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 hold these events in the light of a Higher Wisdom.
Millennium Goals & Climate Change
These International Days and events reflect important themes in the mobilization of energies to:
- fulfill the historic promise made by world leaders in 1999 to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, halving extreme poverty
- to respond appropriately to the urgent needs of climate change
- and to engage people of goodwill all over the world in the process of defining new Sustainable Development Goals to replace the Millennium Development Goals that expire in 2015.
2015 United Nations International Years
- International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies
- International Year of Soils
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 July the Spiritual Caucus is on a summer break.
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July 11 - 31 Please Hold These Events in the Light
July 11
Action 2015 Global Day of Action
Just before the Financing for Development Conference begins in Addis Ababa rallies, gatherings and flashmobs are scheduled to take place across the globe calling on leaders to pay attention to the Conference. The campaigns will be organised by a coalition of 1600 organisations from around the world working ubnder the banner action/2015.
action2015.org
July 13 - 16
Financing for Development : Third International Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
At the Third International Conference on Financing for Development governments will be setting out how they will achieve their goals on poverty elimination and sustainability – focussing particularly on what financial energy will be needed to meet the goals and how that energy will be generated.Activists from civil society will also be gathered at Addis Ababa for the conference.
Meditators are encouraged to work with the visualization for this conference offered by the Cycle of Conferences Initiative of World Goodwill. The intention is to visualize a lighted seed of ‘will energy’ pouring into the heart of the thinking, negotiating and planning that will take place during the Addis Ababa conference.
www.un.org/esa/ffd/
csoforffd.wordpress.com/cso-forum/
www.lucistrust.org/cycle/
July 18
Nelson Mandela International Day
This international conference is a contribution to the International Year of Light. In colloquial language, light means knowledge: "I have a light!" In the natural world, the term has a larger dimension, grouping together three main functions: energy, information, and the rhythm of time. All of them are somehow different expressions of "knowledge"
www.fiatluxconference.com/
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 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
2015 theme: Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.
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".
Consuming with care means living within planetary boundaries to ensure a healthy future where our dreams can be realized. Human prosperity need not cost the earth. Living sustainably is about doing more and better with less. It is about knowing that rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts that occur are not a necessary by-product of economic growth.
www.unep.org/wed/
June 7 - 13
Global Sharing Week
Global Sharing Week is the world's largest people-driven campaign raising public awareness to the rapidly growing Sharing Economy. GSW raises the profile of over 8000 sharing services around the world to show people, communities and businesses how embracing the sharing economy is a fun and easy way to connect to each other, manage resources more efficiently, while at the same time getting greater value for money!
www.thepeoplewhoshare.com/
Theme for 2015: Healthy oceans, Healthy Planet
Described as the world's largest celebration of the oceans, 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!
worldoceansday.org/
www.un.org/en/events/oceansday/
June 8 - 10
Resilient Cities 2015, Annual Global Forum, Bonn, Germany
Resilient Cities is an important annual global forum, held in Bonn, Germany, on the theme of urban resilience and climate change adaptation. Local government leaders from around the world meet with climate change adaptation experts to plan the urban response to climate change.
resilientcities2015.iclei.org
June 9 - 18
Globe at Night Citizen Science campaign
The Globe at Night program is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations to a website from a computer or smart phone. It marks an important contribution to the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.
www.globeatnight.org
June 10 - 11
Social Innovation Summit, Washington DC, USA
2015 theme: Be an Agent for Change
Business Innovation Meets Social Transformation . The annual Summit brings together leaders from around the world who are working in the nexus of technology, investment, philanthropy, international development, and business.
www.socinnovation.com
June 10 - 13
Désertif'Actions International Forum, Montpellier, France
This is a major Civil Society International Forum dedicated to land degradation and combatting desertification. Civil society organizations, scientists, local government, farmer organizations, private and public institutions… will meet in Montpellier in order to share their concerns and build common positions on desertification and land degradation under a changing climate and its consequences in northern and southern countries!
www.desertif-actions.fr/en/
June 12
World Day Against Child Labour
Theme for 2015: NO to child labour – YES to quality education!
The most recent global estimates suggest some 120 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour, with boys and girls in this age group almost equally affected. This persistence of child labour is rooted in poverty and lack of decent work for adults, lack of social protection, and a failure to ensure that all children are attending school through to the legal minimum age for admission to employment.
www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/wdacl/
www.un.org/en/events/childlabourday/
June 15
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
The global population of people aged 60 years and older will more than double, from 542 million in 1995 to about 1.2 billion in 2025. Around 4 to 6% of elderly people have experienced some form of maltreatment at home. Elder maltreatment can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences. The incidence of abuse towards older people is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.
www.un.org/en/events/elderabuse/
June 16 - 17
Desertland II Conference, Ghent, Belgium
June 17
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
2015 theme: No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soils
The world's most significant non-renewable resource is fertile soil, which is the peel of productive land. Nevertheless, each year 12 million ha of land, the area three times the size of Switzerland, are lost due to desertification. Land degradation directly affects 1.5 billion people globally.
www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/WDCD/
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.un.org/en/events/refugeeday/
June 21
International Day of Yoga
In December, 2014 the UN General Assembly unanimously voted to declare June 21st International Day of Yoga. Proposing the Day during his address to the General Assembly, Indian President, Narendra Modi commented: Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change.
www.un.org
June 22 - 25
UN Post-2015 Intergovernmental Negotiations: Negotiations on the Outcome Document
In September the major re-focus of the United Nations Development Agenda will take its final form with a Declaration of a set of transformative Sustainable Development Goals to guide and inspire action for the next 15 years. During this negotiation session governments will focus on the Declaration Document.
These negotiations are all of enormous significance as a new vision of the future takes its final shape
sustainabledevelopment.un.org
sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgsproposal
June 23
International Widow's Day
This United Nations Day 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.
www.un.org/en/events/widowsday/
June 26
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
June 26
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
2015 theme: Right to Rehabilitation This Day is widely observed as a focal point for a global campaign to eradicate torture. The campaign is co-ordinated by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. On this day events will be held all over the world in support of victims of torture.
In most cases the crime of torture is commited with impunity - no one is prosecuted or punished.
www.irct.org/Default.aspx?ID=6182
www.un.org/en/events/torturevictimsday/
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