EVENT: Leymah Gbowee, women’s rights advocate and co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, will talk about the power of education, collaboration and hope in overthrowing Charles Taylor, one of the most brutal warlords in the history of Africa. She also will share her insights about the vital role that ordinary citizens can play in transforming violence to peace. Afterward, UC Irvine’s Center for Citizen Peacebuilding will present Gbowee with its Citizen Peacebuilding Award.

WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, in the Pacific Ballroom at UCI’s Student Center (grid E8, bldg. 113 on campus map).

INFORMATION: Tickets are free for UCI faculty, students and staff. General admission is $8. Media planning to attend should contact Laura Rico at 949-824-9055 or lrico@uci.edu.

BACKGROUND: Gbowee, a native of Liberia, is now living in New York and serving as the Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College. She received the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for mobilizing women across ethnic and religious lines to bring peace to the civil war-ravaged country and ensure their participation in elections. Gbowee continues to work to enhance the influence of women in West Africa.

Her appearance at UCI is the eighth in the Living Peace Series co-sponsored by the university and Orange County’s Center for Living Peace, which has included talks by the Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson, Charlize Theron and Jane Goodall.

To learn more about Gbowee and the work of the Gbowee Peace Foundation USA, visit http://www.gboweepeaceusa.org/.