Tutu still dances to the tune of justice

11 August 2013 - 03:38 By THEKISO ANTHONY LEFIFI
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Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu with photographer Adrian Steirn and the ballet tutu used for the 21 Icons South Africa photo shoot
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu with photographer Adrian Steirn and the ballet tutu used for the 21 Icons South Africa photo shoot
Image: SUPPLIED

Nelson Mandela once told Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to "act his age". This was because nothing seemed to be slowing down the Nobel peace prize winner. And, at 82, Tutu is still energetically fighting for peace and justice.

"If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends - you talk to your enemies," he once said. And he has succeeded in turning former enemies into friends.

Tutu - whose 21 Icons South Africa portrait we publish today - says that even though he has retired, he still goes around the world to remind people "straightforward things" that they easily forget, such as "Yes, there is a lot of evil in the world, but there is also a lot of good".

Mandela also referred to his friend as "sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour". He said Tutu's voice would always be the voice of the voiceless.

The auction proceeds of Tutu's signed 21 Icons portrait will go to the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation, which aims to propagate the values, principles and mission of its founders.

Adrian Steirn, who developed the 21 Icons project, said the world needed more Tutus.

The portrait shows Tutu on stage dancing in a tutu. Steirn said the idea was to try to embody the playful yet thoughtful traits that the world had come to know and love about Tutu.

During the photo shoot, Tutu had the film crew in stitches. But he did not forget to dispense his worldly knowledge and preach his message of peace.

In the short film that will be flighted on SABC3 tonight at 6.57, Tutu tells Steirn about his legacy and what drives him to continue to be the country's moral conscience. He once said: "I wish I could shut up, but I can't and I won't."

See www.timeslive.co.za/lifestyle/2013/08/08/21icons

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