The World Movement congratulates the keynote speaker of its Ninth Global Assembly, Isatou Touray, on her appointment to the office of the Vice President of the Gambia. As the co-founder and executive director of the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), Touray had a long career of grassroots activism. In part due to the work of GAMCOTRAP over the course of 35 years, the Gambia legally banned female genital mutilation in 2015. Touray also became the first woman to run for president in the Gambia in 2016. Her appointment is a positive step forward for democratic consolidation in the Gambia.

In her keynote speech at the Ninth Assembly, Touray encouraged Assembly participants, most of whom were civil society leaders, to consider pursuing roles within political society to help strengthen government institutions from within. Drawing from her experience with the democratic transition in the Gambia, Touray emphasized the importance of bringing new, diverse voices into government. Read excerpts from her keynote speech in our Ninth Global Assembly report.

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