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UNITED NATIONS

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Thu, 01/11/2012 - 01:39 — admin
25/11/2012 00:00
25/11/2012 11:59

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is a United Nations initiative that is celebrated on 25th November. It is a global campaign, which reinforces the need to actively stop violence against anyone, particularly women.

International Day of Peace

Thu, 31/05/2012 - 01:45 — admin
21/09/2012 00:00

The International Day of Peace was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.

It is designed to remind people around the world, regardless of their race, colour, nationality or social class, that peace is the ultimate goal of human society. Anyone is able to make a contribution by simply lighting a candle at noon, or just sitting in silent meditation. Or it can involve getting your co-workers, organisation, community or government engaged in a large event. The impact if millions of people in all parts of the world, coming together for one day of peace, is immense.

International Day for Tolerance

Wed, 30/05/2012 - 12:00 — admin
16/11/2012 00:00
16/11/2012 23:59

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for Tolerance is annually observed on November 16 to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and to help them understand the negative effects of intolerance.

International Volunteer Day

Wed, 30/05/2012 - 11:00 — admin
05/12/2012 00:00
05/12/2012 00:00

International Volunteer Day (IVD) was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. IVD is now celebrated worldwide with thousands of volunteers involved in a range of IVD initiatives including clean-up campaigns, conferences, exhibitions, morning teas and many other activities all aimed to highlight the role of volunteers in their communities.


Volunteering Australia supports IVD and encourages all volunteer based organisations to be involved and celebrate volunteering.


Evil triumphant or a revolt at the PNG palace?

Tue, 29/05/2012 - Jonathan Ritchie
Jonathan Ritchie's picture

The battle between Papua New Guinea's government and its judiciary has triggered a parliamentary move for a state of emergency in Port Moresby. Jon Ritchie says it's important that PNG doesn't stage its own brutal Arab Spring.

 

Feeding the world, all seven billion

Wed, 09/05/2012 - Noby Leong
Noby Leong's picture

In a world where more than one billion people are overweight and 800 million are undernourished it's easy to see why global food security is a complex issue. Noby Leong looks at the challenge of feeding a hungry world.

International Youth Day

Tue, 03/04/2012 - 11:00 — admin
12/08/2012 00:00
12/08/2012 23:59

International Youth Day falls on 12 August every year. It is selected by the United Nations to raise awareness of youth issues and promote the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) adopted by the General Assembly in 1995. Youth organisations around the world can make full use of the resources provided by the UN. They are encouraged to find inspiration from the creative programme ideas on the WPAY website and organize commemoration activities of their own.

Rio+20 -- United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

Thu, 22/03/2012 - 00:30 — admin

The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, will be hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janerio on 20 to 22 June. It marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) which was held in the same city, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

The theme for Rio+20 will be twofold:  a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and the institutional framework for sustainable development. Head of State and Government and other representatives at high level are expected to attend the conference and produce fruitful results.

World Environment Day : green economy, does it include you?

Wed, 21/03/2012 - 18:55 — admin

United Nations World Environment Day (WED) on June 5 is a day to celebrate positive environmental action. It aims to raising environmental awareness and encouraging participation by all.

This year the WED theme is “Green Economy: Does it include you?” Green economy is defined by the UN Environment Programme as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.  You can find more about the definition of  green economy here.
 
In support of UNEP World Environment Day, the United Nations Association of Australia runs a World Environment Day Awards program each year, recognising outstanding environmental initiatives and programs across the country. Nominations for this year’s award are now open. Find more information here.

World Book and Copyright Day

Tue, 20/03/2012 - 10:30 — admin

The 23 April is a day of special significance in the world of literature as some of the greatest authors such as Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died on this date in 1616. It was therefore selected as World Book and Copyright Day by the UNESCO in 1995 to pay tribute to books and authors. It serves as a reminder, especially to the youth, of the enormous contributions made by the prominent authors and the captivating charm of reading.

In Australia, Book Week is held by the CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) to celebrate books and Australian authors and illustrators. Schools and libraries will join in the festival to draw more attention to the importance of reading and encourage the younger generation to develop a love for books.
 
The date for Book Week 2012 will be Saturday 18 – Friday 24 August. The theme in 2012 is Champions Read. Merchandise for this theme will be found here.