Ouagadougou is often described by people who don’t really live there—foreign journalists on short assignments, NGO staff behind guarded walls. Je suis la rue turns that logic inside out.
Instead of speaking about the street, this project gives the floor to those from the street: a group of young people who once lived in it and who now use photography to reclaim their space, their gaze, their voice.
After a short technical workshop, the boys and girls involved in the project selected the areas of the city they wanted to document. Many had never held a camera before. Within three months, they created a collective portrait of Ouagadougou that is direct, complex, and visually stunning.
This work became a book and a statement: Je suis la rue: I am the street.
A Project Built Together
This was not an outsider project. It was built on the ground, in collaboration. Led by Warren Sare and the Centre Photographique de Ouagadougou (CPO), co-created with Ayzoh!, and supported by professionals and institutions from across continents.
The working group included: Silvia Ferraris (Waga Studio), Federica Landi, Claudio Maria Lerario (Ayzoh!), Warren Sare (CPO), Luca Zanfini (Embassy of Italy), APPTVIT (Norway), Waga Studio (Burkina Faso), Amu Les Griots (Belgium/Burkina Faso), CREA (Italy), Innovare Insieme (Italy), Baregota Travel (Ethiopia), and Penzi (Mexico).
Despite differences in language, age, background, and belief, the group shared one goal: giving young people the tools to tell their own stories. What followed was not charity, not training, but mutual recognition and shared labor.
Hosted by AEMO
The first phase of Je suis la rue took place at AEMO, a local center that hosts former street children. Built with German support and now run by the city of Ouagadougou, AEMO provided safety, beds, food, and structure. Without this space — and the commitment of its educators — the project could not have taken shape.
At AEMO, the children were not only protected. They were listened to. The project grew from that foundation.
Why Photography
In a world overwhelmed by images, Je suis la rue goes back to the core of photography: presence, observation, memory. Participants chose what to photograph. They explored places that mattered to them—sometimes familiar, sometimes hostile. They used the camera not as a shield, but as a tool to reflect on what surrounds them, what shapes them, and what might still change.
Photography became a way to stay in the present and imagine something beyond it.
Learning from the Griots
The project also drew from an older tradition: the griot, West Africa’s oral historian. Griots don’t read books—they listen, watch, and remember. Their stories hold the memory of a people.
In Je suis la rue, photography meets this tradition. Images become testimonies. Each frame carries a fragment of personal and collective history, without pretending to explain, just to show.
What Comes Next
Je suis la rue is not a one-off. It’s a starting point. With support from Ayzoh! and others, the work will continue through publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.
The Centre Photographique de Ouagadougou, co-founded by Warren Sare with support from Ayzoh!, will be the permanent base. A working space, not a showcase. A place where young people can learn, create, and keep telling stories that matter. This is not about launching campaigns. It’s about building something that stays.
