Welcome
During International Days and major international conferences there is a special opportunity to serve in
the creation of a more unified and compassionate world.
As meditators we can symbolically stand together with all actively working in the spirit of the Charter of Compassion, and invoke the aid of the Forces of Light in support of these events.
Sustainable Development Goals & Climate Change
These International Days and events reflect important themes in the mobilization of energies to:
- End poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030 through practical actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
- engaging people of goodwill all over the world in a common movement.
2019 United Nations International Years
Silence at the United Nations
The Spiritual Caucus at the United Nations gathers in the vicinity of UN Headquarters in New York (September - June) on the third Thursday every month for 30 minutes of silence followed by 30 minutes of dialogue, sharing insights and exploring ways to use an inner focus in service of the work of the UN. On the 1st Thursday of the month the Caucus invites friends to sit in silence for 30 minutes in the newly renovated Meditation Room at UN Headquarters in New York.
Please link in from wherever you are. More information at: http://www.spiritualcaucusun.org/
In August the Spiritual Caucus is on a summer recess.
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August Please Hold These Events in the Light
August 6 & 9
Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Day will be observed in Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9 and around the world.
Many people commemorate this event by sending prayers to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
visithiroshima.net/
www.nbcmiami.com/news/
August 8 - 10
The Youth Assembly, Washington DC, USA
Theme 2019: New Horizons for Global Youth
Youth leaders from around the world (ages 16-25) gather every year for this Assembly organized by Friendship Ambassadors Foundation. The Assembly fosters youth action for sustainable development.
faf.org/
August 9
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
Theme 2019: Indigenous languages
This Day, together with the Second International Decade on the World's Indigenous People, is a sign of the growing concern for the rights and welfare of indigenous communities. In past decades they have suffered greatly as minorities in their own lands, yet the heart values, passion for the Earth, and holistic spiritual perspective found amongst many Peoples of the Earth are now seen as a source of inspiration.
Indigenous peoples contribute extensively to humanity's cultural diversity, enriching it with more than two thirds of its languages and an extraordinary amount of its traditional knowledge.
from State of the Worlds Indigenous People
This year's theme honors the UN 2019 International Year for Indigenous Languages.
www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday/
August 12
International Youth Day
Theme 2019: Transforming Education
This year's theme highlights efforts to make education more inclusive and accessible for all youth, including efforts by youth themselves.
Rooted in Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" — International Youth Day 2019 will examine how Governments, young people and youth-led and youth-focused organizations, as well as other stakeholders, are transforming education so that it becomes a powerful tool to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
www.un.org/en/events/youthday/
www.un.org/development/desa/
August 15
Full Moon — Leo
Since ancient times human beings have honored the full moon as a time when the sacred is most accesible. It is a time of light - the moon reflects the light of the sun onto the face of the earth. In astrology this is a time when the qualities and potentials of the zodiacal sign of the sun are especially available to humanity for use in service.
During the full moon religious and esoteric groups around the world use the opportunities of this time to vizualize light and love and spiritual power flowing into humanity and strengthening all that is being done to help prepare the way for a world of unity, justice and peace; a world in which the Sustainable Development Goals will be achieved.
www.lucistrust.org
August 19
World Humanitarian Day
Theme 2018 #WomenHumanitarians
This Day celebrates and shines a light on humanitarian aid workers around the world while also honoring those who have been killed or injured in the course of their work. The Day commemorates the tragic bombing of the UN Office in Iraq on 19 August 2003.
… we honor the work of women in crises throughout the world. We focus on the unsung heroes who have long been working on the front lines in their own communities in some of the most difficult terrains …. Women make up a large number of those who risk their own lives to save others.
www.un.org/en/events/humanitarianday/
August 19 - 21
Tenth Annual Ibadan Sustainable Development Summit, Ibadan, Nigeria
2019 theme: Building and Sustaining Strategic Partnerships for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
Organised in association with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, this conference has become well-known for forging partnerships between different stakeholders in sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
cesdev.ui.edu.ng/
August 21
International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism
First observed in 2018, this UN Day recognises that: While more countries are affected by terrorism today, the number of victims has largely been concentrated in a small number of Member States. In 2017 alone, nearly three-quarters of all deaths caused by terrorism were in just five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.un.org/victimsofterrorism/
August 22
International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
In May of 2019 the UN General Assembly resolved to observe this day. Freedom of religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of association are interdependent, interrelated and mutually reinforcing. They are enshrined in articles 18, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Upholding these rights plays an important role in the fight against all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief.
www.un.org/en/events/
August 23
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
This is a Day to celebrate humanity's achievement in abolishing the slave trade, and to reflect upon the history of the relations between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.
The process that led to the abolition of the slave trade began on the night of 22 to 23 August, 1791 when the slaves of Saint-Dominque and Haiti rose up in rebellion.
Meditators can reflect on the deep significance to the goodwill movement of the struggle against slavery, and its eventual abolition. This was a moral revolution of enormous significance. Yet although law abolished the slave trade, slavery continues to be practiced throughout the world, and the struggle against slavery continues in many fields of human relationship. The principles of freedom and human rights are now deeply ingrained in the conscience - the struggle is to bring these principles into expression.
www.unesco.org
en.unesco.org/commemorations/
August 25 - 30
World Water Week
2019 theme: Water for society: Including all
World Water Week in Stockholm, involving over 300 collaborating organizations, is the annual focal point for the globe’s water and development issues. World Water Week provides a unique forum for the exchange of views, experiences and practices between the scientific, business, policy and civic communities. It focuses on new thinking and positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world’s environment, health, climate, economic and poverty reduction agendas.
www.worldwaterweek.org/
August 25 - 30
68th United Nations Civil Society Conference, Salt Lake City, USA
Theme 2019: Building Inclusive and Sustainable Cities & Communities
Described as the premier event for NGO's at the UN, this years Civil Society Conference (Formerly known as the DPI/NGO Conference) will be attended by over 1000 people from more than 100 countries. This years gathering provides an opportunity for NGOs and UN officers to consider the significant challenges and opportunities facing cities in responding to the SDGs..
www.un.org/csc2019
August 29
International Day Against Nuclear Tests
On this United Nations Day the goal is to encourage governments, NGO's and all concerned parties to raise awareness of the need to ban nuclear tests as a valuable step to achieving a safer world.
It is a little known fact that, as a result of regional treaties, the entire southern hemisphere of the planet is now a virtual nuclear weapons free zone. On July 17 2017 the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted. This is the first multilateral legally binding instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been negotiated in 20 years, by 122 countries.
www.un.org/en/events/
August 30
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
Enforced disappearances (including arrests, detention and abduction)have frequently been used by military dictatorships and political groups to spread terror in a society and eliminate opposition.
Reflecting a growing concern amongst governments as well as people of goodwill, UN member states have recently adopted an International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and, since 2011, have observed August 30 as this International Day.
www.un.org/en/events/disappearancesday/
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