Jeremy Gilley

Jeremy Francis Gilley (born 1969 ) is an English actor, filmmaker and founder of the nonprofit organisation Peace One Day.

Born in 1969, Gilley spent his early years in Southampton, Hampshire.

Gilley was educated at St Mary's College, Southampton and Millfield, a boarding independent school in the village of Street in Somerset.

He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 17.

In 1994, following a decade of professional acting, Gilley started a film making company, P.U.R.E. Productions.

In 1999, he set out to document his efforts to create an annual Peace Day.

To this end he founded the non-profit organisation Peace One Day.

In September 2001 as a result of Gilley's efforts, a General Assembly resolution was unanimously adopted by UN member states, establishing 21 September as an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace – Peace Day.

He organised two concerts at Brixton Academy, London, on 21 September 2002 and 2003.

Peace One Day (2004).

Gilley directed and produced his first feature-length documentary, telling the story of his attempts to persuade the global community via the United Nations to sanction officially a day without conflict; a ceasefire day; a global day of Peace.

In 2004, the Peace One Day documentary premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and the BBC aired the documentary in September of the same year.

In 2005, Angelina Jolie and Jonny Lee Miller hosted the film's North American premiere to highlight Peace Day.

The film documents polio vaccinations on 21 September 2007 in Afghanistan.

Peace One Day Part 3.

Gilley's third feature-length documentary continuing the story of Peace Day, making it a day of peace that is self-sustaining around the world.

In 2007, Gilley and Peace One Day Ambassador Jude Law travelled to Jalalabad and Kabul to meet with representatives from the United Nations, the Afghan government, and other organisations.

They initiated a campaign alongside WHO, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Public Health, which resulted in providing 1.4 million children with the monovalent P3 polio vaccine in southern Afghanistan and selected areas in eastern Afghanistan.

In 2007, Peace One Day organised a third concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, headlining Annie Lennox with Yusuf Islam, Corinne Bailey Rae, James Morrison, Kate Nash, and Marc Almond.

The concert also included specially filmed pieces from Jude Law, David Beckham, and Lord David Puttnam.

The Day After Peace (2008).

Gilley directed and produced his second feature-length documentary, The Day After Peace, in association with the BBC.

In 2008 there was a 70 per cent drop in violent incidents on Peace Day in Afghanistan following pledges by President Hamid Karzai and UN forces for a day of non-violence, and by 2010 the campaign had resulted in the immunisation against polio of 4.5 million children in areas hitherto unreachable due to conflict.

Since then, Gilley has been working to institutionalise Peace Day, 21 September across the world with Peace One Day.

As part of their continuing plan to raise awareness of Peace Day, he has directed and produced numerous concerts and events with the support of celebrities and musicians like Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox, Angelina Jolie, Joseph Fiennes, Sir Richard Branson, Nadirah X, Mudbone Cooper and the late Mo Mowlam.

A second concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008, and it was broadcast in 93 countries.

In 2009 the Peace One Day 10th Anniversary Concert was held in Paris at Le Grand Rex, this concert included performances by Lenny Kravitz, Kasabian, and Keziah Jones.

The 2011 concert at the O2 Arena announced a new Peace One Day initiative Global Truce 2012, Razorlight and Eliza Doolittle headlined.

On 21 June 2012 a Peace One Day concert at Derry, in the spirit of the Olympic Truce marked the start of the London 2012 Festival and was also a three-month countdown to Global Truce 2012, some of the musicians that performed were Pixie Lott, Newton Faulkner and Imelda May.

The Peace One Day Celebration annual concert on Peace Day 21 September 2012, the day of Global Truce was held at Wembley Arena in London, with musicians Elton John, James Morrison and 2Cellos, introductions were made by Jude Law, Lily Cole and other special guests.

The results of the Global Truce 2012 were announced.

Peace One Day brought its 2013 celebration to The Hague to mark the first hundred years of the Peace Palace.

This historic concert formed part of the 24-hour Global Broadcast on Peace Day Saturday 21 September 2013.

The show contained performances from renowned international artists including Paul van Dyk, Natasha Bedingfield, Carlinhos Brown, The Feeling, Miguel Bosé and Jahméne Douglas.

The 24-hour Global Broadcast included a series of interviews with some of the world's leading actors, talking about peace and the theme for Peace Day: "Who will you make peace with?"

Each interview included a speech chosen and performed by the actor, relating to peace.

Actors who took part included: Dominic Cooper, Eddie Izzard, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, Gael García Bernal, Michelle Rodriguez, Richard E. Grant, Michael Caine and Jude Law.

In 2014, Peace One Day made history by taking over Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to hold a major concert, produced by Jude Law and Gilley, headlined by five-time Grammy Award-nominated recording artist Akon with regional artists Lexxus Legal, Detty Darba and Sango’A, and Congolese traditional drummers and dancers.

In an historic first, the airport hosted this major event that united more than 50,000 people, celebrating the hope for peace on Peace Day, 21 September.

Since 2019, Gilley has directed and produced films for Avon, telling stories of gender-based violence survivors.