Jeremy Gilley
Peace activist, Filmmaker (United Kingdom)
Jeremy Gilley to Receive the 2025 Goi Peace Award
The Goi Peace Foundation will present the 2025 Goi Peace Award to Jeremy Gilley, MBE, peace activist, filmmaker and founder of Peace One Day.
The selection committee has chosen Jeremy Gilley for the Goi Peace Award in honor of his contributions to creating a global movement that unites people’s hearts and actions for peace, transcending differences in politics, religion, race, and culture. His efforts to realize a day of worldwide peace, free of wars and violence, led to the adoption of the UN International Day of Peace, an annual day of global unity in which actions for peace have taken place in all corners of the world for over a quarter of a century.
Jeremy Gilley will receive the award during the 2025 Goi Peace Foundation Forum to be held on November 29. (More information about the event will be announced soon.)
Jeremy Gilley, born in the U.K. in 1969, is a peace activist and filmmaker. He became an actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986, and established a film company, P.U.R.E. Productions, in 1994.
Inspired by his grandfather, a war veteran, and guided from an early age by his interests in peace and tolerance, he founded the non-profit organization Peace One Day in 1999, and through his tireless lobbying, in 2001 the UN Member States unanimously adopted a resolution establishing the 21st of September as the UN International Day of Peace – an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence.
In addition, Jeremy Gilley has raised awareness of various global issues, such as climate change, with his unique approaches, using videos and music and involving people from various backgrounds, including individuals, schools, and companies.
Through a wide range of activities, such as lectures and music concerts, Jeremy Gilley has helped to spread recognition of the International Day of Peace. He has also made addressing serious social issues, including human rights, education and hunger, part of the International Day of Peace.
The close collaboration of Jeremy Gilley and Peace One Day Ambassador Jude Law with UNAMA, UNICEF, WHO and other UN agencies resulted in a ceasefire in the conflict in Afghanistan on the International Day of Peace from 2007 to 2010. In addition, 4.5 million children were vaccinated against polio in Afghanistan due to Peace Day agreements.
Jeremy Gilley is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Order of the British Empire, the Africa Peace Award and the Carnegie-Wateler Peace Prize. His documentary film, The Day After Peace, featuring the establishment of the International Day of Peace and his activities in Afghanistan, won him numerous film awards, including the Most Inspirational Movie of the Year at Cinema for Peace 2009, the Cinema Vérité Award at Geneva Cinema Vérité, and the Best Documentary Award in the Zimbabwe International Film Festival.
Learn more about Peace One Day.
About the Goi Peace Foundation and the Goi Peace Award
Based in Japan, the Goi Peace Foundation is a public benefit organization supported by members around the world working together to create a culture of peace. Its mission is to foster a sustainable and harmonious global society by promoting consciousness, values and wisdom for creating peace, and building cooperation among individuals and organizations across diverse fields, including education, science, culture and the arts.
Established by the Goi Peace Foundation in 2000, the Goi Peace Award is an international award presented annually to honor individuals and organizations in various fields that have made outstanding contributions toward the realization of a peaceful and harmonious world as envisioned in the Declaration for All Life on Earth.