Immigrant and refugee women around the world have been challenged to do something to make the world better.

The call was made by Leymah Roberta Gbowee, Executive Director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa based in Accra, Ghana, when she served recently as the Keynote Speaker at the Refugee & Immigrant Women for Change Forum in the Twin cities.

Ms. Gbowee said that women issues and challenges everywhere are the same. Women, she pointed out, “need to collaborate as a powerful group to bring about the change we are talking about. Women of various cultures and a background must identify their similarities and use that as the strength from which to cooperate and collaborate.”

She urged immigrant women to take the lead because, according to her, “immigrant children are at risk for HIV, filling the prisons, and have the lowest graduate rate.” She told the women, “Before you conquer your community, conquer you home.” Attend your children PTA meetings and participate in the life of the children.” She said the positive cultural values from their respective countries must be practiced and up held.

Madam Gbowee said women should not only cry about unfortunate situation that confront them, but do whatever it takes to change it and make life better. Ms. Gbowee pointed out that women have the power to change the world and “need to acknowledge the fact and recognize their strength.”

Leymah Gbowee challenged women to “speak the truth in the face hard realities, if the world must be a better place.” She emphasized that women must not shy away from telling their national and local leaders the truth. “Use your votes to call the attention of leaders who will not listen to the concerns of women; vote them out if necessary,” she added.

The tough speaking Liberian woman provided a global picture of challenges facing Africa and the world, including armed conflicts, rape and sexual violence, high mortality rate, high teen pregnancy rate, etc and said women can and must do something about.

Ms. Gbowee stressed the need for women to take initiative for change. She said, amid repeated applauses, “that it does not have to be a huge project; it can be teaching youth ladies about how to care for their bodies, how to protect themselves against unsafe sex or HIV, or resist anything that negatively impacts the community. She called upon women to look out for each other, adding “Be your sisters keepers.”

Recalling her own role in leading the women's peace movement that helped bring Liberia's stalled peace process to a successful conclusion in 2003, she reiterated: "I am proud of the role women played… but one of my greatest regrets is that we did not use the opportunity to raise our own issues and demand prosecution for perpetrators of sexual violence."

Making reference to the Liberian civil and the TRC report, she said while we appreciate the work of the commission; there are still some adjustments that need to be made to the document, if the peace in Liberia must be sustained, pointing out that, “We must realize that global perception is different from local realities.”

Leymah Roberta Gbowee is the executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa, based in Accra , Ghana . She is a founding member and former coordinator of the Women in Peace Building Program/West African Network for Peace Building (WIPNET/WANEP). During her tenure as Coordinator for WIPNET/WANEP, Ms. Gbowee organized collaborative peace-building initiatives for a network of women peace builders from 9 of Liberia 's 15 counties.

Additionally, she also served as the commissioner-designate for the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Furthermore, Ms. Gbowee has featured on several regional and international panels, including UNIFEM’s Women and the Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Repatriation (DDRR) Process. She most recently spoke at the United Nations Security Council’s Arria Formula Meeting on Women, Peace, and Security, organized around the 5th anniversary of UN resolution 1325.

It can be recalled that in October 2007, the Women's Leadership Board at Harvard University 's John F. Kennedy School of Government honored Ms. Gbowee with the Blue Ribbon Peace Award.

This annual award is given to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to peace-building through innovative strategies that promote women's leadership in peace processes on the local, national, or international levels. In 2009, Ms. Gbowee and the women of Liberia were awarded the Profiles in Courage Award by the Kennedy Library Foundation. Ms. Gbowee is the central character of the award-winning documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.”

The event was organized by the Refugee and Immigrant Women for Change, a coalition of refugee and immigrant women-led and women focused organizations in Minnesota .