Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate, Visits Marlborough School

Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate, Visits Marlborough School

On Monday, October 5, Marlborough School welcomed LEYMAH GBOWEE, Liberian peace and women’s rights activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, to campus. She is a passionate advocate for unlocking the potential of women and girls around the globe.

Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate, Visits Marlborough School

“You can tell people of the need to struggle,
but when the powerless start to see that they really can make a difference,
nothing can quench the fire.”
- Leymah Gbowee

On October 5 and 6, Marlborough School welcomed LEYMAH GBOWEE, Liberian peace and women’s rights activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, to campus. She is a passionate advocate for unlocking the potential of women and girls around the globe.

Ms. Gbowee led a nonviolent protest movement in Liberia that brought together Christian and Muslim women to end that country’s civil war in 2003. Her leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace is chronicled in the award-winning documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, and in her memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers. Her 2012 TED Talk has been viewed more than 900,000 people, and she was recently profiled on the New York Times Op-Docs series by filmmaker Errol Morris, who called her a “modern-day Joan of Arc.”

Ms. Gbowee is the founder and current President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, which provides educational and leadership opportunities for girls. She is also a Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College. Previously she was the founding Head of the Liberian Reconciliation Initiative, and was the co-founder and Executive Director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa.

Ms. Gbowee gave a community talk on the evening of Monday, October 5, and she also spoke to all Marlborough students at an All-School Meeting on Tuesday, October 6, as well as to smaller groups of girls, including Marlborough's Girls Go Global club, throughout the day.

​​​​​​


More News