Vice President of The Gambia, Isatou Touray, will visit Brighton this week to deliver the Institute of Development Studies Annual Lecture on Thursday 5 December. The lecture will discuss the role that women and young people played in The Gambia’s recent transformation from dictatorship to democracy.
Previously a PhD student at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), based at the University of Sussex campus, Isatou Touray has gone on to become the first female presidential candidate for The Gambia when she stood for election in 2016 and was appointed Vice President earlier this year.
The IDS Annual Lecture is entitled ‘From dictatorship to democracy: the role of women in politics in The Gambia’. Vice President Touray will explore how The Gambia, a country on the West coast of Africa, with a population of just over two million people, dealt with its crisis of democracy in recent years, the leading role that women and young people played and its broader implications for politics today in Africa and beyond.
Professor Melissa Leach, Director at the Institute of Development Studies, says: “It is a pleasure to be welcoming Vice President of The Gambia and IDS alum Isatou Touray to give the 2019 IDS Annual Lecture. From her time as an activist on gender and women’s rights to an IDS PhD researcher to her current role as Vice President, Isatou Touray has sought to bring about more equal and democratic societies – in the Gambia and beyond – and we look forward to hearing more from her on the opportunities and challenges that she has faced along the way.”
The IDS Annual Lecture takes place 5pm to 6.30pm at the IDS building on the University of Sussex campus and the lecture will also be live-streamed. Register to attend or to watch live via the IDS Annual Lecture event page.
The IDS Annual Lecture aims to convene the most exciting and innovative thinkers helping to tackle the global challenges of our time; reducing inequalities, accelerating sustainability and building inclusive and secure societies.
ENDS//
Contact: All media enquiries should contact [email protected] or call IDS communications on +44 (0)1273 915763
Notes to Editors:
- The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is a global research and learning organisation for equitable and sustainable change, based at the University of Sussex. Our vision is of equal and sustainable societies, locally and globally, where everyone can live secure, fulfilling lives free from poverty and injustice. We believe passionately that cutting-edge research, knowledge, and evidence are crucial in shaping the changes needed for our broader vision to be realised, and to support people, societies and institutions to navigate the challenges ahead.
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