Tag Archives: UN Days

World Bicycle Day

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Also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, a bicycle is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. First introduced in the 19th century in Europe, by the early 21st century, more than 1 billion bicycles were in existence and these numbers far exceed the number of cars, both in total and ranked by the number of individual models produced. Bicycles are the principal means of transportation in many regions and also provide a popular form of recreation and have been adapted for use as children’s toys, general fitness, military and police applications, courier services, bicycle racing, and bicycle stunts. The basic shape and configuration of a typical upright or safety bicycle, has changed little since the first chain-driven model was developed around 1885, but many details have been improved, especially since the advent of modern materials and computer-aided design. These have allowed for a proliferation of specialized designs for many types of cycling.

The bicycle’s invention has had an enormous effect on society, both in terms of culture and of advancing modern industrial methods. Several components that played a key role in the development of the automobile were initially invented for use in the bicycle, including ball bearings, pneumatic tires, chain-driven sprockets and tension-spoked wheels. Although bike and cycle are used interchangeably to refer mostly to two types of two-wheelers, the terms still vary across the world. In India, for example, a cycle refers only to a two-wheeler using pedal power whereas the term bike is used to describe a two-wheeler using an internal combustion engine or electric motors as a source of motive power instead of a motorcycle or motorbike.

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In today’s hustle and bustle, bicycling allows us to exercise our muscles, cut back on fuel consumption as an alternative to driving a car and feel the wind in our hair. Providing a simple and sustainable means of transportation, riding a bicycle rejuvenates our physical and mental health, is good for the economy, and helps the environment. Regular physical activity of moderate intensity – such as walking, cycling, or doing sports – has significant benefits for health. At all ages, the benefits of being physically active outweigh potential harm, for example through accidents. Some physical activity is better than none. By becoming more active throughout the day in relatively simple ways, people can quite easily achieve the recommended activity levels.

According to the World Health Organization or the WHO, safe infrastructures for walking and cycling is also a pathway for achieving greater health equity. For the poorest urban sector, who often cannot afford private vehicles, walking and cycling can provide a form of transport while reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even death. Accordingly, improved active transport is not only healthy; it is also equitable and cost-effective. Meeting the needs of people who walk and cycle continues to be a critical part of the mobility solution for helping cities de-couple population growth from increased emissions, and improve air quality and road safety. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led many cities to rethink their transport systems.

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Acknowledging the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation, fostering environmental stewardship and health, the United Nations General Assembly decided to declare 3 June World Bicycle Day. World Bicycle Day draws attention to the benefits of using the bicycle — a simple, affordable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation. The bicycle contributes to cleaner air and less congestion and makes education, health care and other social services more accessible to the most vulnerable populations. A sustainable transport system that promotes economic growth and reduces inequalities while bolstering the fight against climate change is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Countries are encouraged to emphasise and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace.

So ride a bicycle today and celebrate this day in a fun and eco-friendly manner.

World Menstrual Hygiene Day

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Tomorrow is World Menstrual Hygiene Day. Initiated by the German non-profit WASH United in 2014, the day is a global day of action with more than 830 partner organisations working together to create awareness and action toward a world without period poverty and stigma. The date of 28 May represents the menstrual cycle which has an average duration of 28 days, with an average of five days of bleeding.

For some, menstruation may be an inconvenience they don’t give much thought to. But for millions of others, this most natural of reproductive cycle functions can equate to abuse because the onset of menstruation may lead to child marriage and sexual violence as well as violations of bodily autonomy; stigma which includes banishment to menstruation huts; missed opportunities where many girls skip school because of pain, discomfort and/or the lack of personal hygiene products; and loss of dignity due to the lack of supplies in humanitarian and refugee settings where even the basics like soap and water are in short supply or unavailable. Poor menstrual hygiene caused by a lack of education on the issue, persisting taboos and stigma, limited access to hygienic menstrual products and poor sanitation infrastructure undermines the educational opportunities, health and overall social status of women and girls around the world. As a result, millions of women and girls are kept from reaching their full potential.

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World Menstrual Hygiene Day promotes good menstrual health and hygiene for all women and girls. More specifically, the day breaks the silence, raises awareness and changes negative social norms around menstrual health and hygiene and engages decision-makers to increase the political priority and catalyse action for menstrual health and hygiene at global, national and local levels.

Recently, countries have made sanitary supplies free or tax-free to help fight period poverty. New Zealand, France and Namibia are the latest countries to announce such initiatives after Scotland became the first country to provide period products free to anyone who needed them last year. 

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The theme of this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day is Action and Investment in Menstrual Hygiene and Health. The Menstruation Bracelet is a global symbol for menstruation which stands for the commitment to create a world, by 2030, where no woman or girl is kept from realising her full potential because she menstruates. A world where menstruation is just a normal fact of life.

Today, millions of women and girls around the world are stigmatised, excluded and discriminated against simply because they menstruate. In 2022, it’s no longer acceptable that a natural bodily function prevents women and girls from getting an education, earning an income and fully and equally participating in everyday life. On this day, we should break the taboos and end the stigma surrounding menstruation and raise awareness about the challenges regarding access to menstrual products, education about menstruation and period-friendly sanitation facilities.

World Book and Copyright Day

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Tomorrow is World Book and Copyright Day, a day I enjoy and celebrate because well, books!

Celebrated on 23 April each year, the day is a celebration to promote the enjoyment of books and reading. The idea for celebrating this day originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, St George’s Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. The date of 23 April is also symbolic for world literature, for on this date and in the same year, 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. In the UK and Ireland, World Book Day is celebrated earlier in the year, usually on the first Thursday in March, to ensure it falls outside of school holidays.

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The pandemic and isolation we faced showed us how important books are to maintain mental balance. Books are an individual’s best friend and to those who do not like reading, I always say they haven’t found a book or genre they love yet. Books are amazingly powerful tools to combat isolation, reinforce ties between people, expand horizons and all this while stimulating our minds and creativity.

When one reads, they exercise their comprehension abilities and analytical abilities. Reading fires up the imagination and stimulates the memory centres of the mind, helps recall information as well as stabilise emotions. The importance of a reading habit is that it strengthens mental muscles. Reading is one of the best mental workouts there is and it has been found that regular mental stimulation can slow down and possibly even prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia because reading keeps the mind agile and young.

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Each year a city is designated as the World Book Capital that undertakes activities to encourage a culture of reading and diffusing its values in all ages and population groups in and out of their country’s borders and spend the year between one World Book and Copyright Day and the next to promote books and fostering a reading culture. The World Book Capital for 2022 is Guadalajara in Mexico. The city, already a UNESCO Creative City since 2017, was selected for its comprehensive plan for policies around the book to trigger social change, combat violence and build a culture of peace. Guadalajara’s proposed programme focuses on three strategic axes: regaining public spaces through reading activities in parks and other accessible places; social bonding and cohesion especially through reading and writing workshops for children; and strengthening of neighbourhood identity using intergenerational connections, story-telling and street poetry.

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Tomorrow, make sure you take some time to do some reading, be it a physical book or an e-book. Reading fiction can help one be more open-minded and creative, live longer and be successful in life. So grab a book, make time for yourself and discover new worlds.

World Creativity and Innovation Day

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Commemorated annually on 21 April, the World Creativity and Innovation Day raises awareness around the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving with the first World Creativity and Innovation Day celebrated on April 21, 2018. The purpose of the day is to encourage creative multidisciplinary thinking at the individual and group levels which has become the true wealth of nations in the 21st century.

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April 21 is also a week after the birthday of one of the greatest creative minds we know, Leonardo da Vinci who was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he also became known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and palaeontology. Leonardo’s genius epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works compose a contribution to later generations of artists matched only by that of his younger contemporary, Michelangelo.

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The World Creativity and Innovation Day is celebrated in conjunction with World Creativity and Innovation Week which takes place between 15 – 21 April. The theme of the day and week in 2022 is Collaboration and how creativity and collaboration contribute to sustainable development goals. Creative industries are critical to the sustainable development agenda because they stimulate innovation and diversification, are an important factor in the burgeoning services sector, support entrepreneurship, and contribute to cultural diversity.

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There is no universal understanding of creativity with the concept open to interpretation from artistic expression to problem-solving in the context of economic, social and sustainable development. According to the findings of the special edition of the Creative Economy Report, Widening Local Development Pathways, co-published by UNESCO and UNDP, creativity and innovation, at both the individual and group levels, have become the true wealth of nations in the 21st century. The creative economy including audiovisual products, design, new media, performing arts, publishing and visual arts, is a highly transformative sector of the world economy in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings. Culture is an essential component of sustainable development and represents a source of identity, innovation and creativity for the individual and community. At the same time, creativity and culture have a significant non-monetary value that contributes to inclusive social development, to dialogue and understanding between peoples. Therefore cultural and creative industries should be a part of the economic growth strategies. These industries are among the most dynamic sectors in the world economy, generating USD 2.25 billion in revenue and 29.5 million jobs worldwide. So countries are harnessing the potential of high-growth areas of the market for economic returns and poverty alleviation.

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Today all of us should embrace the idea that innovation is essential for harnessing the economic potential of nations. And the pandemic has shown us that innovation, creativity and mass entrepreneurship can provide new momentum for economic growth and job creation. It can expand opportunities for everyone, including women and youth, provide solutions to some of the most pressing problems such as poverty eradication and the elimination of hunger.

So to commemorate the day, go ahead and do something creative today. It could be as simple as trying a new recipe or as complicated as finding a solution to a pressing problem. But make sure you do something different, something creative and get out of your comfort zone.

World Poetry Day

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What comes to your mind when the word poetry is uttered? Boring, maybe? Or profound or even life-changing perhaps? It is that and much more. Poetry is literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. Poetry is probably as old as language and history, present wherever religion is present, possibly the primal and primary form of languages. Poetry is the other way of using language.

To celebrate one of celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity, World Poetry Day is celebrated annually on 21 March. Practised throughout history, in every culture and on every continent, poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.

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21 March was adopted as World Poetry Day in 1999, in Paris, to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increase the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard. World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media as well as give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements. It also supports linguistic diversity through poetic expression and offers endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities.

It was generally celebrated in October, but in the latter part of the 20th century, the world community celebrated it on 15th October, the birthday of Virgil, the Roman epic poet and poet laureate under Augustus. The tradition to keep an October date for national or international poetry day celebrations still holds in many countries. In the United Kingdom, the day is celebrated on the first Thursday in October, but elsewhere a different October, or even sometimes a November date, is celebrated.

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World Poetry Day is celebrated around the world in readings and ceremonies honouring poets of high achievement as well as in teaching the craft to aspiring writers. A day dedicated to poetry: an art form that has persisted for millennia and continues to enrich our understanding of the human condition to this day. With the rise of technology and smartphones, some might believe that poetry might be a dying art. However, this very day aims to get rid of these misconceptions. In many educational institutions, poetry competitions are held to encourage young students to write. With the help of other mediums such as theatre, poetry is promoted in different parts of the world. As poetry continues to bring people together across continents, let’s join in by reading some classic poetry in English and other languages and diving into the beauty of the language and word-play.