EVENTS: Wherever you are in the planet, join the UNDP by turning off your light for one hour starting at 8:30pm local time. Let's stand as one for #ClimateAction.
Friday, 22 March 2024
Earth Hour 2024; March 23rd
FORUM: "Turn off the Light for one hour." Earth Hour 2024. Never before has collective action been more important as we stand at a tipping point to keep the goal of 1.5C alive. Saturday's #EarthHour is a good reminder that small #ClimateAction steps can make a big difference.
EVENTS: Wherever you are in the planet, join the UNDP by turning off your light for one hour starting at 8:30pm local time. Let's stand as one for #ClimateAction.
EVENTS: Wherever you are in the planet, join the UNDP by turning off your light for one hour starting at 8:30pm local time. Let's stand as one for #ClimateAction.
Thursday, 21 March 2024
World Water Day 2024; March 22nd.
FORUM: "Leveraging Water for Peace." World Water Day 2024. Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal, or no access, tensions can rise between communities and countries. More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders. Yet, only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water. As climate change impacts increase, and populations grow, there is an urgent need, within and between countries, to unite around protecting and conserving our most precious resource. Public health and prosperity, food and energy systems, economic productivity and environmental integrity all rely on a well-functioning and equitably managed water cycle.When we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect – fostering harmony, generating prosperity and building resilience to shared challenges. We must act upon the realization that water is not only a resource to be used and competed over – it is a human right, intrinsic to every aspect of life. This World Water Day, we all need to unite around water and use water for peace, laying the foundations of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #WorldWaterDay, #22March., #Acceleratingchange.
EVENTS: On March 22nd at UNHQ in New York; The celebration of the World Water Day 2024 and the launch of the World Water Development Report 2024. under the auspice of the UNESCO entitled :"Water for prosperity and peace" will be held. During the event, Panelists and participants will talk about working together to balance everyone’s needs, with a dedication to ensure no one is left behind, to make water a catalyst for a more peaceful world.
Key messages:
Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people struggle for access, tensions can rise. By cooperating on water, we can balance everyone’s water needs and help stabilize the world.
Prosperity and peace rely on water. As nations manage climate change, mass migration and political unrest, they must put water cooperation at the heart of their plans.
Water can lead us out of crisis. We can foster harmony between communities and countries by uniting around the fair and sustainable use of water – from United Nations conventions at the international level, to actions at the local level.
Programme highlights
- High level Opening Ceremony
- Launch of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2024
- Technical Discussions on Water Cooperation and Peacebuilding.
- Cultural shows and indoor photo exhibition (Walk of Water)
WEBINARS: On March 22nd, from 10.30 – 13.00 (USA-EST); The 2nd High level panel on “Youth Views on VNRs Through a Water Lens’’ will be held virtually. In Observing World Water Day 2024 and acknowledging the critical role of water for a peaceful and prosperous society, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) and Cansu Global are proud to present the findings of their Junior Researchers that have looked at the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of UN Member States through a water lens. Watch the event!
Statement of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on World Water Day2024; March 22nd.
Action for water is action for peace. And today it is needed more than ever.
Our world is in turbulent waters. Conflicts are raging, inequality is rife, pollution and biodiversity loss are rampant, and, as humanity continues to burn fossil fuels, the climate crisis is accelerating with a deadly force — further threatening peace.
Our planet is heating up — seas are rising, rains patterns are changing, and river flows are shrinking. That is resulting in droughts in some regions, and floods and coastal erosion in others. Meanwhile, pollution and overconsumption are imperilling the availability of fresh, clean, accessible water on which all life depends. Dwindling supplies can increase competition and inflame tensions between people, communities, and countries. That is increasing the risk of conflict.
Water for peace is the theme of this year’s World Water Day. Achieving it relies on far greater cooperation. Today, 153 countries share water resources. Yet only 24 have reported cooperation agreements for all their shared water. We must accelerate efforts to work together across borders, and I urge all countries to join and implement the United Nations Water Convention — which promotes managing shared water resources sustainably.
Cooperating to safeguard water can power and sustain peace. Water stewardship can strengthen multilateralism and ties between communities and build resilience to climate disasters. It can also drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals — which are the foundation of peaceful societies — including by improving health, reducing poverty and inequality, and boosting food and water security.
Let’s commit to work together to make water a force for cooperation, harmony and stability, and so help to create a world of peace and prosperity for all.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
WEBINAR: 2nd High-Level Panel on“Youth Viewing the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs)Through a Water Lens” on March 22nd 2024, from 10.30 to 13.00 (USA-EST).
For more than 55 years, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) has been
committed to empowering Youth and ensuring their participation actively in shaping the societies
in which they live through education, building and developing capacity, networking, recognition,
and ensuring their participation in policy and decision making.
The RASIT Youth Sustainable Development Studies Center, founded in 1986, strives to empower
Youth and enhance their participation in the scholarly exchange of knowledge on sustainable
development and promotes joint research and studies across sciences on sustainable development
issues. The Center is comprised of an inter-disciplinary group of youth and junior professionals,
whose work focuses on contemporary issues and challenges, inter alia, education, health, water,
food and agriculture, energy, environment, multilateralism, and beyond.
The Potential of Youth leadership as partners for sustainable development has been one of the
main objectives of RASIT.
In its second edition, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust and Cansu Global are
presenting to the International Community the Youth assessments, observations, analyses, and
vision of the Member States’ Voluntary National Reports presented at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum meetings.
"Our Water, Our Future" Introductory Remarks.
As part of their commitment to Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
UN Member States conduct Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) documenting their progress in
achieving sustainable development that leaves no one behind. These VNRs are not only an
accountability mechanism; they provide – through documenting successes and lessons learned on
shared implementation challenges – a rich source of knowledge on how to accelerate progress.
Water security is one of the most critical challenges of our time. We all need water every day, for
personal consumption and hygiene, for domestic uses and economic activities; and for the
ecosystems that surround and sustain us. With the world’s rapidly growing human population and
expanding economic activities, freshwater becomes increasingly scarce and polluted; in addition,
the effects of climate change on the water cycle affect the availability of the resource and cause
water-related disasters to become more frequent and disruptive.
How we deal with water today will determine our future.
The multilevel and multi-directional relationships between the natural and human systems with
respect to water resources mean that water challenges cannot be addressed from within the water
sector alone. If water is not featured adequately in national development strategies and the
planning of different segments of society, the risks presented by water scarcity, water pollution,
and the disruption of the water cycle will increasingly manifest themselves through declining
economic prosperity and upsetting the social order.
Rationale
Cansu Global, originally a program of the Royal Academy of Science International Trust
(RASIT) and presently transitioning to an Intergovernmental Organization, zooms in on the
critical importance of water for inclusive socio-economic development. As an interdisciplinary
partnership, it supports the development and implementation of comprehensive solutions for
water-related development challenges in different communities across the globe.
Cansu Global strives to remove institutional and socio-cultural barriers for concerted action by
furthering “ … the responsible use of science, technology, and innovation as drivers of
sustainable development and to build the capacities necessary for sustainable
transformations.” (Political Declaration of the HLPF 2023 paragraph 38q).
In this context, RASIT’s young scientists under the supervision of Cansu Global, have
conducted an inductive thematic analysis of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to gain
insight into how Member States are incorporating water in their sustainable development
approach and actions.
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LIVESTREAM: Observing World Water Day 2024 and acknowledging the critical role of water for a peacefuland prosperous society, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) and Cansu
Global are proud to present the findings of their Junior Researchers that have looked at the
Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of UN Member States through a water lens.
PUBLICATION: The Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation presents stories of transboundary cooperation that show the benefits of a human rights approach to transboundary water management. Read the Report: “Water as an argument for peace, twinning and cooperation”.
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
International Day of Forests 2024; March 21st.
FORUM: "Forests and Innovation." International Day of Forests 2024. Forests sustain us in countless ways – from clean air and water to food and medicine, income and livelihoods, and even sustainable fashion. Being near trees and forests can inspire creativity, reduce stress, and improve your mood. The world's forests cover nearly one-third of all land, providing carbon storage and biodiversity habitat while building our resilience to withstand storms and other natural disasters. Yet despite all that they provide us, forests are often undervalued, and every year we continue to lose ten million hectares of forests. Innovations in science and technology now make it possible for countries to use remote sensing, drone technology, and artificial intelligence to monitor the health of their forests for mapping and monitoring, tree planting, measuring carbon, and early wildfire detection. At the same time, innovative forest products provide sustainable alternatives for construction materials, textiles, and new types of plastic and medical products. Exploring the possibilities for forest products in building our greener future is limited only by the breadth of our imagination. This is why the theme of this year's International Day of Forests on 21 March 2024, is "Forests and Innovation". Learn more about FAO's work in forestry and make sure to catch FAO's key messages to mark the day. Follow the conversations #IntlForestDay, #SustainingForests, #21March, #ForestsandHealth.
EVENTS: AT UNHQ in New York - On March 21st; The DESA's UN Forum on Forests Secretariat will organize a special event to celebrate the International Day of forests 2024. The event will feature senior UN and government officials, technical experts, and civil society, all sharing their perspectives on how we can promote innovation to help the world's forests. It will highlight the importance of implementing the UN Strategic Plan for Forests and achieving the Global Forest Goals by 2030. Get the Provisional Programme and watch the live event!
AT FAO HQ - The International Day of Forests 2024 high-level event will be held on Thursday, March 21st, 2024 from 13.00 to 17.30 CET online and at the Sheikh Zayed Centre, FAO Headquarters, Rome under the theme “Forests and innovation” with a livestreamed session showcasing transformative forest innovations. Discussions will focus on how innovation and technology enhance forest monitoring, reporting, protection, restoration, and sustainable use. The need to scale up innovations to halt deforestation, and empower indigenous peoples as forest guardians, will also be explored to develop new solutions for a better world. Translation will be provided in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. Watch the webcast!
World Down Syndrome Day 2024; March 21st.
FORUM: "Achieving Health Equity for People with Disabilities." World Down Syndrome Day 2024. Health equity means that everyone has a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible, without being disadvantaged in achieving it. This means there are no unfair, avoidable, or changeable differences in the health outcomes of groups of people. A stereotype is a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like. Stereotypes can be positive, negative or neutral, but they are often inaccurate, or simply wrong!; Stereotypes are often based on limited information or personal experience. They can be reinforced by the way something is represented in the media or by cultural messages. Once formed, a stereotype can be difficult to change. For people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities, stereotypes can stop them from being treated like other people. They get treated like children, they are underestimated and excluded. Sometimes they are treated very badly or even abused. For World Down Syndrome Day 2024, we call for people around the world to end the stereotypes. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #WithUsNotForUs and #WorldDownSyndromeDay.
EVENTS: From March 21st -22nd to mark the World Down Syndrome Day 2024, the Down Syndrome International network will host the 13th World Down Syndrome Day Conference (WDSDC) at the United Nations headquarters in New York to launch a new project calling for Health Equity for People with Disabilities. Self-advocates, supporters, government and UN officials and NGO representatives will share knowledge, experience, and good practice.
Achieving Health Equity for People with Disabilities.
EVENTS: From March 21st -22nd to mark the World Down Syndrome Day 2024, the Down Syndrome International network will host the 13th World Down Syndrome Day Conference (WDSDC) at the United Nations headquarters in New York to launch a new project calling for Health Equity for People with Disabilities. Self-advocates, supporters, government and UN officials and NGO representatives will share knowledge, experience, and good practice.
World poetry Day 2024; March 21st.
FORUM: "Keep your poetic heritage alive!" World Poetry Day 2024.
The UNESCO first adopted March 21stt as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999. Practiced throughout history, poetry includes various forms of language, expressions and signification. It is often accompanied by music and performed during special occasions. The universal nature of this artistic expression is shown by the number of elements linked to poetry on the Lists of the 2003 Convention, from the most recently inscribed Pasillo, an Ecuadorian musicalized poem, to the Lebanese Al-Zajal, inscribed in 2014, and the Ukrainian Cossack’s songs of Dnipropetrovsk region inscribed in 2016 on the Urgent Safeguarding List. Being one of the five domains of the 2003 Convention, oral traditions and expressions encompass an enormous variety of spoken forms including proverbs, riddles, tales, nursery rhymes, legends, myths, epic songs and poems, charms, prayers, chants, songs, dramatic performances and more. Oral traditions and expressions are used to pass on knowledge, cultural and social values and collective memory. They play a crucial part in keeping cultures alive.
The UNESCO first adopted March 21stt as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999. Practiced throughout history, poetry includes various forms of language, expressions and signification. It is often accompanied by music and performed during special occasions. The universal nature of this artistic expression is shown by the number of elements linked to poetry on the Lists of the 2003 Convention, from the most recently inscribed Pasillo, an Ecuadorian musicalized poem, to the Lebanese Al-Zajal, inscribed in 2014, and the Ukrainian Cossack’s songs of Dnipropetrovsk region inscribed in 2016 on the Urgent Safeguarding List. Being one of the five domains of the 2003 Convention, oral traditions and expressions encompass an enormous variety of spoken forms including proverbs, riddles, tales, nursery rhymes, legends, myths, epic songs and poems, charms, prayers, chants, songs, dramatic performances and more. Oral traditions and expressions are used to pass on knowledge, cultural and social values and collective memory. They play a crucial part in keeping cultures alive.
Statement from the UNESCO Director-General, on the occasion of World Poetry Day 2024; March 21st.
Poetry, whether in prose or verse, symbolist, engaged in society or objectivist, has a unique propensity to make us perceive the world around us differently.On this World Poetry Day, UNESCO is celebrating the power to question certainties in order to remain open to others, to welcome the world in all its diversity – all essential foundations for building peaceful societies. That is why our Organization stands by poets, especially the younger generation, to enable them to take full advantage of this literary form, and to support the publication of their works. For example, we facilitated the participation of 10 young Caribbean authors in the 40th Marché de la poésie, in Paris in June 2023. At this poetry festival they were able to showcase their work, discuss it and meet publishers to assist in the publication of their poems.As part of our efforts to safeguard living traditions, UNESCO has also included a number of poetic forms on the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity: the Hudhud chants of the Philippines in 2008; the Mapoyo oral tradition of Venezuela(Bolivarian Republic of) in 2014; the Eshuva, Harákmbut sung prayers of Peru, in 2011; and the Koogere oral tradition of Uganda, in 2015.Poetry is a powerfully living art, but it has also, through the centuries and continents, been the key medium societies have used to write their history and preserve the memory of their culture, as well as to record ancestral knowledge. As the Ivorian poet Bernard Binlin Dadié so aptly said in his poem “Tu dors” (“You sleep”), from the collection Hommes de tous les continents (Men of all continents), the poet is “the old watcher/who stands guard over the ramparts”, and has “in his eyes, the dawns of ancient times/And in his head, the song of future times”. The poet is that in-between figure who stands at the crossroads of a bygone past and a future yet to be built.This is why UNESCO is helping to preserve some of the most emblematic poetic texts of their time. In 2023, the Codex Manesse, a collection of medieval German lyric poems, the collection of Turkmen manuscripts of Magtymguly Fragi, and the stone inscriptions of Tsogtu Khung-Taiji, Prince of Khalkha, which are among the finest examples of Mongolian poetry, joined our Memory of the World Register, which aims to safeguard documentary heritage and make it more accessible to the general public.World Poetry Day is thus an opportunity for each and every one of us to move into the living heart of ourselves and of the world, to paraphrase the great Martinican poet and politician Aimé Césaire, in a gesture of peace as internal as it is universal.
Mrs. Audrey Azoulay; UNESCO Director-General.
On March 21st at UNESCO HQ and in the regional offices will observe the World Poetry Day 2024; Participant will celebrate one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expressions because Poetry continues to bring people together across continents and is found in a myriad of forms throughout the world.
International Day for The Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2024; March 21st.
FORUM: "Focusing on people of African descent, recognition, justice and development."International Day for The Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2024.
Statement of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the International Day for The Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2024; March 21st.
Racism is an evil infecting countries and societies around the world – a deeply entrenched legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
The results are devastating: opportunities stolen; dignity denied; rights violated; lives taken and lives destroyed.
Racism is rife, but it impacts communities differently.
The theme of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination highlights this, focussing on people of African descent, recognition, justice and development.
People of African descent face a unique history of systemic and institutionalized racism, and profound challenges today. We must respond to that reality – learning from, and building on, the tireless advocacy of people of African descent.
That includes governments advancing policies and other measures to eliminate racism against people of African descent.
And tech firms urgently addressing racial bias in artificial intelligence.
On this Day, let’s commit to work together to build a world of dignity, justice and equal opportunity for every community, everywhere.
Statement by the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2024; March 21st.
The theme of this year’s will highlight people of African descent, recognition, justice and development. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #Racialdiscrimination, #fightracism, #21March, #EndRacism, #racialinjustices.
Racism is an evil infecting countries and societies around the world – a deeply entrenched legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
The results are devastating: opportunities stolen; dignity denied; rights violated; lives taken and lives destroyed.
Racism is rife, but it impacts communities differently.
The theme of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination highlights this, focussing on people of African descent, recognition, justice and development.
People of African descent face a unique history of systemic and institutionalized racism, and profound challenges today. We must respond to that reality – learning from, and building on, the tireless advocacy of people of African descent.
That includes governments advancing policies and other measures to eliminate racism against people of African descent.
And tech firms urgently addressing racial bias in artificial intelligence.
On this Day, let’s commit to work together to build a world of dignity, justice and equal opportunity for every community, everywhere.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
International Day of Nowruz 2024; March 20th.
Nowruz promotes dialogue, good neighborliness and reconciliation.
Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on the International Day of Nowruz 2024; March 21st.
Dear friends, Nowruz is a celebration of new beginnings — the start of a new year, the arrival of spring and the rebirth of nature. It brings together millions of people across generations and nations.
In these times of great challenge, Nowruz promotes dialogue, good neighbourliness and reconciliation. It reinforces the goals and values of the United Nations — peace, human rights and dignity.
So let us all be guided by the Nowruz spirit. Let us find the strength to bridge divides, foster unity and support one another.
Let the dawn of spring nurture new seeds of hope in our hearts — hope that we can move forward to a brighter future, as one human family.
I offer my best wishes to everyone celebrating Nowruz. May it bring peace, good health and happiness to all.
Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on the International Day of Nowruz 2024; March 21st.
Dear friends, Nowruz is a celebration of new beginnings — the start of a new year, the arrival of spring and the rebirth of nature. It brings together millions of people across generations and nations.
In these times of great challenge, Nowruz promotes dialogue, good neighbourliness and reconciliation. It reinforces the goals and values of the United Nations — peace, human rights and dignity.
So let us all be guided by the Nowruz spirit. Let us find the strength to bridge divides, foster unity and support one another.
Let the dawn of spring nurture new seeds of hope in our hearts — hope that we can move forward to a brighter future, as one human family.
I offer my best wishes to everyone celebrating Nowruz. May it bring peace, good health and happiness to all.
– United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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