Simon Cohen is a communication expert, speaker, consultant, trainer
and managing director of global tolerance, which describes itself as a positively different communications agency generating positive media coverage for principled organisations of all shapes and sizes.

Career

After the September 11 attacks on the United States, Simon Cohen founded global tolerance to combat what he saw as irresponsible reporting on Muslims. The communication agency describes its mission as the use of PR and communications to harness the power of the media for positive social change. Cohen believes firmly in the power of faith, and has described its potential to help people in a range of situations.

Simon has since conducted media consultancy for the Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...

, the Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

, Rajmohan Gandhi

Rajmohan Gandhi

Rajmohan Gandhi is a biographer and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and a research professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.Gandhi's maternal grandfather was C...

 (grandson of the Mahatma), the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...

, among others.

Cohen has spoken at symposia such as the Caux Conference, Martin Luther King International Chapel, Council on American Islamic Relations, and John Marshall Law School

John Marshall Law School

John Marshall Law School may refer to:*John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois*John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia*Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio...

’s Media Perceptions of Islam. He has spoken on media ethics and on religion in the media at international events including the Economic Forum in Poland and the World Spirit Forum in Arosa

Arosa

Arosa is a town and a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort.-History:...

.

Cohen serves as media advisor and on the steering committee for the International Communications Forum, which promotes the ethical role of the media in society.

Awards and honours

In 2003 2004 Cohen was voted among the "Thirty under Thirty" top young PR and media professionals in the UK by Mediaweek

Mediaweek

Mediaweek was a New York–based trade magazine owned by e5 Global Media. It is part of Adweek Media Group, which in October 2008 announced the merging of its three separate editorial teams into one. In 2011, Mediaweek and Brandweek were merged into Adweek.The chief editor was Michael Burgi....

. He was over the same period selected by UnLtd

UnLtd

UnLtd - The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom set up by seven organisations that promote Social entrepreneurship...

 and the Millennium Awards Trust as one of the UK's leading social entrepreneurs.

PRWeek also selected Cohen for their '29 Under 29' in 2006 and featured him in PRWeek's Powerbook of the Most Influential People in the UK PR Industry during 2009.

Cohen also appeared on Canada's national television network CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

, speaking about the 'Other 9/11' on which Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

initiated the non-violent movement (11 September 1906), in an effort to provide a message of hope rather than of fear on the 5th Anniversary of the Twin Towers Tragedy.

Examples of articles published

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/12/media_misleads_us_about_muslim.html Media's Complicity in Spreading Terror. Washington Post

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/apr/21/istanbul-alliance-civilisations?commentpage=1 Interfaith dialogue needs to come from the Heart. Guardian Comment is free

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/04/global-tolerance-a-little-ray-of-sunshine-from-the-world-of-faith.html Save the World in Eight Great Ways. Times Online Articles of Faith April 28, 2009