Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the Intelligence, Passion and Greatness of Girls
Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee has two powerful stories to tell of her own life’s transformation, and of the untapped potential of girls around the world. Can we transform the world by unlocking the greatness of girls?
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ABOUT Leymah Gbowee
“Liberian Peace and Women’s Rights activist Leymah Gbowee is the Newsweek Daily Beast’s Africa columnist. As war ravaged Liberia, she realised it is women who bear the greatest burden in prolonged conflicts.
She began organising Christian and Muslim women to demonstrate together, founding Liberian Mass Action for Peace and launching protests and a sex strike. Leymah’s part in helping to oust Charles Taylor was featured in the documentary ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’.
She is a single mother of six, including one adopted daughter, and is based in Accra, Ghana, where she is the executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network (WIPSEN-Africa) and has spoken publicly on numerous occasions on the issue of women in conflict situations.
She was a panelist at several regional and international conferences, including UNIFEM’s ‘Women and the Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration and Repatriation (DDRR) Process’ and the United Nations Security Council’s Arria Formula Meeting on Women, Peace, and Security.
In October 2007, the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government honoured her with the Blue Ribbon Peace Award. This annual award is given to individuals and organisations that have made a significant contribution to peace-building through innovative strategies that promote women’s leadership in peace processes on the local, national, or international level. Other honours include:
- Recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize
- Recipient of the 2010 John Jay Medal for Justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Recipient of the 2009 Gruber Prize for Women’s Rights
- Recipient of the 2009 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award
- Recipient of the Women’s eNews 2008 Leaders for the 21st Century Award”
The VIDEO
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