Côte d´Ivoire Reception Booklet

For Trainees

C O N T E N T S

ABOUT CÔTE D’IVOIRE

CULTURE & TOURISME

INTERNSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES

VISA, HOUSING & STAY

FUN, TRAVEL & PARTIES

GOOD TO KNOW

ABOUT CÔTE D’IVOIRE

It’s used to say “None comes to our land without dropping tears when it’s time to go back home”. Ivoirians positively impact their visitors along with foreigners living among them. Our country is the country of hospitality, the country of Joy, the country of human warm…

COTE D’IVOIRE!!! This reception booklet has been carefully designed for YOU! Do take your time to read it and have an idea about the country and our Internships opportunities. We ensure you a pleasant stay in our country, the country of hospitality.

AKWABA* :)

* AKWABA = WELCOME

Our History Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to several

west African empires, A 1843–1844 treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of

the European scramble for Africa. 7th August 1960 Marked the independence of the country. Since then, 5 Presidents leaded the country.

Laurent GBAGBO

‘‘FELIX Houphouët Boigny’’ World Nobel Peace Prize Winner & 1st president of

Côte d’ Ivoire

Our current president: H.E. Mr. Alassane OUATTARA

Population Côte d’Ivoire is a melting-pot . Different

conflicts in neighbors countries from the XII to the XVIII century populated the country.

They’ve decided to make of this place their Homeland, our Homeland :)

Composed of around 21,000,000 habitants today, with around 60 ethnics.

Has a very young population :

75 % are less than 25 years, we have a rate of growth of 3.3% & 43% of

concerns to urban life.

Has 6,000,000 of immigrants (26%). It’s the world highest rate.

Population

Rural and modern life are a typical contrast

Economy Côte d’Ivoire represents 42% of the West Africa GDP. The major sector of the economy is Agriculture(60%). Côte d’Ivoire is the first world Producer of Cocoa and 2nd for Coffee

The industrial sector is dominated by food and Oil (that have been recently discovered). There is also a boom in High Information Technology and Telecommunication sector We also notice the constant settlements of International commercial Banks And an increasing rate of companies providing different services in several sectors

Economy

CULTURE & TOURISME

The official language is FRENCH. English is learnt at school...

According to OIF in 2009, 99% of people in Abidjan (the country's largest city) can read, write and

speak French.

3 main religions are practiced in the country : Christianism (40%), Islam (36%),Animism (22%) and people are free to worship what s/he believes as God.

Culture

Ivorian culture is dominated by the customs of each

ethnic group and is marked by

festivals and ceremonies.

Culture

Art and Culture are considered and intervene at different steps (fineries of

marriages, birthchild Ceremonies, burial and funeral, generations celebrations, musical

instruments and others…)

We have a variety of food here. They are fatty and spicy . Most of our food are accompanied with

soups.

Ivorians eat a lot of « attiéké » (Couscous of cassava) especially «GARBA», « Aloco » (fried plantain), rice and « foutou » (pounded yam, Cassava or plantain)

etc...

Culture (Food)

Culture (Traditional alcohol)

Palm wine ;)

Cocoa Liquor ;)

Côte d’Ivoire distinguished itself with 3 sites known and classified as world

properties by the UNESCO.’

Côte d’Ivoire has several marvellous touristic sites : Large parks and protected reserves … Waterfalls and the 18 montains in the West

and Beaches Etc…

Tourism

Some Animals in the National

Park of Marahoué

Tourism

Tourism

The largest Basilica in the world

Yamoussoukro: The Basilica ‘Notre Dame de la Paix’

Tourism

Tourism

Traditional Mosques in the north and The Bridge made of Vines in

the west (People believe it has been built by the forest spirits during

nights)

Tourism (transport)

There are several means of transport and the price change from one to another

according to the distance covered.

In Côte d’Ivoire, things are cheap except houses (in the capital), Computers, lap

tops (technological stuff).

VISA, HOUSING & STAY

Prior your arrival and during your stay in Côte d’Ivoire, AIESEC provides you all her side documents and assistance you

may need regarding VISA Issues:

In some of Côte d’Ivoire embassies abroad, the period of stay is limited, but the intern has the opportunity to extend his/her visa to the willing period of stay

upon arrived inside the country.

Upon arrived, the intern will be taken to the embassy of his country of origin for

registration. According to the Embassy, a card could be given to him to move freely within the country, or s/he should make

the photocopy of his/her passport legalized at the mayor hall of his

residence neighborhood. After that it’s recommended to keep the passport at

home, in a safe place.

AIESEC Côte d’Ivoire host interns in host families in order for them to directly live and

experience our culture :)

Every quarter we organize a ceremony to thank all the host families who agree to host our

interns for free. Each intern is then summoned to pay 100 $ once arrived in the country for the

whole duration of his/her stay.

* For more details about host families, see GOOD TO KNOW section

INTERNSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES

Internship Opportunities AIESEC in Côte d’Ivoire is the most growing country in terms

of

exchange in West Africa. (+250%) & constantly improving the

Quality of our TN’s to satisfy you

AIESEC Côte d’Ivoire proposes proper internships with our partners (Start ups, SMEs, private universities and few

Global National Partners such as PWC, Standard Chartered Bank…) in the fields of Management,

Marketing, Finance, IT, Technologies, Auditing, Teaching, Strategies, Market Studies and so on…

Internship Opportunities AIESEC Côte d’Ivoire also implements Projects in

partnership with NGOs on following topics:

HIV/AIDS and Human rights Issues projects

ENGLISH, GERMAN and SPANISH promotion projects

Conflict Management and peace building programs

FUN, TRAVELS & PARTIES

Marriage, comes around 28-35 years … For Fun, people go to super-fiestas on week-

ends :)

If you want to go out, there are many clubs and restaurants where you can enjoy yourself, people also go to the beach or host parties at

their place :)

Fun, Travels & Parties

INTERCITY TRAVELS You can generally just go to the bus station

and buy a bus ticket right when you are about to leave

The road trip tend to take a lot longer than indicated, so get prepared!

You my have to stop on the way for identification check in order to assure road security.

AIR Travel is VERY expensive inside the country!

Fun, Travels & Parties

Good to know

Good to Know Host families are our exchange partners and we trust

them.

So a bad behavior from our interns can affect the relationship with those host families.

That’s why it’s highly recommended to respect and behave as well as possible during the internship.

Try to learn from their culture and do not hesitate to talk to AIESEC representatives if you have any worries or

concerns with the host families.

Once you go back to your home country, it will also be nice to keep contact with at least the host family, by

mailing or calling them.

Good to Know

Things work differently in Côte d’Ivoire. It will probably take a lot longer for you to get things

done , and it can be very frustrating if it’s not what you’re maybe used to. The best thing you can do is to have a good attitude and try to be patient. Don’t be afraid to ask people many times for things you need; in some places this attitude can be rude, but here it can definitely be necessary as long as you

are polite, especially considering the fact that AIESECers are all students and may have a lot to

think or to do :)

Good to Know

AIESECers in General and ICX members particularly want to help you, that’s also why there are part of AIESEC. Talk to everyone and see who has time to help you taking care of your stuffs and needs. Even if you want to do things by yourself, it may be better to go

with someone from AIESEC because then they could teach you a lot about Côte

d’Ivoire.

Come and LIVE A ONE LIFE

EXPERIENCE in

CÔTE D’IVOIRE !!!