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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 hold these events in the light.
Millennium Goals & Climate Change
These International Days reflect important themes in the mobilisation of energies to:
2011 United Nations International Years
Silence at the United Nations
The Spiritual Caucus at the United Nations gathers within UN Headquarters in New York (October - 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 Meditation Room in the public lobby of UN Headquarters in New York.
Please link in from wherever you are. More information at: http://www.spiritualcaucusun.org/
In June the Spiritual Caucus will meet on June 2 for silence in the Meditation Room at UN Headquarters and on June 16 for silence and discussion in the NGO Resource Room at UN Headquarters, NY.
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June Please Hold These Events in the Light
May 29 - June 4
World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel
May 31 - June 3
Summit of the Tropical Forest Basins of the World, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
Heads of State and senior officials from more than 35 countries covering the world's major rainforest regions will meet in Brazzaville to consider the common problems facing the sustainable management of these forest ecosystms.
The Amazon Basin of South America, the Congo Basin in Central Africa, and the Borneo-Mekong Basin in South-East Asia will be represented at the Summit. These make up 80 per cent of the world's rainforests and contain two thirds of its biodiversity. The Summit is a contribution to the International Year of Forests.
www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38099&Cr=forest&Cr1
June 2
UN General Assembly Debate on the Green Economy
UN Member States will discuss and debate The Green Economy: A Pathway to Sustainable Development.
The debate aims to strengthen the understanding of green economy and of what the international community, each Member State and local communities can do to transition to green economy. Through moderated panel discussions and interactive dialogue, delegates and other participants will be able to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and strategies for advancing a green economy.
www.un.org/en/ga/president/65/initiatives/ge.shtml
June 4
International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
This international day acknowledges the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse - and affirms a commitment to protect the rights of children. The statistics of child abuse in its many, many forms are horrendous. They include over 2 million children killed in conflict in the last two decades; around 10 million child refugees cared for by UNHCR; in the Latin America & Caribbean region 80 thousand children die every year from violence that breaks out within the family ...
Humanity is organising as never before to put children first in the process of building a better world, and this Day also celebrates the millions of individuals and organizations working to protect and preserve the rights of children. UNICEF devotes considerable resources to the protection of children and and conducts annual surveys tracking progress in the rights of the child: We strive towards the day when nations will be judged not by their military or economic strength, nor by the splendour of their capital cities and public building, but by the well being of their children.
www.un.org/en/events/childvictimday/
June 5
World Environment Day
2011 theme: Forests: Nature at Your Service
Observed since 1972, World Environment Day is "considered by many to be the most important event on the environmental calendar". UNEP reports that the Day "inspires action by governments, individuals, non-governmental organisations, community and youth groups, business, industry and the media to improve their environment, including clean-up campaigns, tree planting, street rallies, exhibitions, green concerts, essays, painting and photographic competitions, recycling efforts and much more".
Internet-based applications, particularly the emergence of social networks, user-generated content, and micro-blogging have enabled nearly every Internet user to be a potential broadcaster with the ability to rapidly create, modify, and share digital content and knowledge with millions of other users both locally and globally.
This year's Day is linked with the International Year of Forests.
www.unep.org/wed/
World Oceans Day recognizes the importance and significance of international cooperation in caring for the well-being and sustainable management of the oceans.
The oceans of the world: Generate most of the oxygen we breathe; Help feed us; Regulate our climate; Clean the water we drink; Offer us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines; Provide limitless inspiration!
www.un.org/en/events/oceansday/index.shtml
June 8 - 10
UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS
Thirty years into the AIDS epidemic, and 10 years since the landmark UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, the world will come together to review progress and chart the future course of the global AIDS response at the 2011 UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS from 8-10 June 2011 in New York.
Member States are expected to adopt a new Declaration that will reaffirm current commitments and commit to actions to guide and sustain the global AIDS response.
http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/65/issues/hivaids.shtml
June 12
World Day Against Child Labour
2011 theme: Warning! Children in hazardous work - End child labour
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 115 million children are engaged in hazardous work likely to harm their health, saftey or morals. This is amongst the worst forms of child labour. Its elimination is a crucial part of a wider goal, pioneered by the ILO in cooperation with governments and trade unions around the world, to eliminate child labour by 2016.
www.un.org/en/events/childlabourday/
June 17
World Day to Combat Desertification & Drought
2011 theme: Forests keep drylands working
Up to one quarter of the world's surface is covered by dryland areas. The fragile environment of these areas is under serious threat — deserts are spreading at an alarming rate, and drought increasingly prevalent. More than 135 million people — the equivalent to the population of Germany and France combined — are at risk of being displaced as a consequence of desertification.
www.unccd.int/publicinfo/june17/2011/menu.php
June 20
World Refugee Day
A day to reflect on the scope of the refugee problem (there are some 19 million refugees under the care of the UN High Commission for Refugees); the immense personal, family and community suffering experienced by refugees; and the opportunities which the refugee crisis presents all peoples to act on their sense of interdependence and compassion.
www.unhcr.org/pages/4bf4f2616.html
June 21
World Peace and Prayer Day
A spiritual ceremony to unite all peoples in prayer, asking for Peace and Healing for Mother Earth, has been performed on this date by Chief Arvol Looking Horse, together with various other spiritual leaders since 1996. Chief Arvol is the leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Tribes of North America. They constitute the Great Sioux Nation. The ceremony has been performed in different locations around the world. From 2006 onwards the focus has shifted:
We are now promoting to create a mass awareness of "all nations, all faiths, one prayer" to encourage everyone to take time on June 21st and join in the united prayer/meditation to heal our Grandmother Earth. Whether it is a Temple, Church Congregation, religious organization or Mosques, if people are gathering in communities, openly upon the earth or Sacred Sites ...
www.wolakota.org/gathering.html
June 21 - 27
A Summer Feast for the Soul
June 23
International Widow's Day
This new event in the United Nations calendar seeks to raise awareness of the high levels of violence and deprivation faced by widow's in many parts of the world.
Widows are everywhere in the world, yet in many countries, they are nowhere to be seen or heard. They are hidden in the shadows, denied their basic rights and dignity. This [International Day] aims to shine a light on these women and their children, and put moral pressure on the guardians of the retrograde traditions that oppress them. Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, First Lady of Gabon.
articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-22/us/28267440_1_international-widows-day-raj-loomba-resolution
June 26
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
June 26
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
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