Kenya’s first daughter, Charlene Ruto, met Hollywood actor, Idris Elba, at the Earthna Summit taking place in Doha, Qatar.
Charlene shared her excitement at having met the actor, saying she had been “starstruck”.
“I admit I was a bit starstruck today meeting the legend himself @idriselba,” she said. “His one question to me was how can we amplify the stories and voices of young people?”
The actor and philanthropist, known for his roles in shows like Luther and in movies like Thor, in which he played the gatekeeper Heimdall, was among the guest speakers at the summit.
Mr Elba emphasised the importance of engaging young people where they are, through platforms like his new application, the Akuna Wallet, which will empower African creatives.
In addition to being an all-round creative, Mr Elba is the founder of the Akuna Group, which seeks to empower young people through the creative industry, agriculture and infrastructure, which he alluded to in his question to Charlene.
“I think being conscious while creating, knowing we’ll influence the next generation, is really very important. And when we think about how that connects to the climate crisis, the food crisis, we are creative human beings,” he said during his presentation.
He further emphasised the importance of embracing tradition.
“Let’s find different ways to innovate the traditional ways rather than doing away with them,” he added.
Charlene was attending the summit as a representative of the Kenyan youth. The theme for the second edition of the summit is “Building our Legacy: Sustainability, Innovation and Traditional Knowledge” which highlights Qatar’s commitment to advancing sustainability in hot and arid environments by drawing on its rich cultural heritage and unique ecosystems.
Sharing this need for a return to our tradition, Charlene said that the country needed to return to those roots.
“Who remembers our culture of HAKUNA MATATA (sic) ( “no trouble” “take it easy), a beautiful shared Pan-African and patriotic spirit that described our warmth, friendless, communal strength and peaceful coexistence,” she said. “The entire continent must reflect and remain intentional on how do we restore back the HAKUNA MATATA environment and move away from manufactured rage, hate, intolerance, unhealthy division, extreme radicalisation and violence.”
The summit is a two-day event set to end on April 23.
