Quito (Ecuador), Feb 12: Former French footballer Lilian Thuram is in Ecuador to give a series of lectures against racism and promote his foundation "Education Against Racism".

"It's important to overcome racism. From my experience, I want to talk to children so they will not have the biases when they grow up," Thuram said at a press conference here Tuesday, reports Xinhua.

The retired non-white defender, who was the most capped player in the history of the France national team, will stay in Ecuador until Friday to give lectures in schools and Afro-Ecuadorian communities.

According to his planned agenda, Thuram will visit an Olympic High Performance Centre in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas Friday.

The former world champion expressed his pleasure to share his experience and present his book "My Black Stars" in the South American country.

"Racism is part of the construction of the story, but will change the collective imaginary part of the solution," he said, noting that "out of this you need to change things from within each person."

Thuram has played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including 10 in the Serie A with both Parma and Juventus. With France, Thuram won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

IANS