Elizabethtown College hosts founder of Peace One Day

Elizabethtown College’s Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking (CGUP) presents Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day, as the speaker at the annual Ware Lecture on Peacemaking held on Wednesday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Musser Auditorium at the College’s Leffler Chapel and Performance Center.

Gilley founded the non-profit organization Peace One Day in 1999 as a means to document his goal to create the first day of global ceasefire and non-violence with a recurring calendar date. Due to his tenacious efforts, the United Nations (UN) member states adopted a General Assembly resolution to establish Sept. 21 as the annual UN International Day of Peace. This day has allowed for countless life-saving activities to be carried out in areas otherwise shut off due to conflict, including the provisions of polio vaccinations to over 4 million children in normally inaccessible regions.

Gilley has been honored at many esteemed venues. He spoke at the 2012 One Young World Summit in Pittsburgh and gave the closing speech at the TED Global 2011 conference in Edinburgh. He’ll now share his ideology and expertise with the Elizabethtown community.

“The Ware Lecture is one of the seminal events of the academic year,” CGUP director David Kenley said. “We have been fortunate to have world-renowned scholars, activists, politicians, and artists all sharing their ideas regarding peacemaking in the twenty-first century. We are excited to host Jeremy Gilley who will continue this tradition of excellence.”

Tickets for the event are free and can be requested by emailing lecturetickets@etown.edu or call (717) 361-4757.