World Humanitarian Day
The World Humanitarian Day is celebrated annually on 19 August, and it pays tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and rallies support for people affected by crises around the world. The highest numbers of Humanitarian workers are young people. Therefore, in there challenging times, we highlight the importance of international actions, as the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the SDGs, for addressing the causes like climate change, poverty, and inequalities, underpinning humanitarian crises.
Last year, 475 aid workers were attacked, where 108 were killed, 242 were wounded, and 125 were kidnapped. This year, the World Humanitarian Day, highlights the immediate human cost of the climate crisis by pressuring world leaders to take meaningful climate action for the world’s most vulnerable people. Hence, the theme is “In the race against the climate crisis, we can’t leave anyone behind.” The climate emergency is wreaking havoc across the world at a scale that the humanitarian community and people at the front lines cannot manage.
International Youth Day
The International Youth Day is commemorated every year on August 12, it brings youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrates the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society. This day also highlights the success of any global effort that have been achieved with the meaningful participation of young people. On daily basis, young people and youth organisations are addressing issues and challenges that youth are facing on the basis of economic status, ethnic group, gender, and other characteristics.
The theme of International Youth Day 2021 is “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health” and it highlights the importance of working towards more equitable food systems. We are well aware that our food systems are unsustainable and it is through the knowledge and skills that young people possess that solutions shall derive. It is also a celebration on the role of young women and men as essential partners in change for a sustainable future.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People takes place every year on 9th of August and demands indigenous peoples’ inclusion, participation, and approval in the constitution of a system with social and economic benefits for all. Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people in the world, living across 90 countries, they speak 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.
Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct people. As we fight against the spread of the pandemic, it is more important than ever to safeguard indigenous peoples and their knowledge. Their territories are home to 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity and they can teach us much about how to rebalance our relationship with nature and reduce the risk of future pandemics.
International Day of Friendship
The International Day of Friendship is celebrated annually on 30 July with the idea that friendship between people, countries, and cultures can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities. The Friendship Day was originally created by the greeting card industry and was promoted by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark cards in 1919, then proclaimed by the United Nations’ General Assembly.
This day is observed not only on the recognition of friendship in the general sense but also its relevance and noble value that friendship has in the sentiment and lives of human beings around the world. Today, our world faces many challenges, crises, and forces of division like poverty, violence, and human rights abuses among many others that undermine peace, security, development, and social harmony among the people.
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is observed annually on July 30 to raise awareness about human trafficking and to promote and protect the rights of trafficking victims. People are trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced begging, forced marriage, for selling children and as child soldiers, as well as for removal of organs. Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights.
Every year, thousands of men, women, and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims. The 2020 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons draws on data from 148 countries and explores issues of particular relevance in the current crisis, including the impact of socio-economic factors, drivers of child trafficking and trafficking for forced labour, and traffickers’ use of the internet.