Cape Town: City celebrated Madiba Day on July 18, 2025 and the staff spent time in various communities in honor. From coding competitions through the month of July to a tour of the Mandela and the Attic exhibitions at City Hall for vulnerable communities, the city staff made sure to commemorate Madiba’s legacy.
Reportedly, 26 City libraries will be participating in the #Coding4Mandela tournament to be held in July. The winning teams in different categories go through to the national tournament in August where the city will be pitted against the rest of the country.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Services and Health – Councillor Francine Higham said that coding was introduced to the libraries three years ago and it has grown exponentially since then.
Higham further explained that some libraries now have more than one team, and the number of participants continues to grow. It is an exciting way to learn through play, and coding helps children improve their logic and problem-solving skills in a fun setting.
She added that it also enhances creativity and stimulates critical thinking. The participants from the City of Cape Town will consistently perform well against national and international competitors, and they are once again backing them all the way to gold.
Coding is a project of the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department and the Leva Foundation, while Tangible Africa is responsible for creating coding applications, TANKS and RANGERS, which allow participants to play offline, using minimal resources.
This year in 2025, the Leva Foundation is introducing new coding apps with Juicy Gems played as part of the competition and a forthcoming soccer version. The categories selected for this year are:
- Primary School,
- High School (Grades 8 and 9)
- and High School (Grade 10 to 12)
Unplugged coding allows libraries to bring coding to communities who do not have access to expensive resources. By downloading a very small app (7MB), participants can play TANKS or RANGERS offline, using the app and tokens from the game packs.
Furthermore, the Environmental Management Department of the City of Cape Town also celebrated Mandela Day by hosting a group of visitors from various safe spaces and shelters, including members and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community, at the City Hall for a tour of the Mandela and The Attic exhibitions. Staff from the department also assisted with putting together care packages through hospice initiatives in Helderberg.