As we close another remarkable chapter in the Khalili Foundation’s journey, we celebrate a year of unprecedented achievements in advancing peace through art, culture, and education. From historic award ceremonies to groundbreaking partnerships, 2025 has reinforced our commitment to building bridges across divides and empowering communities worldwide.
The Commonwealth Peace Prize Takes Centre Stage
The highlight of our year came in March with the inaugural Commonwealth Peace Prize ceremony during the Commonwealth Day reception at Marlborough House. We were honoured to present this prestigious award to Pastor Dr James Movel Wuye and Imam Dr Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa from Nigeria, founders of the Interfaith Mediation Centre. Their remarkable transformation from adversaries to allies exemplifies the power of reconciliation at the heart of our Foundation’s mission.
In a memorable tribute, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber composed a commemorative song performed by singers from the BRIT School and Queen’s College Oxford Choir in the presence of His Majesty King Charles III—a moment that beautifully captured the intersection of art, faith, and peace.
Strengthening Royal Partnerships
Our collaboration with HM King Charles continued to flourish through the King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme with the ACU. Since its launch as Founding Partners at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, the programme has made significant strides in supporting climate resilience across Commonwealth Small Island Developing States:
- PhD pathway launched in September 2025 with 20 candidates and over 20 partner universities
- Fellowship pathway preparing to support 150 professionals starting in 2026
- Undergraduate pathway developing 80 scholarships for 2027
We also announced a vital new partnership with The King’s Trust to address the alarming rise in hate crime across the United Kingdom. Our grant will fund 10 United Cultures sessions through The King’s Trust’s Explore programme in 2025-6, taking place in Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Belfast, and London. These sessions utilize our Interfaith Explorers educational resources to foster peacebuilding and develop future leaders.
Contributing to Global Peacebuilding Conversations
The Foundation maintained an active presence in international forums throughout 2025. In May, our Executive Director Waqās Ahmed represented us at a major UNHCR event in Geneva on refugee resilience, hosted with the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace. Speaking on the panel “Peacebuilding, culture, and social cohesion,” we articulated our vision for sustainable peace alongside distinguished international leaders and humanitarian experts.
In July, Waqās completed the UNITAR Fellowship in Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy in Oslo, gaining insights into how UN mediation teams negotiate peace deals in conflict zones from East Timor to Yemen, Libya to the Philippines. We now look forward to working with UNITAR to train our Commonwealth youth peacebuilders in 2026.
Digital Heritage Reaches New Heights
Our partnership with UNESCO and Wikimedia UK on promoting the Memory of the World register exceeded all expectations. The project achieved millions of image views across multiple languages, with particularly exciting progress in underrepresented cultures. Through a Wikipedia contest in September, we inspired the creation of new articles in languages including Dagbani, a West African language, which now features more than a dozen articles on the register.
Dr Martin Poulter, our dedicated Wikimedian in Residence, presented our work at the UNESCO Memory of the World workshop in Barcelona in October, demonstrating how Wikimedia platforms preserve documentary heritage for future generations. The Memory of the World inscriptions reached approximately 100 million image views in September alone.
Our sustained impact was recognized when we won the Partnership of the Year award from Wikimedia UK. Since February 2020, Dr Poulter has shared more than 1,500 images from the Khalili Collections, creating 90 new Wikipedia articles in nineteen languages. Millions of people each month now learn about Islamic and Japanese art, as well as various underrepresented cultures, through these enhanced articles.
Championing Open Knowledge
In August, we demonstrated our commitment to democratizing cultural heritage at the British Library’s “Knowledge is Human: The Information Ecosystem in the age of AI” conference. Our participation in the “Valuing Open Science & Culture” panel explored how institutions can champion openness to ensure knowledge remains transparent, accessible, and equitable in an AI-driven world.
Advancing Scholarship in Cultural Diplomacy
We are pleased to announce Professor Mahnaz Yousefzadeh of NYU as the inaugural Khalili Public Humanities Fellow for Spring 2026. Based in Abu Dhabi, her fellowship will focus on art and object-based storytelling, as well as developing innovative interdisciplinary approaches to public humanities and cultural diplomacy.
Personal Milestones
In November, our Founder and Chairman Professor Sir Nasser David Khalili was honoured to become a Freeman of the City of London at a ceremony presided over by The Rt Hon Alastair King, the 696th Lord Mayor of London. At the reception at Guildhall, the Lord Mayor described him as “one of the world’s foremost champions of cultural philanthropy, who has shown how culture can serve as a bridge rather than a barrier between people and nations.”
This year also marked Sir David’s 80th birthday and the 30th anniversary of the Khalili Foundation—milestones that inspire us to continue our work with renewed energy and commitment.
Looking Ahead to 2026
As we enter our next chapter, we have an ambitious programme ahead:
- Production of a special volume on “Art and Peacebuilding” featuring contributions from the world’s leading scholars and practitioners
- Youth Peace Symposium with the Commonwealth during Commonwealth Week
- Special dissemination programme to ensure Interfaith Explorers is widely adopted across schools and integrated into national curricula
- Deepening partnerships with UNESCO, The King’s Trust, and Wikimedia
We extend our deepest gratitude to our trustees, advisors, and partners whose unwavering support makes our work possible. As we continue our mission in 2026, we remain committed to enabling peacebuilding through art, culture, and education.
For more information about our initiatives or to get involved, please contact our Executive Director, Waqās Ahmed on director@Khalili.Foundation
