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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 of a Higher Wisdom.
International Day Of Peace Report
September 21st
Peace Day was widely celebrated this year with local events in all parts of the world as well as major initiatives such as the Peace Week interviews. You can find a report on developments (including news of UN observations)and a full list at www.internationaldayofpeace.org
The Vigil co-ordinated by UN Days & Years Meditation Initiative & Intuition in Service attracted almost 500 participants from 38 countries. Spanning a period of almost 46 hours there were a total of 187, 15-minute slots for people to register their participation. Of these 187 slots only 8 were empty during the final hours of September 21st in Samoa and Tonga. So for 43 hours 45 minutes the Great Invocation or another world invocation was sounded almost every 15 minutes. Of the 179 slots with registrations, only 5 had 1 participant registered - most had five or more and many had over 20 registrations. Several of those who registered were groups representing a number of people. And we know of many who participated in the Vigil but did not register.
Of course these figures are only that - figures. They do not begin to reflect the vitality, quality and coloring of each use of the Great Invocation. Nor do they reflect the participants who found themselves moved by the spirit of the event, using the Invocation on the 15 minute rhythm many more times than they registered for.
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 October the Spiritual Caucus invites you to link in with 30 minutes of silence in the UN Meditation Room on October 6, at 12:45 EDT and with the full one hour meeting on Thursday, October 20 at 1:15 PM EDT and a special meeting as part of the Week of Spirituality Values and Global Concerns at the UN to be held in the Church Centre opposite the UN (7th floor), October 28, 12:45 AM - 2:00 PM.
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October Please Hold These Events in the Light
October 1
International Day of Older Persons
2011 theme: Launch of Madrid+10: The Growing Oppotunities & Challenges of Global Ageing
People are living longer. This is prompting governments and people's organisations all over the world to reflect deeply on how we can plan for future societies in which: every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play.
At every level of society - local communities, regional groups, peoples associations, governments and international coalitions - there is a potent focus on ways in which the wisdom, maturity, skills and heart qualities of older people can be fully incorporated into healthy communities.
We are used to reflecting on an emerging new balance in the relations between male and female - now we are challenged to consider relations between the generations - and particularly the elderly, the 'middle generation' of parents, and the young. The UN Global Strategy is centred on an International Plan of Action on Ageing, agreed to at the 2002 World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid which aims to ensure that persons everywhere are able to age with security and dignity and to continue to participate in their societies as citizens with full rights. Next year will mark the 10th Anniversary of the Madrid Plan of Action and the theme of the day this year explores ways in which the Plan has affected changes in attitudes, policies and programmes that have had a positive impact on the lives of older persons and how the Plan can continue to provide a blueprint for building on the achievements of the past decade for a rapidly growing, diverse global ageing population in a changing world.
http://www.un.org/en/events/olderpersonsday/
www.ngocoa-ny.org
http://social.un.org/index/Ageing.aspx
October 2
International Day of Non-Violence
First observed on October 2, 2007, the International Day of Non-Violence marks the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
National governments agreed unanimously in the UN General Assembly to use the Day as an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness". The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence". more
http://www.un.org/en/events/nonviolenceday/index.shtml
October 3
World Habitat Day
2011 Theme: Cities and Climate Change
World Habitat Day is observed on the first Monday of October. It is a day to reflect on the quality of life for the vast numbers of people living in towns and cities.
This year, World Habitat Day falls during the month when demographers predict our planet's seven billionth inhabitant will be born. The future that this child and its generation will inherit depends to a great degree on how we handle the competing pressures of growing population growth, urbanization and climate change. Ban Ki-moon
Cities have a crucial role to play in responding to the challenges of climate change and citizen action is key to development and application of local government policies in many countries.
www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=669
www.un.org/en/events/habitatday/
Habitat for Humanity
October 4-10
World Space Week
2011 Theme 50 Years of Human Space Flight
Observed with activities in 50 countries, World Space Week celebrates the contribution of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition. Every year events are held in schools around the world to observe the Week
The first human spaceflight took place on April 12, 1961, when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, launched by the Soviet space program and designed by the rocket scientist Sergey Korolyov.
www.worldspaceweek.org/index.html
www.un.org/en/events/spaceweek/
October 5
World Teachers Day
2011 Theme: Teachers for gender Equality
Think about the role of teachers in the transition into a new era. Who are the teachers? What is required of those who teach the children and young people?
We might well regard the TEACHERS as the most important group of people in the transition period. Teachers communicate and awaken higher values.
Created by UNESCO, World Teachers Day celebrates teachers worldwide. Its aim is to mobilise support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers.
www.5oct.org
www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/teacher-education/world-teachers-day/
October 10
World Mental Health Day
2011 Theme: The Great Push: Investing in Mental Health
HEALERS TAKE NOTE: A Day to focus on the contribution all can make towards the creation of a healthy mental environment - and on the sensitive healing needed by those who suffer from mental illness in its many forms.
Even though mental health services are increasingly being recognized as critical, they still get short shrift. They do not get the resources and support they deserve.
www.wfmh.org/00WorldMentalHealthDay.htm
www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_mental_health_day/en/
October 13
International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
2011 Theme: Children and Young People.
Disaster risk reduction is about understanding our personal and environmental risks of a hazard, like an earthquake, flood, hurricane/cyclone, and landslides and finding ways to reduce this risk so that we are not affected by them, or be able to bounce back quickly if they do affect us.
All groups in society need to be alive to this issue. This year the Day focuses on children and young people taking action to reduce their risks from natural disasters. In 2015 there is to be a major World Conference on Disaster Reduction and on October 13 it is hoped to enlist as many young people's groups from around the world as possible in preparations for the Conference.
www.unisdr.org/2011/iddr/#ajax5.htm
www.un.org/en/events/disasterreductionday/
October 15
International Day of Rural Women
First celebrated by the UN in 2008, this Day is a sign of the major focus on women and gender issues in global affairs. The Day has been celebrated by civil society around the world since the Beijing Women's Conference in 1995.
Rural women the world over play a major role in ensuring food security and in the development and stability of the rural areas. Yet, with little or no status, they frequently lack the power to secure land rights or to access vital services such as credit, inputs, extension services, training and education. Their vital contribution to society goes largely unnoticed. World rural Women's Day aims to change this by bringing rural women out of obscurity at least once a year — to remind society how much they owe to rural women and to give value and credit to their work.
www.woman.ch/index.php?page=women_15Oct&hl=en_US
www.un.org/en/events/ruralwomenday/index.shtml
October 16
World Food Day
2011 Theme: Food Prices — From Crisis to Stability
Price swings, upswings in particular, represent a major threat to food security in developing countries. Hardest-hit are the poor. According to the World Bank, in 2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty.
World Food Program reports that for the first time in human history the number of hungry people worldwide will reach 1 billion this year... www.wfp.org/1billion
www.fao.org/getinvolved/worldfoodday/en/
October 17
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
2011 Theme: Only a development that includes everyone is sustainable
Every year on October 17th, the international community observes the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, recalling that:
"Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty." Fr. Joseph Wresinski.
This day is a key opportunity to think of the struggle against extreme poverty that takes place every day and of the role that everyone has to play in this.
http://overcomingpoverty.org/rubrique/26
www.un.org/en/events/povertyday/
October 20 - 28
Week of Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns at the United Nations
2011 Theme: The Spirit of the United Nations: Visionary Leadership that Makes a Difference at the United Nations
The 2011 Week of Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns focuses on the importance of Visionary Leadership as a key element in solving the issues and challenges facing the United Nations and the world today. In a week-long program of events created to explore the very essence of the United Nations' commitment to the peaceful resolution of international issues and global challenges the events range from a series of focused meditations, workshops, panel discussions, group interchanges, and cultural performances. From disarmament to natural disasters, climate change to civil unrest, women's rights to human rights, child soldiers to human trafficking — solving the challenges facing the world today requires Visionary Insight Inspired by Spirit!
www.csvgc-ny.org/
October 24
Global Oneness Day
Theme: The energy of Oneness — the energy of Who We Really Are — can heal the planet and revolutionize life. It is simply waiting to be lived!
Humanity's Team are leading the movement to call on the UN to observe October 24th as Global Oneness Day. In May 2010, a global petiton was presented to the UN, and in the same year the first Oneness day was observed by groups from around the world. It is a day intended to inspire awareness, appreciation and celebration of life's underlying Oneness in the same way that Earth Day is intended to inspire awareness, appreciation and celebration of the earth's natural environment.
www.global-oneness-day.org/
October 24 24
United Nations Day
This is the birthday of the UN - a day to celebrate, reflect on the past and envision the future. Hold the United Nations in the light especially on this Day marking the coming into force of the UN Charter. Visualise the General Assembly being overshadowed with higher energies of Synthesis and of the active principle of Peace. Familiarise yourself with the Meditation Room at the United Nations Headquarters in New York - you will find a photograph of the room and a copy of Dag Hammarskjold's inspiring paper on the room at: www.un.org/Depts/dhl/dag/meditationroom.htm. Read about the Chagall Window of Peace outside the Meditation Room at: http://www.lifebridge.org/UN.cfm .
Give your thoughts, aspirations and heart energies to the UN on this special day. Link in with the Spiritual Caucus at the United Nations which meets monthly at UN Headquarters in New York to hold a period of focused silence:
www.spiritualcaucusun.org/
www.un.org/en/events/unday
October 24 - 25
Presencing Global Forum
2011 Theme: Entering the Field of the Future: Practices for Transforming Institutions, Society and Self
"Presencing," a blend of the words "presence" and "sensing," refers to the ability to sense and bring into the present one's highest future potential — as an individual and as a group. Theory U offers both a new theoretical perspective and a practical social technology. As a theoretical perspective, Theory U suggests that the way in which we attend to a situation determines how a situation unfolds: I attend this way, therefore it emerges that way. As a practical social technology, Theory U offers a set of principles and practices for collectively creating the future that wants to emerge (following the movements of co-initiating, co-sensing, co-inspiring, co-creating, and co-evolving).
Developed by Otto Sharma Presencing work has been extremely influential in group initiatives thinking through new approaches to global issues and this first global Forum will bring together key change-makers from around the world. Our goal is to form a global action research community and platform that uses awareness based social technologies like presencing and is committed to reflecting and sharing these experiences with colleagues across sectors and cultures. Our guiding intention is to pioneer practices and pathways for a society that is more sustainable, inclusive, and aware (Society 4.0). We believe that we live in a time where emerging global communities like ours may have a big impact if we can rise to the occasion.This is our time to act in a more intentional, collective and conscious way!
www.presencing.com/capacitybuilding/globalforum.shtml
October 24 - 30
World Disarmament Week
Disarmament Week has been observed by the United Nations since 1978. Member States are invited to highlight the dangers of the arms race, promote recognition of the need to stop the arms race, and increase public understanding of the urgent tasks of disarmament.
www.un.org/en/events/disarmamentweek/index.shtml
On or around October 31 the world population will reach 7 billion.
This unique moment in human history represents both an achievement and a challenge, and will have an impact on every single person on the planet. A world of seven billion has implications for sustainability, urbanization, access to health services and youth empowerment — however, it also offers a rare call-to-action opportunity to renew global commitment for a healthy and sustainable world.
UN Population Fund is working with a range of partners to lead a campaign, 7 billion actions, building awareness of the opportunities and challenges of a world of seven billion people.
www.7billionactions.org
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