Robben Island, located just off the coast of Cape Town was used as a prison between 1961 and 1996. Former president Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his 27-year prison sentence on the island. The Other Foundation, an organisation dedicated to advancing the rights of the queer community in South Africa, held their annual LGBTQI+ event Kopano gathering on Wednesday 25 May on the island. The organisation also raised the Pride flag on the Island for the first time in history. In celebration of Africa Day on 25 May, more than 100 LGBTQI+ activists across the continent came together on Robben Island for its 2022 Kopano LGBTQI+ gathering. Neville Gabriel, the CEO of The Other Foundation, told MambaOnline that this year’s event had a deep significance. “We believe that holding this year’s Kopano in Cape Town in partnership with Robben Island Museum, which is a symbol of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity, will further advance the struggle for the freedom, equality, recognition of human dignity and social inclusion of LGBTI people,” said Gabriel.