In 1999, preoccupied with questions about the fundamental nature of humanity and the most pressing issues of our time, filmmaker Jeremy Gilley launched Peace One Day and set out to find a starting point for peace. He had a mission: to document his efforts to establish the first ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence with a fixed calendar date. In September 2001 the member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted September 21 as the first ever day of global ceasefire and non-violence; Peace Day. In 2009, driven by Peace One Day and championed by Senator Menendez (D-NJ), a US resolution was passed to recognize this day and to support Peace One Day’s work in the field of education.

Since the adoption of the Peace Day resolution, Peace One Day (http://www.peaceoneday.org) has worked to inform the world's people of the day's existence and engage all sectors of society in the peaceful observance of September 21 annually. Jeremy's feature documentaries Peace One Day and the 2009 release, The Day After Peace (both produced in association with the BBC) has played a key role in this process. In 2007, according to the UN, over 100 million people were active on Peace Day in 192 countries. There were life-saving initiatives in 14 countries and, crucially, as a direct result of Peace One Day’s initiative in Afghanistan, over 80 activities were carried out, resulting in the vaccination of 1.4 million children against polio. A further 1.8 million children were vaccinated in Afghanistan around Peace Day 2008, following an agreement by all parties to conflict that safe access for immunization purposes would be provided.

Peace One Day's Free Education Resource area contains a wealth of thought provoking, challenging, informative and fun ideas and worksheets that can be used on their own or in combination with study courses at all levels. The materials enable students to think about peace in an historical context and to discuss the relevance of peace in the world as they know it, both on a global scale and at a local level in familiar surroundings among people they meet. You’ll find ready-made classroom materials easy for download for individual use, single lessons or group project work. Registration is free.