18th May ’24: International Museum Day

International Museum Day (IMD) is an international day held annually on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The event highlights a specific theme which changes every year reflecting a relevant theme or issue facing museums internationally. IMD provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and alert them as to the challenges that museums face, and raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society. It also promotes dialogue between museum professionals.

The first International Museum Day took place in 1977, coordinated by ICOM. IMD was established following the adoption of a resolution by ICOM to create an annual event “with the aim of further unifying the creative aspirations and efforts of museums and drawing the attention of the world public to their activity.” Each year, museum internationally are invited to participate in IMD to promote the role of museums around in the world. They do so through events and activities related to the annual theme. An annual theme for the event was first adopted in 1992. An international poster from ICOM was first developed in 1997, and in that year was adapted by 28 countries. In 2009, IMD attracted the participation of 20,000 museums hosting events in more than 90 countries. In 2010, 98 countries participated in the celebration, with 100 countries in 2011, and 30,000 museums in 129 countries in 2012. In 2011, the official IMD poster was translated into 37 languages. By 2014, 35,000 museums from 140 countries were taking part in IMD.

16th may (’24): International Day of Light

The International Day of Light is celebrated each year on May 16. Its purpose, per UNESCO, is to strengthen cooperation and leverage its potential to foster peace and development. Light-based technologies play an important role in education, science, art, culture, sustainable development, communications, energy and medicine. The annual celebration is organized by UNESCO

The first International Day of Light celebration was organized by UNESCO on May 16, 2018, the anniversary of the day in 1960 when engineer and physicist Theodore Maiman successfully fired the first laser. The International Day of Light followed the International Year of Light in 2015. The Day was proposed by Ghana, Mexico, New Zealand and the Russian Federation and was supported by UNESCO’s Executive Board. The UNESCO General Conference approved the proposal in November 2017.

The study of light, and light-based technologies, has helped us transform our world in extraordinary ways. Light-based technologies include microscopes, X-ray machines, telescopes, cameras, electric lights and television screens. The International Day of Light is intended to promote scientific cooperation and to harness the potential of science to foster peace and sustainable development.

26th december (’23): Boxing Day for some European countries and Boxing Day for English countries

On December 26th, Saint Stephen (the first martyr) is celebrated in Italy as well as in some other European countries such as Germany, Denmark, Austria, Ireland and Romania. In the countries of the United Kingdom and in many Commonwealth countries, Boxing Day is celebrated, a holiday to give gifts to the poor.

Perhaps the beauty is precisely this: celebrating two consecutive days… In countries like the USA, Christmas is probably perceived as a celebration with less concentration among relatives… because having two consecutive days of celebration really helps to organize lunches and dinners to be with even the most distant relatives and friends. Easter also has two consecutive public holidays (with Easter Monday) but it has a microscopic difference: Easter is a Sunday. Leaving aside the meaning of the celebration of December 26th which can have more or less correct justifications and values depending on where it is celebrated, I believe that the beauty of the holidays is precisely having two consecutive days.

19dec(’23): St. Darius

St. Darius (or Dario) is a saint of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. His feast day is celebrated October 21 (or December 19 in the Catholic Church).

Darius is mentioned in the old martyrologies as having been martyred in the 4th century in Nicaea alongside Zosimus, Paul and Secundus.

Their presence there points to the city having an active Christian population at the beginning of this century. Nicaea (now İznik) would become the site of the First Council of Nicaea (325) and the Second Council of Nicaea (787), respectively the first and seventh Ecumenical councils

Keith Richards (guitarist of the Rolling Stones) turns 80

Today one of the most famous guitarists on the world scene turns 80: Keith Richards. The Rolling Stones guitarist made music history with his group. What we need to reflect on is that although for years the members of the rolling stones were seen as irreverent men also with regards to the abuse of “unusual” substances (excluding the recently deceased drummer) the musicians are among the longest-lived of world bands.

Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and recording producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership with the band’s lead vocalist Mick Jagger is one of the most successful in history. His career spans over six decades, and his guitar playing style has been a trademark of the Rolling Stones throughout the band’s career. Richards gained press notoriety for his romantic involvements and illicit drug use, and he was often portrayed as a countercultural figure. First professionally known as Keith Richard, by the early 1970s he had fully asserted his family name.

Richards was born in and grew up in Dartford, Kent. He studied at the Dartford Technical School and Sidcup Art College. After graduating, Richards befriended Jagger, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Brian Jones and joined the Rolling Stones. As a member of the Rolling Stones, Richards also sings lead on some Stones songs. Richards typically sings lead on at least one song a concert, including “Happy“, “Before They Make Me Run“, and “Connection“. Outside of his career with the Rolling Stones, Richards has also played with his own side-project, The X-Pensive Winos. He also appeared in three Pirates of the Caribbean films as Captain Teague, father of Jack Sparrow, whose look and characterisation was inspired by Richards himself.

In 1989, Richards was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2004 into the UK Music Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him fourth on its list of 100 best guitarists in 2011. In 2023, Rolling Stone’s ranking was 15th.^[1] The magazine lists fourteen songs that Richards wrote with Jagger on its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.

18th december (’23): International Migrants Day

On 18 December 1990, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.^[1]

Each year on December 18, the United Nations, through the UN-related agency International Organization for Migration (IOM), uses International Migrants Day to highlight the contributions made by the roughly 272 million migrants, including more than 41 million internally displaced persons,^[2] and the challenges they face.

This global event, supported by events organized by IOM’s nearly 500 country offices and sub-offices as well as governmental, international and domestic civil society partners examines a wide range of migration themes, Social Cohesion, Dignity, Exploitation, Solidarity to advocate for migration guided by the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.

9th december (’23): International Anti-Corruption Day

International Anti-Corruption Day has been observed annually, on 9 December, since the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on 31 October 2003 to raise public awareness for anti-corruption.

The Convention states, in part, that the UN is:

concerned about the seriousness of problems and threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies, undermining the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice and jeopardizing sustainable development and the rule of law

and delegates to the convention the power to:^[3]

promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption more efficiently and effectively… promote, facilitate and support international cooperation and technical assistance in the prevention of and fight against corruption… [and] promote integrity, accountability and proper management of public affairs and public property…

The “Your NO Counts” campaign is a joint international campaign created by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to mark International Anti-Corruption Day (9 December) and raise awareness about corruption and how to fight it.^[4]^[5]

The 2009 joint international campaign focused on how corruption hinders efforts to achieve the internationally agreed upon Millennium Development Goals undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to human rights violations, distorts markets, erodes quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.^[5]

1°december’23: World AIDS day

AIDS is something that is always unpleasant to talk about but this does not mean we should refrain from talking about it. Sometimes AIDS is underestimated or it is believed that this disease can always happen to others, lowering caution and attention

World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who’ve died of the disease. The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The HIV virus attacks the immune system of the patient and reduces its resistance to other diseases. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations, and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control.World AIDS Day is one of the eleven official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Malaria Day, World Hepatitis Day, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, World Patient Safety Day and World Chagas Disease Day. As of 2020, AIDS has killed between 27.2 million and 47.8 million people worldwide, and an estimated 37.7 million people are living with HIV, making it one of the most important global public health issues in recorded history. Thanks to recent improved access to antiretroviral treatment in many regions of the world, the death rate from AIDS epidemic has decreased by 64% since its peak in 2004 (1.9 million in 2004, compared to 680 000 in 2020).

25 nov (’23): International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Resolution 54/134). The premise of the day is to raise awareness around the world that women are subjected to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden. For 2014, the official theme framed by the UN Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women, is Orange your Neighbourhood. For 2018, the official theme is “Orange the World:#HearMeToo”, for 2019 it is “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”, for 2020 it is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”, for 2021 it is “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!” and for 2023 it is “UNiTE! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls! #No Excuse”.

Historically, the date is based on the date of the 1960 assassination of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic; the killings were ordered by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930–1961). In 1981, activists at the Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Encuentros marked November 25 as a day to combat and raise awareness of violence against women more broadly; on February 7, 2000, the date received its official United Nations (UN) resolution. The UN and the Inter-Parliamentary Union have encouraged governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities to support the day as an international observance. For example, UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) observes the day each year and offers suggestions for other organizations to observe it. For 2014, the focus is on how violence cuts across all 12 of the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which turns 20 next year.

4 october ’23: World Animal Day

World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.The World Animal Day movement is supported and endorsed by a number of celebrities, such as Anneka Svenska, Brian Blessed and Melanie C.

World Animal Day, was originated by cynologist Heinrich Zimmermann. He organized the first World Animal Day on March 24, 1925, at the Sport Palace in Berlin, Germany. Over 5,000 people attended this first event. The activity was originally scheduled for October 4, to align with the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. However, the venue was not available on that day. The event was then moved to October 4 for the first time in 1929. Every year, Zimmermann worked tirelessly on the promotion of World Animal Day. Finally, in May 1931 at a congress of the International Animal Protection Congress in Florence, Italy, his proposal to make October 4 as World Animal Day universal was unanimously accepted and adopted as a resolution.It is sometimes cited, incorrectly, that World Animal Day started in 1931 at the convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy, who wished to highlight the plight of endangered species.In the Netherlands it is similarly well known as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. In 1948, Australian celebrations were organised by the RSPCA. According to The Examiner, the construction of a boarding home for dogs was scheduled and a donation had been received from the L.G.R.C. Since 2002, The Finnish Association of Animal Protection Associations (SEY) has organized various events during the Animal Week and distributed material to schools. On October 27, 2006, the Polish parliament adopted a resolution on the establishment of 4 October as Animal Day. In Argentina, Animal Day has been observed since 1908 and is loved, when it was spear headed by Ignacio Lucas Albarracín, director of the Zoological Garden and president of the Animal Protection Association of Buenos Aires. Initially the day was observed on April 2; it was moved after Albarricín died on April 29, 1926, to coincide with this day.[8]Since 2003, World Animal Day has been coordinated by UK based animal welfare charity, Naturewatch Foundation with a new World Animal Day website launched for the 2023 celebration.