/34028250
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