Today, I visited Robben Island Maximum Security Prison in Cape Town… I stood at Nelson Mandela’s cell, with Professor Saths Cooper, a former political prisoner who now chairs the Robben Island Museum.

Walking through this prison as he shared his own experiences gave the visit a deeply personal meaning. Seeing his name on the museum’s display, then hearing him tell his story, brought the history before us to life. A man once imprisoned here now helps ensure that the world remembers.

Standing at Mandela’s cell, I reflected on the sacrifices behind freedoms we too easily take for granted, and on our responsibility to protect and extend them.

The visit also brought me back to what the Open Society Foundations stand for: promoting human rights, equity and justice across the world and advocating for a society where everyone can participate fully, regardless of who they are. These principles take on a deeper meaning in a place where people were imprisoned for demanding recognition of their equal humanity.

For me, that is the thread connecting this history to our work today: defending the right to speak and organise, supporting those who challenge injustice, and ensuring that people excluded from power can shape the decisions affecting their lives. That responsibility extends to economic justice. The promise of liberation remains unfinished when people can vote but have little influence over decisions that shape their livelihoods, education and opportunities.

I leave grateful to Professor Cooper, and with a question that will stay with me: what are we doing with the freedom others paid so dearly to secure? The deepest tribute we can offer those who fought for freedom is to make it real for those still waiting to experience it.