SHARE

Nobel Peace Prize Winner To Speak At WestConn In Danbury For PeaceJam Event

DANBURY, Conn. – Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee will visit Danbury as part of the 2017 PeaceJam Conference at Western Connecticut State University.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee will visit Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee will visit Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Gbowee will lead a public talk at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, in Ives Concert Hall in White Hall on WestConn's Midtown campus, 181 White St.

At the PeaceJam Conference, university students and faculty provide practical learning for more than 100 high school and middle school students though workshops, focus groups and projects. PeaceJam’s award-winning programs are designed to nurture character traits, leadership and civic skills needed to create positive change in the world.

The PeaceJam Foundation is an international organization whose mission statement is “to create young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities, and the world through the inspiration of Nobel Peace Laureates who pass on the spirit, skills and wisdom they embody.”

WCSU founded a PeaceJam chapter with support from Graves Kiely, an international financial adviser who encourages the project’s potential to confront and solve difficult world issues. A Connecticut PeaceJam Fest was held on campus in late September for students to learn how to become a mentor or to join the PeaceJam Scholars Club.

Liberian activist Gbowee led a women’s peace movement that helped end the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Gbowee, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Tawakkul Karman were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”

PeaceJam is hosted by WCSU’s Center for Compassion, Creativity & Innovation; The Center for Student Involvement; Pre-Collegiate & Access Programs; and the Kathwari Honors program, led by professor of political science Chris Kukk.

For more information, visit www.wcsu.edu/peacejam/ or call the Office of University Relations at 203-837-8486.

to follow Daily Voice Wilton and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE