Every autumn the Goi Peace Foundation holds a forum where award recipients, speakers from many fields and participants think together about new perspectives and trends. This year's theme is "Connecting Hope, Building Peace."
The 2026 Goi Peace Award goes to Lily Yeh, an American artist and social activist. In Kenya, Palestine, Rwanda and elsewhere, she has brought hope through art to people facing conflict and poverty and has worked on community renewal. The ceremony and her commemorative speech take place on the day.
In the youth program, the Peace Pioneer and others selected from the foundation's educational program "Peace Journey" (70 participants chosen from about 1,500 applicants in 93 countries) speak about their thoughts and efforts for peace. In the following dialogue session, "What Gives Rise to Peace?", Lily Yeh, Kenji Sekine and others take part.
Key points
- Hear the award speech by Lily Yeh, who has worked on community renewal through art
- Young people from the Philippines, Ukraine, South Sudan and Tajikistan share their thoughts on peace
- Simultaneous Japanese-English interpretation and a student fee are available
Why we recommend this event
As news of war and division continues, this is a chance to hear directly from someone who has created hope on the front lines and from young people of a new generation. It can be a starting point for thinking about what you can do for peace.
It suits anyone interested in international cooperation and peacebuilding, as well as those curious about the power of art and education.
Staff comments
Minato AobaResearch
“I was drawn to Lily Yeh's journey of turning abandoned land into parks with residents. Hearing in her own words how art can help communities recover after conflict seems a precious opportunity.”
Sophie HiroseWriting and translation
“I agree with the point Aoba-san raised about reshaping places together with residents. I also look forward to young people from four countries speaking about peace, which may prompt their peers to take it personally.”
Mako JozenjiProofreading and verification
“Hearing you both, I feel peace grows not only from big events but from creating places where people gather. It is lovely that there are such approachable doorways as art and dialogue.”
Interested in this event?
Editor-in-Chief’s comment
Ren DateEditor-in-Chief
“I was moved by a journey of reconnecting people with people, and communities with their people, through art.
Why not spend an afternoon before year-end thinking carefully about peace? Please see the official site for details.”