The UN is currently observing 218 international days (and more)!
The tradition began long before the founding of the UN in 1945, but it wasn’t long before the Organization and its growing membership embraced designated days as a powerful tool for advocacy.
Watch this classic video from 2017 celebrating the International Day of Happinesscelebrated on March 20:
Who chooses the days?
One of the first indications came from the 1947 UN General Assembly declaration that October 24 should be celebrated as United Nations Daythe anniversary of the adoption of the UN Charter who founded the organization.
Since then, UN member states have proposed more than 200 appointments and submitted draft resolutions to the General Assembly for all members, representing 193 countries, to vote.
UN photo/Manuel Elias
UN member states celebrate the first World Football Day at UN Headquarters in New York.
Other specialized UN agencies have also made designations, such as World AIDS Daydeclared by the World Health Organization (WHO) members and celebrated annually on December 1 to bring people around the world together to show international solidarity in the face of the pandemic.
The Assembly created the majority of global celebrations, declaring them by a two-thirds majority vote in favor of resolutions outlining the reasoning behind each day.
What are the latest days?
The world organization declared its last global day last month. She unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming May 25 World Football Day2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the first international football tournament in history to include representation from all regions as part of the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The celebrations started at the UN Headquarters, where UN Member States held a special meeting to mark the occasion.
That took place one day after another new designation was first celebrated on May 24, 2024. International Markhor Day celebrates the iconic and ecologically important species found in mountain ranges from Afghanistan to Turkmenistan.
Unsplash/Andrey Sokolov
On May 24, 2024, the world celebrated the first ever International Markhor Day.
Making rare exceptions
Sometimes there are exceptions.
In 1971, then UN Secretary General U Thant declared April 22 as the world’s first Earth Day.
But it took the General Assembly 38 years to catch up on declaring a global environment day.
Watch VN videos Stories from the UN Archives episode about the UN chief’s declaration on Earth Day in 1971 below:
In 2009, the UN member states designated June 5 as World Environment Day.
That global designation has since grown into the planet’s largest ecology-focused day, celebrated annually around the world.
Check out this year’s call to join #GenerationRestoration and celebrate this day below:
A doubling of the days
Over the decades the calendar has become a bit busy.
That’s why some days are divided. On June 5, as the world commemorates ecology, it will also commemorate… International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.
One of the busiest days is March 21, which is designated by the UN member states as the start of the Week of solidarity with the peoples who fight against racism and racial discrimination just like the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Nowruz International Day And World Down Syndrome Day.
There was also room on the calendar for March 21 World Poetry Daydeclared by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) membership.
Watch this epic VN video episode from its Stories from the UN Archivescollectionwhen American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou read The human family at the UN in 1996:
Highlighting global issues
International days can mobilize political will and resources to address global issues while celebrating and strengthening human achievements.
By creating special celebrations, the UN promotes global awareness and action in this area.
Most importantly, governments, civil society, the public and private sectors, schools, universities and citizens can make an international day a springboard for raising awareness.
‘Make every day Mandela Day’
The UN views international days as opportunities to educate the general public on issues of importance, or to mark an important day or figure in history.
That was at International Nelson Mandela Day. Celebrated annually on July 18, the birthday of South Africa’s late first democratically elected president, who fought and won against apartheid after being jailed for 27 years for standing up for civil rights.
Watch the message from the UN on the very first Mandela Day in 2010:
What year is this?
The UN also observes designated weeks, years and decades, each with a theme or topic.
We are now halfway through Year of the Camelidsthose trusty dromedaries that the UN has relied on for decades to provide life-saving aid to remote communities and peacekeepers on their missions.
The UN General Assembly declared 2024 the year of these heroes of the deserts and highlands.
Why? From alpacas to Bactrian camels, dromedaries, guanacos, llamas and vicuñas, camelids contribute to food security, nutrition and economic growth and also have strong cultural and social significance for communities around the world.
Camelids also play a key role in the culture, economy, food security and livelihoods of communities in the Andean highlands and in the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia, including indigenous peoples.
Plus, they’re just plain cute.
What is the world commemorating this week?
Discover all the UN days and weeks observed throughout the year here.
Coral Reef Image Bank/Tracey Jen
A school of Trevally fish in the Solomon Islands.
Click on the links below to find out more about the origins of each day and the activities happening around the world this week and stay informed UN news:
