(Aubervilliers) The American comedian Forest Whitaker, Oscar for best actor in 2007 for The Last King of Scotlandinaugurated on Wednesday in Aubervilliers, in the Paris region, a training center operated by his NGO, which is setting up in France after America and Africa.
Light gray suit and white shirt, the imposing 61-year-old African-American actor cut the ribbon for the new center of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) located in the popular district of Quatre-Chemins in Aubervilliers, in the presence of the minister Housing French Olivier Klein.
Geared towards women and young people, this centre, which has been operational for a few months, offers programs for conflict management, business creation and digital training. About sixty people have already been trained there, with the objective of 200 to 250 beneficiaries per year.
This pilot project, financed by the patronage of partners such as the bank BNP Paribas, has test value and could be replicated in other municipalities in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, which is among the poorest and most criminogenic. of France.
Founded in 2012 by the actor, marked by his encounter with child soldiers in Uganda on the set of Last King of Scotland where he played the role of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada, WPDI is mainly present in his hometown of Los Angeles and in African countries (South Africa, Chad, South Sudan, etc.). This is its first location in Europe.
“We currently operate in eight countries. Every city is different, the culture and the people are different. But there are primary needs that everyone has and which must be met,” Forest Whitaker told reporters, saying he wanted to “build on a potential that is already present” in France.
Prior to the opening of the center, the interpreter of Charlie Parker in bird (1988) has made several discrete visits to Seine–Saint-Denis over the past two years.
“The action of WPDI begins with the opening of a center, in which we train young people who will become ambassadors of the program and work for peace”, described the American actor, who was promoted to the rank of commander arts and letters in 2021 in France.