Jamil Simon is a visionary peace activist, award-winning documentary filmmaker and an expert
in communication strategy. He was a conscientious objector in the Vietnam War from age 18.
He is now the founder and director of Making Peace Visible, a nonprofit organization designed
to bring journalists and peacebuilders together to reimagine the way the news media reports
on peace and conflict. He was awarded the 2019 Luxembourg Peace Prize for his work
promoting public awareness of peace efforts.
Making Peace Visible (MPV) produces a podcast by the same name with 50+ episodes, it’s been
downloaded in 105 countries. It includes interviews with remarkable individuals operating at
the intersection of peacebuilding, media and journalism. Jamil has interviewed changemakers
from all over the world who share their insights on how peace and conflict appear in the media
and its impact on public perceptions. MPV publishes a journal NUANCE and is developing an
Educational Initiative to train journalists to improve conflict reporting.
MPV creates live and online events that bring its key audiences together. At the inaugural event
in NYC in April 2018, journalists and peacebuilders were challenged to examine new approaches
to covering peace and conflict. The next conference will be in Washington DC in October 2025.
The team plans to implement additional events in major global media centers like Bogota,
London, Nairobi, Mumbai, Tokyo and other cities to reach journalists around the world.
Jamil founded Spectrum Media, his media production and consulting firm in 1970 and has since
produced documentary films and media projects in the US, and in countries in Africa, Europe,
Asia and Latin America to promote social and environmental reform. In the 70s, 80s, and 90s,
Jamil made breakthrough documentary films on poverty in America, education, energy
conservation and appropriate technology. He worked with the Derek Bok Center at Harvard
University for 20 years making award winning films on college teaching.
His last documentary film, prior to launching Making Peace Visible was called Fragile Island of
Peace. It focused on Burundi, a close neighbor of Rwanda that suffered the same kind of violent
ethnic conflict. A remarkable peace process began in Burundi that integrated Hutus and Tutsis–
in the army, in politics and at the grass roots level. Sadly, shortly after Jamil and his crew filmed
there, the peace Burundians had achieved fell apart when the President decided to run for an
illegal third term. Tragically, the killing resumed, and Burundians fled the country, many
became refugees again, including the two Burundian cameramen Jamil worked with.
In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Jamil spent 35 years working as a consultant in
communication strategy for multilateral organizations like USAID and the World Bank. He
designed and implemented public awareness programs in developing countries to promote
reform of all kinds. He worked in 25 developing countries around the world. He designed
programs to promote sustainable agriculture in Malawi, conflict resolution skills in Jordan,
democracy in Mali, and water conservation in Tunisia. He worked for a year in Haiti following
the 2010 earthquake. His programs have been remarkably successful at the grass roots level.
Jamil is an accomplished still photographer who has been published in books and magazines
and exhibited in galleries. Jamil has given talks at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government,
The Fletcher School at Tufts University, Stanford University, and Brandeis. He gave a talk to the
World Peace Forum in Luxembourg in honor of his award.
Jamil graduated from Johns Hopkins University as an Art History major. He lives in Somerville
MA with his wife Yolanta and two dogs.
I met Jamil when we were both undergraduates at Johns Hopkins University, now over 60 years ago. He was hard to miss, as he created a flamboyant image on a motorcycle, with a beret rather than a helmet. At the time, I didn’t know that before entering Johns Hopkins he had traversed the United states on his motorcycle and traveled through Latin America, but I certainly appreciated then his unique verve and passion for the very issues he has sustained regarding the pursuit of a just and peaceful world.