Millennium Goals &Climate Change
These International Days reflect important
themes in the mobilisation of energies to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals by 2015, halving extreme poverty in the world; and respond to the
urgent needs of climate change ...
.
2008 International Years
- International Year of Planet Earth
- International Year of Sanitation
- International Year of Languages
- International Year of the Potato
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November 6
International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
In earlier times it was not uncommon for the environment to be damaged in warfare - crops were destroyed, water supplies poisoned and forests set alight. Modern technologies mean that environmental damage from wars can be far more serious and the consequences more long-term. The damage often extends beyond the limits of national territories and the present generation.
This Day reminds us that it is not only people who suffer in times of war. As universal ethics condition the conscience of humanity, there is a growing sense of responsibility for the well-being of all life on Earth: minerals, plants & animals.
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/environment_war/index.html
November 14
World Diabetes Day
2008 theme: Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
Over 240 million people are today living with diabetes - and it is one of the most common diseases of childhood.
The World Diabetes Day Campaign aims to raise awareness of the rising prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Early diagnosis and early education are crucial to reducing complications and saving lives. The healthcare community, educators, parents and guardians must join forces to help children living with diabetes, prevent the condition in those at risk, and avoid unnecessary death and disability.
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/
November 16
International Day for Tolerance
Tolerance and the celebration of diversity are two of the essential characteristics of the emerging mind and heart. Yet while the sense of wholeness and universal responsibility grows, the absence of tolerance and the emotional power of intolerance continues to fuel violent and separative movements in all parts of the world.
This is an important day to give energy, love and support to the countless initiatives around the world designed to nourish and nurture the growing spirit of tolerance and universal responsibility. It is observed as a day to promote Tolerance Education and to reflect on how tolerance can best be fostered in our communities, particularly in divided communities.
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/tolerance/
November 16
World Day for Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims and their Families
Worldwide, over 3,000 people are killed and 100,000 injured every day on the road. The price in terms of human loss, grief and care is immeasurable.
The Day of Remembrance responds to the great need of road crash victims for public recognition, which is so readily given to victims of other types of disaster. It also acknowledges the work of all those involved in the aftermath of a crash - fire, police and ambulance personnel, doctors, nurses and counsellors.
http://www.roadpeace.org/index.asp?PageID=93
November 19
World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse
Held each year the day before Universal Children's Day, this is a day to focus on the creation of a culture of prevention of child abuse - particularly sexual abuse of children. A coalition of organizations from around the world organizes a range of activities on the Day to raise awareness of the problem and to promote various prevention programmes.
http://www.woman.ch/children/1-introduction.php
November 20
Universal Children's Day
One of the outstanding keynotes of our present time is the focus that is being put on children: the rights of children; the needs of children; the importance of considering children in every area of life. At a global level this is reflected in The Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty that is transforming the lives of children and their families around the world. Under the Convention all but two of the world's countries have agreed to meet universal standards, guaranteeing children the rights to survival, health, education, a caring family environment, play and culture ….
Universal Children's Day is observed on different days in different countries. It is a Day to celebrate children and to empower the vision of an interdependent world of families, communities and nations in which the rights and needs of children are accorded the highest priority. 20 November marks the day in which the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
There is no clearer way of measuring the progress we are making as a global community in acting on the ethics of universal responsibility than by measuring the progress we make in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Please hold this process in the light on Universal Children's Day.
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/children_day/index.html
November 25
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Worldwide, a quarter of all women are raped during their lifetime. Depending on the country, 25 to 75 percent of women are regularly beaten at home. Over 120 million women have undergone female genital mutilation. Rape has devastated women, girls and families in recent conflicts in Rwanda, Cambodia, Liberia, Peru, Somalia, Uganda and the former Yugoslavia.
"We need to say, 'No more and never again'", states Noeleen Heyzer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). "If we commit ourselves to creating a world free from violence against women and girls, our children will say we stopped the most universal and unpunished crime of all time against half the people of the earth."
This is a vital Day to hold in the light. It is a Day to reflect on the most fundamental issues of our times: human rights, freedoms and responsibilities; peace and security; the rise of the feminine.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/campaigns/stop-violence-against-women; http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/violence/index.html;
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/
November 28/29
Buy Nothing Day
Traditionally the weekend following Thanksgiving Day see some of the biggest shopping sprees of the year in the USA - and this is when hundreds of thousands of people around the world will be encouraging consumers to move towards a simpler lifestyle, and to Buy Nothing. In Canada and USA the Day takes place on the Friday following Thanksgiving Day - elsewhere on the following Saturday.
It's a day where you challenge yourself to switch off from shopping and tune into life.
http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/; http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd
November 29 - December 2
Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus - Doha, Qatar
This will be an extremely significant conference to review arrangements for funding development programmes in Third World countries - it is especially important in the light of the current financial situation and in the context of the Millennium Development Goals. In addition to the official negotiations of governments there will be a major conference of Civil Society
http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/doha/index.htm; http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/newsletter/index.htm |
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