International Day of Peace 2026
One Film. One Dialogue. One Step Toward Peace.
About The Campaign
Every September 21st, people across the world pause for something rare: a shared moment dedicated purely to peace.
This year, MasterPeace Foundation and SIMA Academy are joining forces to mark the International Day of Peace with something a little different — a global film screening initiative that uses the power of storytelling to bring people closer together.
Movies have a strange kind of magic. A story told well can make a stranger’s struggle feel like your own, can turn statistics into faces, and can open a conversation that would otherwise never happen. That’s the idea behind this year’s campaign: instead of just talking about peace, we want communities to sit down together, watch, feel, and talk — really talk — about what peace means where they live.
This isn’t a one-city event. It’s designed to happen in living rooms, community centers, schools, and public squares, wherever people are willing to gather. Local partners and MasterPeace clubs will choose films that speak to their own context — stories about reconciliation, climate resilience, gender equity, migration, or simply what it looks like when ordinary people choose dialogue over division.
Where This Comes From ?
MasterPeace has been marking the International Day of Peace for over 15 years now, and if there’s one thing that’s stayed consistent, it’s this: peace isn’t something you announce, it’s something you build together, in public, with your neighbors.
Each year the campaign takes on a different shape, but always around one simple gesture that anyone, anywhere, can take part in.
2014 — Cairo. It started big: a concert beside the Pyramids, bringing artists from opposing sides of conflict onto a single stage, backed by a documentary project and education programs. The message was blunt — despite everything that divides us, most people just want a world with less war.
2020 — 7 Billion Strong. As the world went quiet during the pandemic, MasterPeace launched a campaign to make sure no voice got lost in the silence — inviting all 7 billion of us to speak up for a future that actually includes everyone.
2022 — HeartBeat / SkyConcert. Inspired by the Beatles’ final rooftop performance in 1969 — nothing but open sky above them — thousands of artists and volunteers around the globe performed under that same open sky, recording a “Global Heartbeat” and holding dialogue sessions on education, equality, climate, and peace.
2023 — E(art)h’s Heartbeat. The planet itself got invited to the party. Communities worldwide created a literal, shared heartbeat through performance and gathering, tying human unity to the health of the Earth.
2024 — Earth DanceBeat. The heartbeat kept going, this time moving through dance — proof that the format can keep evolving while the core idea, everyone contributing something small to something huge, stays exactly the same.
2025 — Runway to Peace. Thirty communities, from families to local NGOs, rolled out literal “peace carpets” and walked them side by side — stitching together, symbolically, the longest runway for peace the campaign has ever built.
Every one of these ideas came from the same question: what’s a gesture simple enough that anyone can join in, but meaningful enough that it actually says something? This year, that gesture is sitting down to watch a story together.
Countdown to International Day of Peace 2026
Countdown Expired!
Why Films ?
Through the movie and dialogue, the campaign will, first, engage people via the movie with social issues, second, connect to their local surroundings and reality via dialogue, and third, empower people to develop insights and attitudes to take action in their communities. We will reach and bring the attention of youths to the MasterPeace and SIMA platform, which can be used to amplify our goals.
Because stories can bring us closer.
Film has the power to help us see the world through someone else’s eyes.
It can open conversations that might otherwise never happen.
And sometimes, one story is enough to start a meaningful dialogue.
Our Target
The 5 films
Narrated by Robert Redford, Mother of All Rivers illustrates how one person can effect extraordinary change. In a country with growing socioeconomic inequality and human rights violations, Berta Cáceres rallied her indigenous Lenca people, waging a grassroots campaign to successfully pressure the world’s largest dam builder to withdraw from building the Agua Zarca Dam. In a country with some of the highest murder rates in the world, Cáceres’ victory to protect her sacred Rio Gualcarque, brought hope to activists fighting irresponsible development in Honduras and throughout Latin America. But Berta paid the ultimate price for defending the earth – as she was gunned down by four assassins while asleep in her bed.
Director: Will Parrinello
Producer: Will Parrinello
2015 | 9 min
Honduras
Languages: English
Rooted in Resilience is a powerful short documentary that honors four Indigenous women entrepreneurs whose work reflects generations of wisdom, care, and connection — the very principles that have shaped what we now know as the B Corp movement. Through their stories, we witness how doing business with heart and intention can restore balance to both people and planet.
Director(s): Michelle Alvarado
United States, Canada | 23 minutes
Language(s): English
Jack and Sam is poignant documentary about two Holocaust survivors miraculously reunited after 80 years. Now in their late 90s, they are spending the precious time they have left rekindling their friendship and educating others about the dangers of hatred.
Director: Jordan Matthew Horowitz
Producers: Sarah Silverman, Julianna Margulies, Producers- Andrew Carlberg, Jordan Matthew Horowitz

2023 | 20 min

USA

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Korean, Japanese
Dadaab, the world’s second largest refugee camp, faces a new influx of refugees. Fardowsa, a stateless journalist born and raised in the camp, becomes a voice for the voiceless through the camp’s radio station, amplifying stories of climate, migration, and hope.
Director and Producer: Environmental Justice Foundation
2023 | 25 min

Kenya

Languages: English, Somali
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
In the remote Nuba Mountains of Sudan, decades of war have uprooted the lives of millions, and vestiges of conflict riddle the landscapes of daily life. Yet as a new war reverberates outward from the nation’s capital, this quiet region that was once a target area is now becoming a safe haven. In this modern day exodus story, an elderly man living in Khartoum (Musa) enlists the help of a young college student (Emmanuel) to heroically facilitate the evacuation and resettlement of thousands of Sudanese back to the relative safety of their homeland. Meanwhile as Emmanuel grapples with his trauma and new identity as a refugee, nearby communities provide refuge as they learn to heal together.
Director(s): Bob Miller
United States | 24 minutes
Language(s): English, Sudanese Arabic
How it works ?
One Film. One Dialogue. One Step.
01 — WATCH
A community comes together to watch one of five selected films.
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02 — REFLECT
Participants take a moment to reflect on the story and its connection to their own lives.
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03 — DIALOGUE
A 30-minute facilitated conversation creates space to listen, exchange perspectives and learn from one another.
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04 — ACT
Participants identify one small step they can take towards peace in their community.
Join Our Campaign: Creating Peace. Together.
Find Everything you need to bring the campaign to your community and organise your own Screening and Dialogue.
Find a Peace Screening Near You!
Discover where communities around the world are coming together on 21 September.
About MasterPeace x SIMA
MasterPeace Global is a movement dedicated to enabling changemakers worldwide to use their talents and energy for peacebuilding. Through its expansive network of clubs, innovation hubs, and community-driven projects, MasterPeace supports the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, fosters civic engagement, and inspires local action across issues such as education, social cohesion, and environmental sustainability.
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SIMA Academy is a global education platform that harnesses the power of storytelling to inspire social change. Through a curated collection of award-winning short documentaries and impact videos from over 140 countries, SIMA Academy equips changemakers, educators, and communities with tools to foster empathy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. SIMA Academy helps local leaders ignite dialogue, strengthen social cohesion, and drive positive action through film-based learning experiences aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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If you have any questions, curicosity or comments, feel free to email us ↓
ashwini@masterpeace.org