FELIX HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY FOUNDATION

Rather imposing, the Foundation "for the search for peace", even if its relatively unclear status as a factual entity caused discontent in its time. Created in 1973, the foundation's headquarters was built in Yamoussoukro from 1977 to 1987, but was inaugurated under the aegis of Unesco in 1997 with the symbolic handing over of the keys to its then Director-General of Unesco, Mr Federico Mayor Zaragoza. "President Félix Houphouët-Boigny has decided to make the Foundation that bears his name available to the international community and peace research institutions in general, and to Unesco in particular, in order to contribute at the international level to the research, safeguarding, maintenance and promotion of peace in Africa and in the world," he says. The concept of peace was very dear to the 'Old Man' - almost an obsession - especially with this assertion, well known to Ivorians: 'Peace is not a word, it is a behaviour'. In 1989, UNESCO declared Yamoussoukro 'Capital of Peace' and organized the International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men. The same was true of the Yamoussoukro Declaration for Peace in 1997. In 2011, at the end of six months of conflict, the Foundation welcomes the official inauguration of Alassane Ouattara as President. On a lighter note, in 2016, several scenes from the film "Welcome to Gondwanaland" by comedian Mamane were filmed there. At the end of his life, Houphouët created a prize that honours each year living individuals, institutions or public or private organizations that have contributed to the promotion, research, safeguarding or maintenance of peace, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of Unesco. It was the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, also a Nobel Peace Prize winner, who received this distinction in 2020 for his attempts to reconcile the ethnic groups that are tearing apart in his country.
The building itself stands 30 m from its imposing façade, set on a vast marble esplanade lined with lampposts. It has 4 entrances at the 4 cardinal points, recalling the vocation of exchange and sharing of the building. The main building faces the city, dedicated to the management functions and the technical and administrative services. The annex building, or "congress building", reserved for external speakers, has amphitheatres with state-of-the-art equipment. Paradoxically, the decorative bias is both austere and flashy. Monumental chandeliers, gigantic pillars and endless marble floors, sets of woods and rare species from France, Italy and Brazil. Prominent volumes, recurring geometric patterns, brittle angles, pure and rigorous lines, vertiginous ceiling heights, alternating matt and glossy textures: from the entrance hall onwards, everything contributes to creating an atmosphere of power and solemnity.
Most of the time, however, the Foundation is home to only a few researchers who are entrenched in the reading and documentation rooms. There are also the offices of the governor of the Yamoussoukro district and, since 2017, a bookshop specializing in the sale of books on African and Ivorian politics. However, apart from the symposiums, conferences and seminars that are occasionally held there, it resembles a forgotten mausoleum.