Jamil Simon, Founder

Jamil Simon is the President of Spectrum Media, a media production and communications consulting firm he founded over 35 years ago. Mr. Simon is an award-winning producer and director of educational videos and documentaries, as well as an expert in development communications.

Mr. Simon has a strong background creating films and videos on teaching and learning for audiences of all ages, and has made educational films and videos for organizations such as Harvard University, MIT, Oxfam America, WGBH-TV and Children's Television Workshop. He has produced and directed projects on topics ranging from science education and early childhood development to environmental and energy conservation for US government agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Departments of Energy, Education and Transportation. His awards include Red and Blue Ribbons at the American Film Festival, Gold and Silver plaques from the Columbus International Film Festival and several CINE Golden Eagle Awards.

Since 1990, Mr. Simon has been designing and implementing effective communications programs in developing countries. He has developed public awareness programs to support democratization in Mali, water conservation in Tunisia and conflict resolution education in Jordan. He has also worked on environmental reform in Malawi and Madagascar and on economic reform projects in Nigeria, Tunisia, Poland, Moldova and Indonesia. He has worked for several donor organizations, including USAID, DFID, Asia Development Bank and the World Bank.

Mr. Simon has continually championed the use of multimedia tools to advance conflict resolution education around the world, and has produced several projects to promote peace-building and reconciliation. In addition, along with a team of curriculum developers, media producers and communication specialists, and in collaboration with the non-profit organization Images & Education, he has developed the Peace Teaching Project to make multilingual, video-based conflict resolution training materials accessible to educators everywhere, especially those in developing countries. The Peace Teaching Project is based on the premise that everyone, at any age, in every country, could benefit from learning peace-building skills. The project has won some significant support from organizations including UNESCO, the UNDP, the European Centre for Conflict Prevention and Educators for Social Responsibility.