Winnie Mandela, international speaker and South African Parliament member, will speak at a fundraiser luncheon Wednesday to benefit the Teen Entrepreneurs Boot Camp set for this summer.

The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Center @ Arbor Connection, 7475 Douglas Blvd., Suite 100A.

General admission is $50, which may be paid at the door, and $100 for those who would like to attend a private reception following the lunch.

The event is being sponsored by Kings & Priests International, a nonprofit organization that will sponsor the youth camp.

The event is open to the public.

Winnie Mandela is the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid activist who spent 27 years in prison before he was released in 1990, and served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

She is former president of the African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League and was elected to the ANC Executive Committee before becoming a member of Congress.

Mandela will speak on the topic “The Consideration of International Trade: The Merits of Expansion, The Perils of Inaction.”

Douglas County District 2 Commissioner Kelly Robinson, who orchestrated Mandela’s visit here with veteran Atlanta civil rights leader Rev. C.T. Vivian, said this event is “a wonderful thing for the community” and an opportunity to develop relationships outside of the county’s borders.

“Douglas County has emerged just like South Africa has emerged,” Robinson said. “How do we expand ourselves and bring economic development to Douglas County?”

Robinson said he was already working on a project that would take him and others to South Africa when this full-scale event came together. The U.S. Ambassador to South Africa is expected to accompany Mandela as well as a representative from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and local and state dignitaries, Robinson said.

He called Mandela’s visit a stepping stone.

“What we do today establishes us for the future, and every step we make establishes us for tomorrow.” Robinson said.

Robinson said the key to economic development and recovery is to get people to think outside the box.

“It takes from 12 to 18 months to bring a corporation here. What do we do in the meantime?” Robinson asked.

Robinson said Douglas is considered by some as the next area for growth, the western border of Fulton County separated only by the Chattahoochee River. Unlike areas to the north, south and east of Atlanta, Douglas is the last undeveloped area and is ripe for opportunity, Robinson said.

There is room for growth, he said, and this event will cast a positive light on the county. There will be major media coverage for Mandela’s visit, according to Robinson.

“It will bring attention to Douglas County as a bedroom community, but also know that we need to grow up if economic development is what we want,” he said, stressing the importance of the city and county governments working together to make it happen.