The Ubben Lecture series will host 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee (pronounced LAY-mah boh-WEE) on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Gbowee's talk, entitled "Dedicating Your Life to Promoting Peace," will highlight her experiences as a women's activist.
Gbowee received the Nobel Peace Prize on Dec. 10, 2011 for her efforts as a women's activist. She plays a large role in the current non-violent struggle in Liberia for improving women's safety and is also an advocate of peace-building work in the country.
Her humanitarian efforts have ranged from books to documentaries to participating in peaceful protests. She has helped to organize and lead the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, a public protest against the government, which was led by women. She has written a memoir, "Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War." She was also featured in the 2008 documentary "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" for her help towards former president of Liberia Charles Taylor.
Emerging as an international leader, Gbowee was recently appointed as head of the news peace and reconciliation initiative in Liberia. She is at the forefront of efforts to help women gain political power.
Executive Director of Media Relations Ken Owen believes that Gbowee's speech is a great opportunity for the DePauw community.
"This opportunity presented itself and since we have a long history of hosting Nobel Prize Winners, we thought ‘why not?'" Owen said.
Professor Anne Harris, director of women's studies, is also looking forward to Gbowee's visit.
"It's incredibly exciting, isn't it? For those students wondering about the possibilities of community building and social change, Leymah Gbowee will present a vivid reality," Harris said. "Here in college, we have the great privilege of studying the theory of ideas, in order to understand and be inspired by. I am counting the days."