"They believe that change is possible and they are working hard to achieve it." Faris was addressing the World YWCA Day breakfast, held at the Delta Kitchener-Waterloo hotel. She took audience members on a historical tour through violence that has plagued the region, from conflicts in her homeland of Lebanon to wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan.

As war raged around her in the 1980s, she and her colleagues at YWCA Lebanon empowered rural women forced from their homes, provided shelter, food and skills training to refugees, ran summer camps for needy children and began vocational schools for both young women and men. "And this was under the shelling and between the bullets," Faris said.

She spoke of the cultural and religious diversity in Lebanon as a double-edged sword. "While it renders life richer and more interesting, it also creates a delicate religious and political balance." Yet inclusiveness, she said, is crucial to their success.

"Peace through mutual understanding is the best tool for peace advocacy."

At times in her speech, Faris chose strong and controversial language, saying the Israel-Palestine conflict has brought with it a "holocaust" of the Palestinian people. But she highlighted the extent to which Israeli and Palestinian women are working together in the name of peace, through organizations such as Jerusalem Link, which involves women's organizations in both regions. "They believe that negotiations without women at the table lead to chaos," Faris said.

"Contrary to men, who sit on opposite sides of the table and conceal their cards and treat the man across the table as an opponent, women sit on the same side of the table, put their sufferings in front of them, look at them courageously and come up with a win-win proposal." Faris said women in war-torn countries must continue to advocate for peace and equality.

"They are the uniting agent in the warring countries," she said. "The promotion of a feminist perspective supports peace and harmony in the world."