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Bécon-les-bruyères
Fr : version française / En: english version
gbaka or woro woro?
While State regulation is necessary to avoid random urban development, the contribution of the private sector is essential in a number of respects. In Africa, the newly independent nations began by nationalizing companies established during the colonial era. Fares were cut so that everyone could afford to travel, unlike previously when only the wealthier sections of the population had been able to afford the fares. Yet financial and technical problems soon mounted up, triggering the emergence of a casual private sector, which became established despite frequent hostility from the authorities. In modern Abidjan, the woro woros and gbakas play a key role in the transportation system.
Inno
Inoussa Simpore, known as Inno, is a contemporary painter from Burkina Faso. Forced to cut short his schooling to earn a living, he set up as a shoe-shine boy in Ouagadougou. There he met a signwriter from whom he learned to paint signs and pictures. Overcoming enormous material difficulties, Inno became a full-time painter, depicting scenes from everyday life in Burkina Faso. He is one of a number of contemporary artists emerging onto the international art scene, such as Alassane Drabo.
Daouda Koné
Born in Burkina Faso, Daouda Koné studied at INA, the specialized audiovisual training school in Paris and began his career as a technician with Ivorian television. Very quickly his colleagues noticed his talent as a composer, songwriter and singer, and he was invited to perform on television where he was an instant success. His first hit "Les gbakas d'Abidjan" (gbakas are the public transit minibuses that run in and around the city) shows his interest in the daily lives of his contemporaries. His other favorite subject is love, which has earned him the nickname "Daouda the Sentimental". To date he has recorded more than a dozen albums, in Africa and elsewhere.