<P> As an African, this is an achievement of which I am proud, proud without reservation and proud without any feeling of conceit . </P> <P> Our sense of elevation at this moment also derives from the fact that this magnificent product is the unique creation of African hands and African minds . </P> <P> But it also constitutes a tribute to our loss of vanity that we could, despite the temptation to treat ourselves as an exceptional fragment of humanity, draw on the accumulated experience and wisdom of all humankind, to define for ourselves what we want to be . </P> <P> Together with the best in the world, we too are prone to pettiness, to petulance, selfishness and short - sightedness . </P>

President thabo mbeki speech i am an african