Portal:Côte d'Ivoire
The Côte d'Ivoire portal
Côte d'Ivoire (English pronunciation: /ˌkoʊt diˈvwɑr/; French: [kot diˈvwaʀ]), formerly Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring that the French name Côte d'Ivoire is used in all languages. With an area of 322,462 km2 Côte d'Ivoire borders Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The country's population, which was 15,366,672 in 1998, is estimated to be 18,373,060 in 2008. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power personified in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the official language is French. The country is divided into 19 regions and 58 departments. Côte d'Ivoire's economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash crop production being dominant. Côte d'Ivoire was home to five important states in the pre-European era. The Muslim Kong Empire was established in the early eighteenth century in the north-central region. The Abron kingdom of Gyaaman was established in the seventeenth century and its capital Bondoukou became a major center of commerce and Islam. In the mid-eighteenth century in east-central Côte d'Ivoire, the Baoulé kingdom at Sakassou, which developed a highly centralized political and administrative structure, and two Agni kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi. The descendants of the rulers of the Agni kingdoms tried to retain their separate identity long after Côte d'Ivoire's independence; as late as 1969, the Sanwi of Krinjabo attempted to break away from Côte d'Ivoire and form an independent kingdom. Selected article Victoria Adjo Climbié (2 November 1991 – 25 February 2000) was abused and murdered by her guardians in London, England, in 2000. The public outrage at her death led to a public inquiry which produced major changes in child protection policies in the United Kingdom, including the formation of the Every Child Matters initiative; the introduction of the Children Act 2004; the creation of the ContactPoint project, a planned government database that will hold information on all children in England and Wales; and the creation of the Office of the Children's Commissioner chaired by the Children's Commissioner. Both her guardians, Marie-Thérèse Kouao (born 18 July 1956 in Bonoua, Côte d'Ivoire) and Carl Manning (born 31 October 1972), were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at their trial on 12 January 2001. Born in Abobo, Côte d'Ivoire, Climbié moved to England at the age of seven with her great-aunt Kouao. It is suspected that Kouao started abusing Climbié soon after her arrival in the country, and the abuse worsened when Kouao moved in with Carl Manning. Up to her death, the police, the social services department of many local authorities, the National Health Service, the NSPCC, and local churches all had contact with her, and noted the signs of abuse. However, in what the judge in the trial following Victoria's death described as "blinding incompetence", all failed to properly investigate the abuse and little action was taken. She died in February 2000, aged eight. Selected picture Did you know...
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Selected biography Isaach De Bankolé (born 12 August 1957; Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) is an Ivorian actor. His parents came from Benin and his grandparents from Nigeria. He has appeared in over 30 films, including Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and Coffee and Cigarettes. He has also appeared in Lars von Trier's Manderlay. He has recently portrayed Steven Obanno, a terrorist, in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale and also The Lone Man in Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control (2009).
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