Volume LII-Number 2

Abstract: On November 10, 2018, Ms. Gbowee presented a talk to the students at Towson University on peace, militarism, women’s rights, and empowerment. The Towson University Journal of International Affairs was a proud organizer and co-sponsor of this event. What follows is a transcript of her comments, which have been lightly edited for length and readability.

Keywords: Militarism, Liberia, Peace building, Justice, Women’s rights, Community

About the Author: In 2011, Leymah Gbowee won the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Tawakkul Karman, for her role in contributing to the resolution of Liberia’s notoriously vicious Second Civil War in 2003 and for the “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peacebuilding work.”1 In 2012, she founded the Gbowee Peace Foundation, Africa, and serves as its president. This foundation creates educational and leadership opportunities for girls and women in Liberia. In addition, she is the Executive Director of the Women, Peace, and Security program at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and a Sustainable Development Goals Advocate for the United Nations. She is a member of the World Refugee Council, a commissioner-delegate for the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and a founding member and former coordinator of the Women in Peacebuilding Program/West African Network for Peacebuilding. She also serves on the board of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, is a Global Ambassador for Oxfam, has received numerous honorary degrees, and is a tireless advocate for peace, justice, and women’s rights through her membership in several other organizations.