World Teachers' Day is co-convened by UNICEF, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Education International. It marks the adoption in 1994 of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers which sets out teacher rights and responsibilities, standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. Sustainable Development […]
The first World Migratory Bird Day in 2006 was to counter some of the negative publicity migratory birds were receiving at the peak of the Avian Influenza discussion. Themes in subsequent years included: the plight of migratory birds due to global warming (2007) migratory birds as messengers for the conservation of biodiversity worldwide (2008) the […]
World Post Day marks the 1874 establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland. The postal network comprises more than 650,000 offices and 5.3 million staff and public service mandates to deliver services to anyone, anywhere. The Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s […]
Mental health is about what is going well. It is an individual's state of well-being and their capacity to thus realise their potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and contribute to community. World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues and mobilise efforts in support […]
Across the world, nearly 1 in 4 girls aged 15 to 19 years is neither employed nor in education or training compared to 1 in 10 boys of the same age. By 2021, around 435 million women and girls will be living on less than $1.90 a day. 1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced […]
According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), from 2000 to 2019, there were 7,348 major recorded disaster events claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4.2 billion people and resulting in approximately US$2.97 trillion in global economic losses. International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and […]
Women and girls play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing. Accounting for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labour force, including informal work, females perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within families and households in rural areas and make significant […]
Global Handwashing Day is to acknowledge the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives. It is an opportunity to design, test, and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times. Handwashing with soap contributes to better health, nutrition, […]
Over 2 billion people do not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. An estimated 770 to 820 million people are hungry. The impact of malnutrition in all its forms (under-nutrition, micro-nutrient deficiencies) and of obesity on the global economy is estimated at $US 3.5 trillion per year. There is a clear need […]
The statistics on poverty are shameful. The World Bank estimates that 9.2% of the world, or 689 million people, live in extreme poverty on $1.90 or less a day. Children and youth account for two-thirds of the world’s poor, and women represent a majority in most regions.Extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, and […]