The first time Idris Elba came to a World Economic Forum meeting in Davos was in 2014, DJing at a party with R&B star Mary J. Blige.
“There were some really interesting people in my audience, but that was nothing compared to this time around.”
The British actor and his wife, model Sabrina Dhowre Elba, are back in the Swiss ski resort with what he describes in an interview with AFP as "
a very different experience
" and "
a lot of responsibility
": convince Western entrepreneurs that there is business to be done with local small farmers in Africa.
“
People are listening, governments are getting involved, but not enough.
That's why we're here to knock on doors and tell as many people as possible that we need to get involved twice, thrice, four times, five times, because the need is there
,” says Sabrina Dhowre Elba.
"
Climate change is on Africa's doorstep.
It's already happening.
People need to adapt today to survive
,” she insists.
Read alsoLuther will have a sequel in the form of a film on Netflix, Idris Elba returns to service
The Elbas have been United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors since 2020, and collaborate with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for actions related to food security and climate change.
Private investments
“
I think the next challenge is to get the private sector involved,
” says Idris Elba.
Fida President Alvaro Lario, who accompanies the couple to the Swiss ski resort, insists on the importance of having Western companies involved "
not just as support or as help
", but with real investments.
“
In reality, there are opportunities for doing business
” in agriculture, the forestry sector, fishing, “
which, according to him, constitute the second most promising sector after technology.
»
The couple's commitment earned them a Crystal Prize on Monday from the World Economic Forum, and they intend to continue through their own foundation (Elba Hope Foundation) created at the end of last year and aimed at supporting initiatives always linked to the same subjects, but also to women or young people.
Far from the often ruthless characters he played in the series
The Wire or Luther, or in the film Beasts of no Nation,
Idris Elba says he is motivated by
"the injustice of having half the world eating, and half of the world that does not eat.
The half of the world that is causing massive damage to our planet, and the other half that...is starving and suffering the most from that damage.”
"When I think of the conversation on the climate, and when I think of the conversation on the (African) continent, (...) we have the impression that we forget the real people
"
,
also notes his wife
.
“
Whereas small farmers have a crucial role when it comes to food security, and even climate.
Because the nature-based solutions everyone is talking about are the people who put them in place.
They are the custodians of our planet.
»
