Cultural Icons: Voices of their Nation

A handful of men and women are important enough that they are remembered for years,
even centuries, after their deaths.
By identifying cultural leaders (or icons) who have impacted the social, political, or
environmental views of their countries, we can come to understand what a cultural icon
is.

Sir Edmund Hillary

Country: New Zealand
Event: First person to climb Mt Everest
Importance:
Climbing Mt Everest was a significant achievement and Hillary
was acknowledged for his skill and bravery.
He went on to be a great ambassador for New Zealand, especially
for his humanitarian efforts.
He was a humble man who used his profile to help the people of
Nepal set up schools and hospitals. He is a cultural icon of NZ
and features on the NZ $5 bill.

Mahatma Gandhi
Country: India
Event: Freed India from British rule
Importance: Mahatma Gandhi was man of many principles. He
believed in fighting without any violence. He organised and led a
salt march to defy British law, albeit peacefully.
After he freed India, he chose the first Prime Minister of India.
Gandhi, at one point, had even received a letter from Albert
Einstein, who wrote to Gandhi because he liked his non-violent
stance.

Martin Luther King

Country: United States of America
Event: Rights for black people
Importance: Raised awareness for the mistreatment of black
people in America. He gave his famous speech I Have A Dream at
the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. He led many protests about
equality. He took a page out of Gandhis book and decided to fight
non-violently. He took inspiration from Gandhi when he went to
India. In 1964 he was the youngest person to win the Nobel peace
prize at 35 years old. He gave his more than $50,000 prize money
to his civil rights movement.

Benazir Bhutto
Country: Pakistan
Event: First female Prime Minister of Pakistan
Importance: Benazir Bhutto was the first female president of an
Islamic country. After her fathers government was overthrown
and him killed, Bhutto was repeated arrested and exiled. She
returned to lead a pro-democratic movement. In 1988, when free
elections were held again, Bhutto was elected Prime Minister. .
She made hunger and health care her top priorities, brought
electricity to the countryside, and built schools all over the
country.

Dalai Lama
Country: Tibet
Event: Tries to free Tibet from the Chinese
Importance: For close to four decades, Dalai Lama has tourned the
world, trying to get help from the international political
community, to end the destruction of Tibet's culture by the
occupying forces of China. His activism has enlisted the support
of groups as diverse as Amnesty International and Hollywood
celebrities such as Harrison Ford. In 1989, the Dalai Lama was
awarded the Nobel Prize for his commitment in furthering the
causes of nonviolence and human rights.

Kate Sheppard
Country: New Zealand
Event: Made womens votes count
Importance: Kate Sheppard played a considerable part in the
establishment of women voting in New Zealand. She became
involved in creating the New Zealand Women's Christian
Temperance Union. The Union presented a petition which Kate
helped create, to the Parliament. After 3 increasingly larger
petitions, women were finally given full voting rights. Since New
Zealand was the first country to introduce universal suffrage in
1893, Sheppard's work has had a considerable impact on women's
suffrage movements in several other countries. She features on
the 10 dollar note

Margaret Thatcher
Country: Great Britain
Event: First Female Prime Minister of Britain
Importance: Margaret Thatcher turned Britain economic decline
around, mainly by increasing taxes and balancing the budget. By
the spring of 1981, the tables had turned, followed by eight years
of steady growth. She demonstrated her confidence,
determination and decisiveness during the Falklands War. She
had initially pursued a diplomatic approach, but, when that
failed, a british military task force won the battle in 74 days. She
is one of the best British Prime Ministers in the 20th century.

Apirana Ngata
Country: New Zealand
Event: Improvement of government policy toward the Maori
Importance: Apirana Ngata was the first Maori graduate of a
New Zealand university. He became active in the nationalist
Young Maori Party. In 1905 he began his 39-year term of office in
Parliament, representing the eastern Maori constituency. He was
knighted in 1927. He was deeply committed to the preservation of
Maori culture. His efforts to improve educational opportunities
for the Maori included the founding of the Maori Purposes Fund
to finance school construction.

Nelson Mandela
Country: South Africa
Event:
Importance: Nelson Mandela was the first black president of
South Africa. He spent 27 years in jail for conspiring to overthrow
the apartheid government. In 1990, an international movement
helped secure his release in 1990, aged 71. After he left prison, he
fought to achieve human rights in South Africa, and to abolish
racism. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993,for, quote, his
work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and
for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa. He
also received the Bharat Ratna, Indias highest civilian award,
plus plenty more besides.