“We’ve won a peace prize!”, Jeremy sounded at once elated and surprised. On 1 December this year Jeremy and Peace One Day officially receive the Carnegie-Wateler Peace Prize 2010.

The prize is given every second year to private persons or institutions ‘who have furthered the cause of peace’ and draws on the legacy bequeathed to the state of the Netherlands by Dutch banker J.G.D. Wateler in 1927. The prize is now administered by the world renowned Carnegie Foundation, owner and management-authority of the Peace Palace in The Hague.

“It’s such an honour”, Jeremy told me. “My films have won awards in the past and it’s always very gratifying to be recognised, but we’ve never received anything quite like this”.

Previous recipients of the Carnegie-Wateler Peace Prize include names as diverse as Lord Baden-Powell, Doctors without Borders, Mrs. Martin Luther King, The Salvation Army, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, UNHCR and UNICEF.

When Jeremy is handed the prize by Dr. Bernard Bot, Chairman of the Carnegie Foundation, it will bring to a close an extraordinary year for the non-profit Peace One Day; a year that has seen an unprecedented level of activity on Peace Day. Each year Peace One Day produces a report that charts global participation on Peace Day from all sectors of society. That process of collation began in advance of the Peace Day this year, partly in preparation for Jeremy’s interview and debate with Jeremy Paxman and Ann Leslie on Newsnight (Peace Day 21 September). Even a casual internet news search of ‘Peace Day’, ‘International Day of Peace’ or ‘Peace One Day’ revealed an astonishing volume and breadth of activity on Peace Day this year. Page after page after page of concerts, art exhibitions, sports events, conferences, peace walks, events in schools and much more; but also national/government commemorations and of course many humanitarian activities focused on Peace Day (88 Humanitarian or life-saving activities by 28 organisations in 31 countries in honour of Peace Day this year), including in Afghanistan for the fourth consecutive year.

“I know it sounds like a cliché”, said Jeremy, “but a prize like this really does honour every individual or group that has embraced Peace Day. The day only works because people get behind it. Have a look for yourself, do your own internet news search and you’ll see what I mean”.

What a fantastic year 2010 has been for Peace One Day. Many milestones have been reached and an unprecedented number of activities have taken place in every country of the world on Peace Day from all sectors of society.

It was announced yesterday on Peace Day by The Board of the Carnegie Foundation (the Foundation which is owner and management-authority of the Peace Palace in The Hague) that the winner of the Carnegie-Wateler Peace Prize 2010 will be given to “Peace One Day” and its founder Jeremy Gilley.

The Carnegie-Wateler Peace Prize will be officially awarded on the 1st December 2010 in the Peace Palace. POD founder and filmmaker Jeremy Gilley has been invited to The Hague to receive the prize from the hand of Dr. Bernard Bot, Chairman of the Foundation. The prize consists of a certificate and a sum of money.

This Is the Future: The Peace One Day Webcast

“This webcast is an experiment that has massive implications.”

Jeremy Gilley told me this as he breathlessly rushed about the Peace One Day office, just a week away from Peace Day. The experiment in question is the first-ever webcast of the Peace One Day Celebration concert, and Gilley’s point is that while “3,000 people can go to a concert, this can bring the concert to a global audience.”

The concert itself is by now an annual tradition. This year’s show will be held at Le Zenith in Paris on Friday 17 September, and it will once again feature some of the top performing artists from around the world. Charlie Winston, who returns for his second appearance, said, “I hope everyone who comes to the show has a night to remember and that more and more people are inspired to raise awareness of Peace One Day.”

As Gilley told me, that is exactly the point – to raise awareness of what POD has accomplished in the past year and what it will accomplish in the future. Songs, interspersed with short films and speeches, honor all the work that POD and its global network of activists carry out across the globe. But with a goal of reaching 3 billion people with its message by September 2012, Gilley keeps pushing for more.

Longtime friend and collaborator Jude Law has assumed the roles of both co-producer and co-host for the concert – he and Sharon Stone will MC the night. Joining Charlie Winston on this year’s impressive roster are Patti Smith, Youssou Ndour, – M -, Yodelice, Ayo, and Vanessa Paradis.

The show is being made possible, once again, thanks to Dior. There is additional support from Coca-Cola France as well as Skype, British Airways, LPR, Ben & Jerry’s and PUMA.Peace; but as Gilley acknowledged, even in the best of economies, non-profits struggle to support themselves. Hence the webcast’s dual purpose: not only will it inspire more people to join in the march to peace, but the nominal fee (€ 9.99/£8.25/$12.75) will also help to cover the costs of putting together such a monumental production and, hopefully, provide some security for POD in the future. But Gilley was quick to point out – this webcast is a high quality video stream – the real thing – with evening play-outs in multiple time zones on Peace Day 21 September.

The webcast came to be when Gilley connected with The Source, which runs TheConcertChannel.eu. Their like-minded team of new media experts will handle the technical aspects of streaming the concert. Check this website to order your ticket and see when it will be streaming in your time zone.

“What they’re doing,” Gilley told me, “is matching our goals with their technology, and it’s a big step toward a global cinema and a global connection.”

As Gilley has often done, he reminded me of how this innovation connects to his first love – filmmaking. This new initiative brings together the power of cinema with the reach of the internet to provide entertainment, education, and inspiration for millions of people. All Gilley asks is that “people log on and watch, tell their friends, reach out to their networks, and spread the word” about the webcast. In essence, everybody can do what they already do, but now they can do it for Peace.

“After all,” he said, “this is the future.”

Peace One Day has been holding an annual celebration to raise awareness of Peace Day since the beginning. Concerts energise people, they engage the audience and the press. But I wanted to find a new way to extend the reach of the concert beyond the audience in the auditorium.

This year’s concert, at Le Zenith Paris, will be our biggest yet, with performances from Patti Smith, Youssou Ndour, Charlie Winston, -M-, Yodelice, Ayo, and Vanessa Paradis. It’s a wonderful line up, with collaborations and specially-written songs bringing this famous concert-hall to life. The evening is being hosted by Peace One Day ambassador Jude Law and Sharon Stone. There will also be some short POD films and key announcements.

This is a truly global concert, for the first time accessible to a global audience: because this year, on Peace Day September 21, the concert will be broadcast on the internet as a webcast, with evening play-outs in multiple time zones.

Hosted at http://peaceoneday.theconcertchannel.eu, and available for only €9.99/£8.25/$12.75, this high-quality video stream will allow people in any country in the world to feel like they were there, in Paris, on the night. Rather than shaking a bucket or asking for donations, we wanted to be able to give our supporters something special in return.

We hope you join us on Peace Day to watch this inspirational concert. Gather your friends and family together, log your commitment on peaconeday.org, and sit back to enjoy this unique event.

…and please tell as many people as you can. All proceeds go to Peace One Day to help continue our work in raising awareness of Peace Day 21 September.

Thanks for your support!

In peace

Jeremy

PEACE ONE DAY PART 3, PRODUCED BY JUDE LAW AND JEREMY GILLEY, TO BE AIRED ON BBC WORLD ON 18/19 SEPTEMBER

On the weekend of 18/19 September BBC World viewers can see the next installment of British filmmaker Jeremy Gilley’s epic journey to make Peace Day 21 September known throughout the world, to see lives saved and individuals everywhere inspired to act.

In 1999, filmmaker Jeremy Gilley had a simple but powerful idea – could the world be persuaded to lay down its weapons for a day? Two years later, he persuaded the member states of the United Nations to declare an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on September 21st – Peace Day. Participation around the world has grown year-on-year. By 2007 the UN announced that 100 million people were marking the day. In Afghanistan, Gilley and Jude Law led a campaign that has seen 4.5 million children vaccinated against polio because of Peace Day agreements; but the aim of a global ceasefire on the day still proves elusive. In his third film on his ten-year campaign, Jeremy Gilley continues to record his extraordinary efforts to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Since the unanimous adoption of the Peace Day resolution in 2001, activities on 21 September have enabled families to be reunited, mosquito nets and food aid to be delivered and children vaccinated all over the world, as this ceasefire and non-violence day is creating a window of opportunity for humanitarian efforts.

Written and Directed by Jeremy Gilley, Produced by Gilley and Jude Law, Peace One Day Part 3 charts the extraordinary progress of Peace Day since 2007 and sets the course for Jeremy’s fourth feature documentary, culminating on Peace Day 2012 against the backdrop of the London Olympic Games.

Jeremy Gilley said today, “The BCC World transmissions of Peace One Day Part 3 have the potential to reach 283 million homes in 200 countries. I want to see Peace Day institutionalised around the world, to become a day that’s self-sustaining; my documentaries are an integral part of that process. I’m thrilled and honoured that this film will play on the BBC.” Jude Law said, “I’m delighted to be part of a process that uses film in such a constructive way. The fact that BBC World is showing this latest film is wonderful.”

Others who have supported Gilley’s efforts include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon, Annie Lennox, Angelina Jolie, Lenny Kravitz, Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Yusuf (formerly Cat Stevens), Jonny Lee Miller, Joseph Fiennes, Kasabian, Kate Nash, Corinne Bailey Rae, Dave Stewart, Jimmy Cliff, Faithless, James Morrison and millions of people across the world.

To find out more about Gilley and Law’s collaboration, visit www.peaceoneday.org

For interviews, images or any other information please contact Kayleigh Scott on +44 (0)208 334 9900 or email ExecutiveAssistant@peaceoneday.org

Since re-invigorating our YouTube channel, by implementing a brand new design and re-organising everything to make our films more accessible, we are delighted to announce our recent triumph of reaching three thousand YouTube Subscribers! Our aim was to foster a greater community around our videos, allowing for wider spread of viewers which in turn will help us to contact more people with a message of peace.

As an organisation founded by a film maker, video is obviously hugely important to everything that Peace One Day do. Every action Jeremy has undertaken in creating a fixed Peace Day, since starting in 1999, has been carefully documented, from initial meetings in the Globe Theatre over ten years ago and meetings with the likes of Kofi Annan and HH The Dalai Lama, to Jeremy and Jude Law’s visits to Afghanistan, and the massive Peace One Day Concerts. This amazing video content has become part of a rich tapestry that charts the exciting history of POD and its achievements. Not only does this footage lend itself with great effect for Jeremy’s documentaries (‘Peace One Day’, ‘The Day After Peace’ and the next film), but we are also able to offer great video content via YouTube, a lot of which you can’t find anywhere else.

Our videos are the most instrumental tool we have in spreading the message of Peace One Day and getting people to understand the work that we do. If you are reading this now, there is a good chance you’ve seen ourIntroduction video before, which never fails to get a positive response from viewers. It is amazing how 9 minutes of film can take a person from a position of not knowing about POD, to becoming an advocate and inspiring them to organise a Peace Day event themselves. We could talk forever about our life-saving activities, our One Day One Goal campaign and our great work in educating the next generation of Peacemakers, but it isn’t until you see their individual videos, that you truly understand what we are working towards. With our film editing team working hard to create new and engaging content, it is important that we find the right platform to present these films to the world.

As a video-sharing platform, YouTube exceeds over 2 billion views per day, with over 24 hours of video uploaded per minute. It is without a doubt, the most important thing to happen to film making and distribution since its inception in 2005. Last September, our Peace One Day channel became the most viewed non-profit channel on YouTube.

This is only one step in our quest to reach out to 3 billion people by 2012 but hopefully, with your help, it will only get bigger.

Visit our Peace One Day YouTube Channel and if you like what you see, please let us know!