Tutu launches leadership foundation in the UK

LONDON (Reuters) - South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu is in London's Canary Wharf this week to talk exclusively to Reuters about his new UK foundation and reflect on his life, South Africa and the issues facing the African continent.

The Tutu Foundation UK will promote the themes of trust and reconciliation which have been promoted worldwide by Archbishop Emeritus Tutu following his work as chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body which examined human rights abuses in the country during the apartheid years.

The Tutu Foundation UK will work by helping inner city communities turn young people away from violent gang culture and get them to transform their lives and leadership potential.

Its first two initiatives are youth programmes: Team Tutu UK and Team Tutu Global which aim to give young people an increased understanding of people from other cultures.

The Tutu Foundation UK will be working in partnership with bodies such as the YMCA, the Prince's Trust and Henley Management College.

Its work is also intended to reach out to people who, through their work, find themselves in a responsible position where they can help others and affect their quality of life.

Particular target groups include politicians, lawyers, officers in the armed forces and the police, through collaborative partnerships with the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and the Metropolitan Police.

Tutu wants the Foundation to promote those virtues that helped South Africa in its peaceful transition to full democracy, including non-racism, tolerance, equality for all and extraordinary leadership.