She was honored with the Nobel Prize for her work to end the long civil war in her native Liberia. Gbowee鈥檚 involvement in the peace movement began in the late 1990s, when she began volunteering with a trauma healing program in the war-torn capital, Monrovia. (CJP professor played a key role in this program, as did one of CJP鈥檚 earliest graduates, , MA 鈥�98, who served as a mentor to Gbowee.)

Within a few years, Gbowee had become a leader of a grassroots women鈥檚 movement, the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace. Using demonstrations, sit-ins and other nonviolent tactics, the group eventually forced the country鈥檚 warring factions to negotiate and sign a peace agreement in 2003.

Gbowee is one of the main characters in the 2008 documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, about this movement to end the Liberian civil war. She is also the author of a memoir about her life and activism during the war, Mighty Be Our Powers.

She shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female African head of state, and Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni peace activist.

In 2011 鈥� months before the Nobel Peace Laureates were announced 鈥� Gbowee was named .鈥� She spoke several times at EMU鈥檚 homecoming weekend that fall, just days after learning that she鈥檇 won the Nobel Prize. (.)

This year鈥檚 commencement will have an important personal component for Gbowee as well 鈥� her oldest child, Joshua Mensah, will graduate with a bachelor of arts in digital media. Gbowee has said that .

Gbowee is spending the 2013-14 academic year as a Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College in New York. She is the founder and president of the , which supports education and leadership development in Liberia, and a co-founder of both the and the , a global peacebuilding and reconciliation organization. She also serves as an , working on the international nonprofit鈥檚 campaigns against poverty and injustice, and as a board member of the and the .

EMU will confer 481 degrees at its 2014 commencement, including 210 earned through its traditional undergraduate program, 146 awarded through its , 117 from its graduate programs, and eight through the offered at EMU鈥檚 Lancaster, Pa., site.

Now, the 21-year-olds聽 share another distinction 鈥� 草莓社区 graduate. The brothers were among the more than 400 Royals who received diplomas on Sunday during commencement exercises at the liberal arts school.

conferred 426 degrees and certificates on graduates during Sunday鈥檚 ceremony, including 306 bachelor鈥檚 degrees and 97 graduate degrees.

鈥淭his is your day,鈥� Swartzendruber told the graduates, before telling their families, 鈥渙ur students know full well your support has been an integral part of their success.鈥�

Family Tradition

For the Rittenhouses, of Green Lane, Pa., attending EMU runs in the family. Their parents and a brother also graduated from the university, which factored into their decision to choose the institution.

The brothers have much in common and often were mistaken for one another when they first arrived on campus.

鈥淧eople realized we have our own little quirks,鈥� Justin said.

But they do have their differences.

Joel described himself as the dominant one of the two, to which Justin agreed. Naturally.

Justin, a education major, hopes to get a job at the after graduation.

鈥淚鈥檝e always liked to work with kids one-on-one instead of [in] a traditional classroom,鈥� he said.

Joel majored in and his minor was in .

鈥淚 have no immediate plans, but I plan to stay in the area and pick something up,鈥� he said.

Sunday鈥檚 commencement speaker was , granddaughter of Roy Disney and grandniece of Walt Disney.

Disney is a filmmaker and philanthropist whose credits include the production of 鈥淧ray the Devil Back to Hell,鈥� a film documenting the Liberian peace movement led by .

Gbowee, an EMU alumna, received the 2011 Nobel Peace prize for her work in organizing the women of Liberia to demand peace in their wartorn West African country.

Disney said women can play an important role in bringing an end to violence in the world by getting involved in the economic and political realms where decisions to go to war are made.

鈥淲e have to have the courage,鈥� she said, 鈥渢o imagine a different world is possible.鈥�

Gbowee, who shares the prize with and , earned a master鈥檚 degree in conflict transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She attended CJP鈥檚 Summer Peacebuilding Institute in 2004 and participated in a round-table for Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (known as 鈥淪TAR鈥�) in 2005.

Gbowee led a nationwide women鈥檚 movement that was instrumental in halting Liberia鈥檚 second civil war in 2003.

鈥淟eymah Gbowee mobilized and organized women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women鈥檚 participation in elections,鈥� noted the in making the award. 鈥淪he has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after war.鈥�

Starting in the 1990s

Gbowee鈥檚 links to Mennonites began in 1998, when she received training in 鈥渢rauma healing and reconciliation鈥� and then worked at rehabilitating child soldiers. Perhaps unbeknownst to her, the first trainings in this subject in Liberia occurred when , a Mennonite with trauma expertise, arrived in Liberia in the early 1990s, with funding from and what is now called , both based in the United States.

Hart trained Lutheran church workers who, in turn, trained Gbowee. Hart also arranged for , who became Gbowee鈥檚 friend and mentor, to earn a graduate degree in conflict transformation at EMU. In 1998 Doe became one of the earliest master鈥檚 degree graduates from what is now called the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, setting the stage for Gbowee to earn the same degree nine years later.

In her 2011 memoir, 鈥�,鈥� Gbowee says she came to EMU because it was 鈥渁n American college with a well-known program in peace-building and conflict resolution. It was a Christian school that emphasized community and service.鈥�

Responding to the Nobel announcement, EMU President said: 聽鈥淭he impact that Leymah was able to have, first in Liberia, then in West Africa, and now all over the world, shows that another, nonviolent reality is possible. This affirms the dreams and hopes of groups, educational institutions, and churches that are devoted to supporting peace work.”

鈥淲e plant what we call 鈥榮eeds of peace鈥� as widely as we possibly can, usually through education in peace building theory and skills, and then trust that some of these seeds will bear fruit,鈥� he added.

Seeds of Peace

The woman Gbowee calls her 鈥渢rue friend鈥� and fellow founder of , Thelma Ekiyor, attended EMU鈥檚 2002 Summer Peacebuilding Institute, as did Gbowee鈥檚 first champion and employer in Liberia, Lutheran Reverend 鈥淏B鈥� Colley, who attended the annual institute in 2000 and 2001. At Colley鈥檚 urging, Gbowee read 鈥溾�� by the well-known Mennonite ethicist John Howard Yoder.

Gbowee, who was named , is the central figure in a documentary co-produced by , 鈥�.鈥� Completed in 2008, the documentary is part of a 鈥溾�� series to be aired over five successive Tuesdays in October 2011 on public television stations in the United States.

In her memoir, Gbowee credits with introducing her to the (WANEP), an organization that he co-founded and led after finishing his master鈥檚 degree at EMU. (Doe received EMU鈥檚 annual and now works for the United Nations. His daughter, Samfee, graduated from EMU in the spring of 2011, overlapping for one year with Gbowee鈥檚 eldest son, Joshua 鈥淣uku鈥� Mensah, who enrolled in the fall of 2010.)

鈥淲ANEP, based in Ghana, emphasized using nonviolent strategies and encouraged women to join the effort to address problems of violence, war and human rights abuses,鈥� wrote Gbowee.

WANEP supported the launch of , the organization through which Gbowee and her colleagues conducted the campaigns that played a key role in ending the civil war in Liberia. (This organization is the predecessor to Gbowee鈥檚 current organization, Women, Peace and Security Network Africa.) The WANEP-launched women鈥檚 network鈥攑lus , the grassroots movement led by Gbowee鈥攍aid the groundwork for the election of fellow Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president of Liberia, the first woman president of an African nation.

WANEP is now led byof Ghana, a 2002 graduate of CJP.

CJP Teachings Credited

Gbowee鈥檚 memoir credits two of the founding professors of CJP, and , with strongly influencing her through their writings and teachings.

鈥淚 read Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi and the Kenyan author and conflict and reconciliation expert Hizkias Assefa, who believed that reconciliation between victim and perpetrator was the only way to really resolve conflict, especially civil conflict, in the modern world. Otherwise, Assefa wrote, both remained bound together forever, one waiting for apology or revenge, the other fearing retribution.鈥�

As Gbowee began to attend international meetings pertaining to peace and feeling the need to 鈥渟peak with more knowledge and authority,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 began amassing books on conflict resolution theory: 鈥樷�� and 鈥�,鈥� both by .鈥�

In May 2004, the summer after the Liberian peace accords were signed, Gbowee came to EMU to attend classes at its annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute. 鈥淭hose four weeks were another transformative time for me,鈥� she says in her book, noting that she studied with Assefa at the institute and with, 鈥渨ho taught me the concept of 鈥榬estorative justice.鈥欌��

鈥淩estorative justice was鈥� something we could see as ours and not artificially imposed by Westerners. And we needed it, needed that return to tradition. A culture of impunity flourished throughout Africa. People, officials, governments did evil but were never held accountable. More than we needed to punish them, we needed to undo the damage they had done.鈥�

Women in Peacebuilding at EMU

In June 2011 at EMU, Gbowee participated in a by-invitation conference on the needs of women peacebuilders around the world. Participants included filmmaker Abigail Disney of the United States, of Fiji, of Afghanistan, and , a Kenyan-Muslim woman of Somali ethnic origin who received the 2007 Right Livelihood Prize. (Abdi died in a car accident after returning to Kenya in July 2011.)

鈥淎s a direct result of this conference, we will be launching a women and peacebuilding program at our ,鈥� says , executive director of CJP.

The announcement from EMU on the Nobel Peace Prize award can be found at .

Following the screening, which will include a short preview of the five-part documentary series 鈥� distinguished alumna and will speak of her experiences and take questions from the audience.聽Gbowee is one of the peace activists featured in 鈥淧ray the Devil Back to Hell鈥�鈥攁n astonishing story of the Liberian women who took on the warlords and regime of dictator Charles Taylor in the midst of a brutal civil war, winning a once unimaginable peace for their shattered country in 2003.

鈥淲omen, War & Peace鈥� is a bold new five-part PBS television series challenging the conventional wisdom that war and peace is a man鈥檚 domain. The series, which will air on successive Tuesday evenings at 10 p.m. on WVPT/PBS beginning Oct. 11, 2011, spotlights the stories of women in conflict zones from Bosnia to Afghanistan and Colombia to Liberia, placing women at the center of an urgent dialogue about conflict and security, and reframing our understanding of modern warfare.

Following the final episode on Nov. 8, 2011, WVPT will broadcast a local follow-up program, co-produced by CJP, which will bring a local and regional perspective to this global story.

Featuring narrators Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard, 鈥�Women, War & Peace鈥� is the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the roles of women in war and peace.

The five episodes in the series are:

鈥溾�� is the moving story of how a group of 16 women who had been imprisoned and raped by Serb-led forces in the Bosnian town of Foca broke history鈥檚 great silence 鈥� and stepped forward to take the witness stand in an international court of law. Their remarkable courage resulted in a triumphant verdict that led to new international laws about sexual violence in war.

鈥溾�� is the story of the Liberian women who took on the warlords and regime of dictator Charles Taylor in the midst of a brutal civil war, and won a once unimaginable peace for their shattered country in 2003.

When the U.S. troop surge was announced in late 2009, women in Afghanistan knew that the ground was being laid for peace talks with the Taliban. 鈥溾�� follows three women in Afghanistan who are risking their lives to make sure that women鈥檚 rights don鈥檛 get traded away in the deal.

鈥溾�� travels to Cauca, a mountainous region in Colombia鈥檚 Pacific southwest, where two extraordinary Afro-Colombian women are braving a violent struggle over their gold-rich lands. They are standing up for a generation of Colombians who have been terrorized and forcibly displaced as a deliberate strategy of war.

鈥溾��, the capstone of 鈥�Women, War & Peace鈥�, challenges the conventional wisdom that war and peace are men鈥檚 domain through incisive interviews with leading thinkers, Secretaries of State and seasoned survivors of war and peace-making. Interviewees include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee; Bosnian war crimes investigator Fadila Memisevic; and globalization expert Mois茅s Na铆m.

For more information on the Women, War and Peace series, visit . More information about EMU’s Homecoming weekend and Leymah Gbowee speaking engagements can be found at .

Her name is Leymah Gbowee, a 2007 graduate of EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. Before coming to EMU, Gbowee emerged into the world spotlight when she and a brave group of ordinary women, mostly mothers, banded together to do the unimaginable – use nonviolent methods to confront Liberia’s despotic president Charles Taylor and his warlord opponents.

Both sides used child soldiers who terrorized the population, including raping a large percentage of Liberia’s women and girls. The mothers dressed in white, held up hand-written signs saying “We Want Peace” and began to appear wherever the warring leaders could be found. They also told the men in their families “no sex” until you do everything in your power to stop the war.

At one point the women linked arms and barricaded negotiators for the opposing sides in a conference room. Gbowee threatened to take off her clothes, followed by the other protesting women – an act that, in Liberian culture, would shame and disgrace the men – if the negotiators failed to stay at the table until they arrived at a peace agreement.

The women’s efforts succeeded, and a peace accord was signed in the summer of 2003, leading to UN-supervised disarmament beginning in the winter of 2003-04 and finally to the election of Africa’s first woman president in January 2006.

Leymah Gbowee, a 2007 graduate of EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, talks about her peacebuilding and faith journey in university chapel at EMU. (Photo by Jim Bishop) Listen to the chapel podcast…

On behalf of the women she led, Gbowee has received a half dozen major awards, including one from Harvard University. She has been the subject of an article in “O” Magazine, has appeared on “Bill Moyers Journal” and “The Colbert Report” and is the main figure in a documentary, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” ().

Liberia’s bloody civil war

Liberia was founded as a colony in the 1820’s as a place for freed slaves from the US to emigrate to Africa. In 1847, they founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled after the United States.

A military-led coup in 1980 overthrew then-president William R. Tolbert, launching a period of instability that eventually led to civil war.

Charles Taylor invaded the country in 1989. During his time in power, some 250,000 people were killed and over a million others displaced in a country of just over three million population.

Thursday evening, Oct. 22, at EMU, Gbowee received a standing ovation as she came to the podium to address about 400 people. The audience had just viewed the film,”Pray the Devil Back to Hell.”

The riveting motion picture is directed by Emmy-winning and Academy Award nominated filmmaker Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008, where it won “Best Documentary Feature.”

A formerly unknown social worker and mother of four, Gbowee organized hundreds of worken to call for peace. She attended EMU’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) in 2004. She returned to SPI in 2006 and went on to earn an MA degree in conflict transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding the following year.

She now heads Women Peace and Security Network Africa (), offering training and counsel to women all over Africa, with special focus on security issues.

Working together to promote peace

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Liberian women’s movement, she told the EMU audience, was “the way that Christians and Muslims overlooked their differences and worked together to promote the need for peace.”

“Before I came to CJP, I was a bit selfish – my entire world view was Liberia or West Africa,” she said. “CJP put names and faces to conflicts in other parts of the world. Now, when I read the news, I am not thinking about statistics, I am anxiously thinking about my [CJP] sisters there.” She said she looks forward to seeing CJP alumni as she travels from country to country, viewing them as family who understand each other in a way that only fellow CJP alumni can.

Gbowee said she also learned at CJP how to make decisions with a strategic focus. “Before, I jumped into projects and ran with different things,” rather than being a “reflective practitioner” of peacebuilding.

Effective peacebuilder, strong faith

Gbowee shared more of her faith journey in university chapel Friday morning, Oct. 23, retracing her steps from that of a homeless, unemployed, despairing person to a leader in her home and neighboring countries, one whom governmental and international leaders call on regularly for counsel.

“I haven’t reached this place where I am today on my own,” she stated. “It is by the grace and mercy of God. I don’t see how it’s possible to be an effective peacebuilder in any setting without a strong faith. That is my message to others – take that first step of faith and ask God to order your steps.”

Asked what sustains her in the midst of stressful, difficult work, Gbowee replied, “I am basically an optimistic person. I believe there are more good people than bad people in this world – it’s just that we, the good people, refuse to step out.”

Ultimately, “I do what I do in the hope that other children won’t have to go through what mine have. I am doing this work for the children.”

Gbowee reflects on her experience in EMU’s CJP program at

Their leader, Leymah Gbowee, who organized the women and succeeded in pressuring those at the negotiating table to come to agreement to end the long, brutal war, will speak and answer questions following the film showing.

The film is directed by Emmy-winning and Academy Award nominated filmmaker Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008, where it won “Best Documentary Feature.” Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu calls the film “inspiring, uplifting and a call to action for all of us.”

The film went on to win several other honors, including the Gabriel Award from the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals. The Liberian women in the film from the Mass Action Campaign for Peace have received both a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award and Gruber Women’s Rights Prize this year.

A leader in Liberia, Gbowee organized hundreds of women to protest the civil war. In the midst of her campaign, she attended EMU’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI). She later earned her MA degree in conflict transformation from EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, graduating in 2007.

She now heads Women Peace and Security Network in Ghana, offering training and counsel to women all over Africa. She has been featured on national news shows, including “Bill Moyers Journal” and “The Colbert Report.”

The program is sponsored by the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and admission is free. For more information, call 432-4581.