Happy International Firefighters Day

May 04, 2018

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“The role of a firefighter in today’s society – be it urban, rural, natural environment, volunteer, career, industrial, defence force, aviation, motor sport, or other is one of dedication, commitment and sacrifice – no matter what country we reside and work in. In the fire service we fight together against one common enemy – fire – no matter what country we come from, what uniform we wear or what language we speak.”
– Lt JJ Edmondson, 1999

Firefighters dedicate their lives to the protection of life and property. Sometimes that dedication is in the form of countless hours volunteered over many years, in others it is many selfless years working in the industry. In all cases it risks the ultimate sacrifice of a firefighter’s life.

International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is a time where the world’s community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions.

International Firefighters’ Day is observed each year on 4th May. On this date you are invited to remember the past firefighters who have died while serving our community or dedicated their lives to protecting the safety of us all. At the same time, we can show our support and appreciation to the firefighters world wide who continue to protect us so well throughout the year.

By proudly wearing and displaying blue and red ribbons pinned together or by participating in a memorial or recognition event, we can show our gratitude to firefighters everywhere.

The IFFD ribbons are linked to colours symbolic of the main elements firefighters work with – red for fire and blue for water. These colours also are internationally recognised as representing emergency service.

On the first Sunday in May at noon please Sound Off in respect of past firefighters.

A special time to stop and reflect on the sacrifices made by firefighters is held on the first Sunday in May at noon local time each year when fire sirens sound for 30 seconds followed by a minute’s silence in memory of, and respect for, all firefighters who have been lost in the line of duty or passed on before us. This is known as the “Sound Off“.

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Happy International Lumpy Rug Day

May 03, 2018

Daily Best

Rugs, a piece of decoration that are the foundation of design in many homes. Cultures all over the world have developed their own rugs, complete with colors, patterns, and unique weaving styles that say “this is us, our rugs, our culture.” But rugs are meant to be soft and comfortable on the feet, a way to turn a cold and uninviting wooden or dirt floor into a luxurious experience. Lumpy Rug Day reminds us that smooth, plush rugs are wonderful for the feet, but lumpy rugs are an unfortunate thing indeed.
History of Lumpy Rug Day
Rugs as we’ve mentioned have been around through every culture for centuries. There are different kinds of rugs, as many as you could imagine, including plush wool rugs, plastic woven rugs, intricate grass mats (which are technically a rug), just to name a few. If materials exist that can be woven together, they’ve likely been utilized to create a comfortable floor covering for homes. They serve important roles in homes as well, keeping bare feet off of cold stone, wood, or dirt floors. They help to suppress dust, as well as providing a colorful decoration to lighten up a room.

Lumpy Rug Day was established to encourage people to pay attention to their lumpy rugs. Over time fibers can get pulled and bunch up, creating an unfortunate lump in the rug. But is it so unfortunate? No rug can go forever without gathering a few lumps of its own, and maybe the appropriate thing to do is appreciate it for the age and character given. Or, if you want to restore the plush comfort of your rugs, you can take Lumpy Rug Day to repair your rug and restore it to its pristine state.

How to Celebrate Lumpy Rug Day
We’ve mentioned a couple of things you can do to celebrate lumpy rug day above, but how exactly do you repair a rug? Well, if you don’t know there are plenty of classes you can take to help show you how to repair your rugs. Maybe you have a rug of some age and don’t know its history, take it to an expert to identify your lumpy rug and tell you its origins. Lumpy Rug Day can also be a great opportunity to replace your old rugs, and who doesn’t like an updated look to their home? Get out there and honor your rugs, whether with a funeral for the old and worn, or a revitalization for a treasured antique.

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Happy International Scurvy Awareness Day

May 02, 2018

Daily Best

Today is International Scurvy Awareness Day. Its founders admit it is an exceptionally weird holiday and say they would like nothing more than to render it obsolete. As they point out on LimeStrong.com, although the cure for scurvy has been known for centuries, hundreds are diagnosed with it each year in the U.S. and around the world.

A single hospital, Bayside Medical Center in Springfield, MA, reported that from 2009 through 2014, thirty patients were examined for a variety of mysterious symptoms eventually identified as scurvy. Some doctors refer to it as a “million-dollar diagnosis” because it takes so many modern tests to find a disease considered non-existent in developed nations.

The folks at LimeStrong believe people are more likely to learn about scurvy’s effects—such as bleeding gums, tooth loss, and muscle weakness—if the facts are accompanied by a bit of humor and cats wearing fruit helmets. Scurvy can be prevented by eating a couple of servings of citrus fruits and vegetables, such as bell peppers and broccoli, per week.

Mr. Boots says, “Have a happy International Scurvy Awareness Day!” Who could say no to this face?

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Happy International Workers Day

May 01, 2018

Daily Best

Everybody loves to spend time on their hobbies–no matter whether you love shopping, diving, going to the cinema, travelling, hiking, or one of thousands of other leisure activities, you probably spend a large part of your life figuring out how to it more often. Unfortunately, however, the truth is that in order to have the money to do what you love to do, you also have to work. Of course, there are some lucky people among us truly love their jobs, but regardless of how much we enjoy doing our jobs, we have to do them. But we should also remember that each and every little job we do is necessary and valuable to society, from garbage man to nurse to teacher to policeman. Together, all of us build society, making it a better, safer place with each passing year. Now, isn’t that something worth celebrating? We think it is, so let’s celebrate International Workers’ Day together!

The History of International Workers’ Day

In the late 19th Century, trade union and labor movements grew right along with countless industries, prompting trade unionists to begin to choose various days to celebrate the people’s labor. In the United States and Canada, a September holiday called Labour Day, was first proposed in the 1880s. Several years later, in 1887, North America officially established Labor Day.
May 1st, on the other hand, was chosen for International Workers’ Day to commemorate the Haymarket affair of May 4th 1886 in Chicago, when an unidentified person threw a bomb at the police, who responded by opening fire on the workers, killing four of them. Today, International Workers’ day is celebrated on every continent.

How to Celebrate International Workers’ Day

This day was always meant to celebrate the work of the everyday man, so if you’ve been feeling a bit underappreciated recently, today is the day for you to do what you feel like doing and treat yourself! Take the day off (if it’s not a day off work in your country of residence) and go do something you want to do for a change. Has it been ages since you visited the mountains? Pack a lunch and spend the day enjoying nature and the view from the peak you decide to conquer. Has your back been causing you increasing discomfort recently? Time to make an appointment with a good masseuse! And if it’s been forever since you took the time to make yourself a decent meal, today is the perfect day to buy all of the ingredients you need and spend as much time as you need cooking something delicious and nutritious. If you’re feeling a bit more politically inclined, you could attend one of the many rallies or marches organized in many cities worldwide dedicated to raising awareness about wages and working conditions. After, the first step towards making any kind of change is making people aware of the issue!

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Happy International Jazz Day

April 30, 2018

Daily Best

International Jazz Day History

International Jazz Day serves as a celebration of jazz music and its contribution to education, peace, unity, dialogue and cooperation. Jazz is a form of music that was born in New Orleans in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Since then, it has spread around the world and evolved into many different types of jazz music.

International Jazz Day was designated by UNESCO in November of 2011 in an effort to highlight the role that jazz plays in uniting people from all over the world. It is celebrated annually on April 30th.

International Jazz Day Facts & Quotes

• Washington D.C. has been chosen as the International Jazz Day Global Host City for 2016. Paris, France, hosted the day in 2015.
• Nobody knows for sure where the word jazz originated. It is widely believed to come from the slang word jasm, though this is not confirmed.
• There are an estimated 33,000 jazz musicians in New York, which is considered a jazz music hub. Duke Ellington was one of these famous jazz musicians.
• If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know. – Louis Armstrong, influential early jazz musician
• As far as playing jazz, no other art form, other than conversation, can give the satisfaction of spontaneous interaction. – Stan Getz, American Jazz Saxophonist

International Jazz Day Top Events and Things to Do

• Attend the international Jazz Day Global Concert in Washington DC. The concert features internationally renowned jazz musicians. It is also broadcasted across the US on ABC and streamed around the world by the UN and UNESCO.
• Watch a movie about jazz and music. Some suggestions are: Whiplash (2014), Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959), Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and The Jazz Singer (1927).
• Donate to the Jazz Foundation of America. All funds donated are used to help preserve the interest of an art congress recently designated a rare and valuable national treasure.
• Spread awareness of social media by using the hashtags #jazzday, #jazz and #internationaljazzday.
• Visit one of many jazz museums or jazz concert halls in the US. There are many museums in the US located throughout the southern states up to New York.

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Happy International Dance Day

April 29, 2018

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International Dance Day is a global celebration of dance, created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), the main partner for the performing arts of UNESCO. The event takes place every year on 29th April, the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the creator of modern ballet. The day strives to encourage participation and education in dance through events and festivals held on the date all over the world. UNESCO formally recognize ITI to be the creators and organizers of the event.

About

Every year, since its creation in 1982, an outstanding dance personality is selected to write a message for International Dance Day. ITI also create a flagship event in a selected host city, at which there are dance performances, educational workshops, humanitarian projects and speeches made by ambassadors, dignitaries, dance personalities and the selected Message Author for that year.

The day is a celebration day for those who can see the value and importance of the art form dance, and acts as a wake-up-call for governments, politicians and institutions which have not yet recognised its value to the people.

Event

To mark International Dance Day each year, on the 29 April, the International Theatre Institute invites its members along with dancers, choreographers, dance students and enthusiasts to join them in a Gala Celebration.

The Gala Celebration takes place in a chosen host city decided on by the Executive Council of the International Theatre Institute – for instance in 2017 it was held in Shanghai, China, and in 2018 it will be held in Havana, Cuba 

The programme of the Gala Event can vary, but usually consists of top-quality dance performances from around the world, student performances, keynote speeches, and a recital of the Message for that year’s event read, in person, by that years selected message author.

In Shanghai 2017 for instance, the event became a three-day celebration with greater emphasis on education through dance workshops and presentations led by an international cast of dance experts. The evenings were reserved for performances, the finale of which was the Gala Celebration. The Shanghai event also had a humanitarian aspect, with much of its focus being on celebrating the achievements of disabled dancers and encouraging disabled children to dance 

Beyond the Gala itself, ITI Centres across the globe are encouraged to mark the 29th April in their own country through special educational initiatives, humanitarian drives, dance performances and festivals

Message Authors

To help publicise International Dance Day each year the International Theatre Institute selects an outstanding personality from the world of dance to be the Message Author for the event. In the message, it is hoped that the author can underline the relevance and power of dance. Past authors have included Trisha Brown, Alicia Alonso, and Merce Cunningham.

As 2018 marked the 70th Anniversary of ITI, 5 Message Authors were selected for the 2018 event, one from each of the 5 UNESCO Regions. The 5 authors were; Georgette GEBARA (Lebanon, Arab Countries), Salia SANOU (Burkina Faso, Africa), Marianela BOAN (Cuba, The Americas), Willy TSAO (China, Asia-Pacific) and Ohad NAHARIN (Israel, Europe).

List of past Message Authors

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Happy English Language Day

April 23, 2018

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English interpretation booth at a Security Council meeting. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

— William Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet"

English, along with French, is one of the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat, and one of the Organization's six official languages.

Because it is so widely spoken, English is often referred to as a "world language", or the lingua franca of the modern era.

Language Days at the UN

English Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. The Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the Department of Public Information, establishing language days for each of the Organization's six official languages. The purpose of the UN's language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.

Under the initiative, UN duty stations around the world celebrate six separate days, each dedicated to one of the Organization's six official languages.

Language Days at the UN aim to entertain as well as inform, with the goal of increasing awareness and respect for the history, culture and achievements of each of the six working languages among the UN community. 

23-30 April 23 April 11.30 a.m. - 3.30 p.m. 5-7 p.m. Starts at 4 p.m. on 23 April 23 April 12-2.15 p.m. 4-5.30 p.m. Photo Exhibit and Slide Show Joint Celebrations of English & Spanish Language Days Authors-for-Literacy event Quiz about English language English: a Nobel language E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E D A Y A T T H E U N UN OG UN HQ H IGH L IGH T S M O R E I N F O 2 3 A P RIL 2 018 Venue: Palais des Nations, UNOG Cinema Access: Open to all UNOG grounds pass holders Presented by the English Translation & Editorial Service of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, and the Office of Human Resources Management's Language and Communications Programme. Presented by the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA) and the Office of Human Resources Management's Language and Communications Programme. All contributions will benefit literary projects of UN Staff 1% for Development Fund. Photo exhibit and slideshow, quizzes, information table and reading of excerpts from Shakespeare & Cervantes. Reception followed by a conversation with award-winning fiction writer Elizabeth Strout and renowned novelist Katherine Vaz and acclaimed poet Major Jackson. Screening of The Remains of the Day, the film adaptation of Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel. Afternoon tea for all UNOG grounds pass holders, hosted by the UNOG Library Events Room (B-135). Events hosted by the UNOG Division of Conference Management in cooperation with the UNOG Library. More info: https://bit.ly/2HdtpB5 Venue: Albano Building, Lobby. Access: Open to all with UN grounds pass. Prizes: Various prizes Access: UN staff and interns. Available online (URL TBC) Venue: General Assembly Building, 3B, UN Learning Centre Access: Open to all UN grounds pass holders Venue: Secretariat Building, room S-310 Access: Open to all UN grounds pass holders English Language Day in words and pictures, presented by the English Translation & Editorial Service of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources Management's Language and Communications Programme. In its resolutions on multilingualism, the UN General Assembly has welcomed the language days established by the Secretariat in 2010, and called for their continued observance in order to raise awareness of the use of the official languages, and, where possible, other languages, at the UN. To learn more about UN Language Days : https://bit.ly/2vkMT5h To learn more about English Language Day at the UN: https://bit.ly/1o39RDN Presented by the Office of Human Resources Management's Language and Communications Programme.

Multilingualism and the UN

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