A Bermuda community group has answered a global call to celebrate unity to mark the 100th birthday of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

The Walk Together event organised by Imagine Bermuda is the first of several to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the statesman who led South Africa out of the apartheid era.

Glenn Fubler of Imagine Bermuda called it “a stroll down memory lane” taking in points of interest in Hamilton.

Group member Helen Orchard said it was part of a global movement to “inspire hope and compassion”, keeping alive “Mandela’s vision that he brought to life for us”.

Mr Mandela, who died in 2013, brought together an international group of statesmen and peace activists called the Elders after he retired from politics.

The Elders called for the Walk Together movement as a simple way to unite people.

The Hamilton walk will on the steps of the Supreme Court at Sessions House, where human rights commissioner Ben Adamson will describe a successful 1835 bid to free a group of American slaves.

Mr Fubler said: “A group of Bermudians, one year after Emancipation, came together — mostly people of colour, but also white people — to make sure the slaves were liberated.”

June Hill, a doctor, will tell the story of the children’s charity Sunshine League, while historian Clarence Maxwell will speak on the founding vision of the Berkeley Institute. Mr Fubler said: “This stroll will not only be informative, but is geared to remind us in a small place like Bermuda that we are all neighbours.

“The underlying aim is to encourage and strengthen the ties that bind us as a community.”

Martha Dismont, the executive director of Family Centre who will join the walk, also invited the public to join a discussion on Tuesday at the Spinning Wheel on Court Street from 6.30pm to 8pm. She said: “The goal is to further nurture the fabric of our society in a process that will be facilitated by Aderonke Bademosi Wilson.

“Those volunteering to get the dialogue rolling are Sandy Butterfield of Focus Counselling, Tulani Bulford, an entrepreneur and community activist, Bishop Nicholas Dill, Kristin White, another young entrepreneur, and Gladwyn Simmons, a veteran community activist.”

The Walk Together event will start from Sessions House at 4pm on Sunday.

Imagine Bermuda also plans to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr on April 4 and a second Walk Together will be held on April 8, from 3pm to 5pm, starting from Victoria Park.