UN International Days from October 2009 to January 2010

The United Nations was built on spiritual principles and universal values such as peace, human rights, human dignity and worth, justice, respect, good neighbourliness, freedom, respect for nature and shared responsibility. TOS groups will therefore find that many UN designated International Days provide opportunities for promoting the theosophical principles underpinning TOS work as well as networking with similar community groups in supporting relevant UN activities.

October 1:  International Day of Older Persons

October 2:  International Day of Non-Violence (Gandhi’s birthday)

October 6:  World Habitat Day

October 8:  International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction

October 9:  World Sight Day
A worldwide initiative aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. About 37 million people worldwide are blind and 124 million people have poor vision. Three-quarters of cases of blindness are treatable or preventable. Without intervention, the number of people who are blind will increase to 75 million by 2020.

October 10: World Mental Health Day

October 15:  International Day of Rural Women

October 16:  World Food Day

October 17:  International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

October 24:  United Nations Day

October 24-30: Disarmament Week

November 6:   International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict

November 14: World Diabetes Day
This year the theme is Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. Diabetes causes about 5% of all deaths globally each year. 80% of people with diabetes live in low and middle income countries. Most people with diabetes in low and middle income countries are middle-aged (45-64), not elderly (65+). Diabetes deaths are likely to increase by more than 50% in the next 10 years without urgent action.

November 16: International Day for Tolerance

November 20: Universal Children's Day

November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

November 29: International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

December 1:   U.N. World AIDS Day

December 2:   International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

December 3:   International Day of Disabled Persons
The World Bank estimates that 20 per cent of the world’s poorest people have some kind of disability, and tend to be regarded in their own communities as the most disadvantaged.

December 5:   International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development

December 9:   International Anti-Corruption Day

December 10: Human Rights Day

December 18: International Migrants Day

December 20: International Human Solidarity Day

January 27:    International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of   Holocaust