Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe and IRE Chairman Franz Schausberger sign cooperation and membership of Banjul, the capital of Gambia.

Salzburg/Banjul. A premiere occurred during the 4GAMECHANGERS Festival: The IRE welcomed the first member from Africa to the network. The city of Banjul, capital of the West African state of The Gambia, joined the IRE as a member. Entrepreneur Rohey Malick Lowe has been Mayor of Banjul since 2018 and is the first elected female mayor of an African capital. She is considered an icon of the African women’s rights movement.

IRE Chairman Franz Schausberger is pleased about the new member and explains: "Of course our focus is on European regions, cities and institutions, but in a globalized world you also have to think beyond borders. Banjul can learn from European best practice examples, for example in the area of ​​water supply, one of the most critical and important issues in the region."

Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe was pleased about joining the institute's network and emphasized that "the networking will bring benefits for both sides and the city will develop many ideas for projects and collaborations." 


Banjul has around 32,000 inhabitants and the Banjul region has around 430,000. Around 2.1 million people live in The Gambia, the West African country located on the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by Senegal. The country became independent from the United Kingdom in 1965.