Building Bridges Through Culture, Faith, and Peace

As we reflect on an extraordinary year of impact and growth, the Khalili Foundation continues to advance its mission of fostering understanding and peace across cultures and faiths. Our initiatives in 2024 have reached millions worldwide, creating lasting partnerships and empowering the next generation of peacebuilders.

Celebrating Faith and Unity

The Commonwealth Faith Festival marked a cornerstone of our 2024 achievements. Launched in February at Marlborough House, the Festival brought together faith leaders and peacebuilding practitioners for meaningful dialogue and collaboration. This initiative builds on our successful Faith in the Commonwealth partnership and is secured for at least two more years of impact.

Advancing Peace Through Recognition

We proudly introduced the inaugural Commonwealth Peace Prize, announced on the International Day of Peace. This prestigious award will highlight the achievements of influential faith-inspired peacebuilders, connecting our grassroots youth work with high-profile advocacy for peace.

New Royal Partnership

In a significant development announced at CHOGM in Samoa, we became a Founding Partner of the King’s Commonwealth Fellowship for Small Island Nations. Working alongside HM King Charles, this multi-year commitment will strengthen climate resilience in vulnerable communities.

Digital Heritage Preservation

Our partnership with UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme marks a new chapter in digital preservation. Drawing from our success with the Khalili Collections, we’re helping to digitize and promote underrepresented cultural heritage on Wikipedia platforms.

Educational Innovation

Interfaith Explorers, our digital educational resource, underwent a major enhancement:

• Nearly 200 new pages featuring religious life through art and photography
• Automated translation into 13 languages
• New animated resource journey
• Cross-cultural learning opportunities (e.g., studying the Hajj in Hebrew or the Torah in Arabic)

Digital Impact

Our digital presence continues to grow:

• 60+ million views of Khalili Collections images on Wikimedia platforms
• Featured article “Empire of the Sultans” reached 4.8 million views
• New content in eight languages including Arabic, Turkish, and Persian

Looking Ahead to 2025

We’re excited to announce several upcoming initiatives:

• Official launch of the Commonwealth Peace Prize during Commonwealth Week
• Implementation of the King’s Commonwealth Fellowship
• New partnership with the King’s Trust to combat hate crime
• Development of the Commonwealth’s Virtual Museum
• Celebrity Peace at the Crease cricket match
• Expansion of Interfaith Explorers to include Dharmic and Indigenous religions

Global Representation

Throughout 2024, we proudly represented our mission at key global forums:

• Bradford Literature Festival
• Wikimania Summit in Warsaw
• United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum in Lisbon
• Academic institutions including Yale University and the Asia Society

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our trustees, advisors, and partners whose support makes our work possible. As we enter 2025, we remain committed to building bridges across cultures and fostering peace through education, art, and interfaith dialogue.

For more information about our initiatives or to get involved, please contact our Executive Director, Waqās Ahmed on director@Khalili.Foundation