"Vesak", the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the most sacred day to millions of Buddhists around the world. It was on the Day of Vesak two and a half millennia ago, in the year 623 B.C., that the Buddha was born. It was also on the Day of Vesak that the Buddha attained enlightenment, and it was on the Day of Vesak that the Buddha in his eightieth year passed away.
The United Nations General Assembly, by its resolution 54/115 of 1999, recognized internationally the Day of Vesak to acknowledge the contribution that Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world, has made for over two and a half millennia and continues to make to the spirituality of humanity.
This day is commemorated annually at the UN Headquarters and other UN offices, in consultation with the relevant UN offices and with permanent missions, which also wish to be consulted.
it is important to call on the international community to use the Day to significantly raise awareness and intensify actions towards ending obstetric fistula, as well as urging post-surgery follow-up and tracking of fistula patients.
The so-called “orange manual” has long been the only authoritative, gold-standard guide to the holistic, comprehensive and “bigger picture” aspects of eliminating obstetric fistula (including programming, policy, prevention, treatment, social reintegration and more). The original (2006) version of the manual has now been updated with the latest evidence, strategies, tools and resources.MANUAL
More than ever before, we are aware of the effects of our unsustainable consumption and production on the natural world that sustains us and all life on this planet. We are using up the equivalent of 1.6 earths to maintain our current way of life and this cannot go on.
UNEP supports local, national and global action to end biodiversity loss; it supports countries to monitor and manage their biodiversity, amplifies scientific warnings of the effect humans are having on ecosystems and biodiversity, works with business and investment to drive nature-positive investments and encourages decision-makers to view nature as an asset.
This is a critical year for biodiversity. The UN Biodiversity Conference, rescheduled to take place in October in China, offers an opportunity to ensure we take better care of the natural systems that sustain all life on this planet.
The Conference, known as COP15, will be the biggest biodiversity summit in a decade and aims to agree on a new set of goals for nature over the next decade through the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework process.
World Environment Day on June 5 marks the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a 10-year drive to galvanize all sectors of global society to become part of #GenerationRestoration and halt and reverse the degradation of our life-support systems.
What is the United Nations Environmeng Programme (UNEP) doing to support biodiversity? Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNEP Executive Director, answers this and more in her 2021 video message for the International Day for Biological Diversity, which happens every 22nd of May. “The challenges we face on the planet are so acute that we don’t have the luxury of waiting for someone else to step up and take action. We are all part of the solution.” This is UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen’s message ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22.
Whether you live ...
in the city
in the country
in the forest
or on the coast
... we are all part of nature!
The #COVID19 pandemic has shown that the world needs to work together to resolve our common challenges. We all can be part of the solution #ForNature and people.
CAMPAIGN: For the International Day for Biological DiversityDay on 22 May, let's commit to taking action #ForNature and protecting the biodiversity we all depend on. Get involved with United Nations Biodiversity Restoring ecosystems brings stunning benefits #ForNature. And each of us can be part of the #GenerationRestoration by taking action. Learn how you can make a difference!
Throughout lockdowns all over the world, artists and cultural professionals were essential workers - for our well-being. Online concerts, music, film, books, art classes, and dance gave us the strength and the resilience we needed to face an uncertain tomorrow. And despite all of this, we are experiencing a cultural emergency, today, with millions of creative workers and artist unemployed or underemployed. CAMPAIGN: Add your #Voices4Culture and join us [LIVE NOW] at the High-level event on #Culture4Development.
Re-emphasizing the call from the Intergovernmental Group on Tea to direct greater efforts towards expanding demand, particularly in tea-producing countries, where per capita consumption is relatively low, and supporting efforts to address the declining per capita consumption in traditional importing countries. Join the conversation on twitter by using the hashtags #Tea or #InternationalTeaDay.
Tea production and processing represent a source of livelihoods for millions of families, including millions in least developed countries.
Tea export earnings help to finance food import bills, supporting the economies of major tea-producing countries.
The specific agro-ecological conditions where tea thrives occur in areas which are highly vulnerable to climate change.
Global trade in 2020 was affected by logistics issues and measures imposed to contain COVID-19.
Increasing in-home consumption of tea more than offset declining out-of-home consumption in many instances.
During the first weeks of lockdown, in home tea sales surged, increasing by 75 percent in some consuming countries.
In order to ensure benefits for both people and the environment, the tea value chain must be sustainable at all stages, from field to cup.
Tea has been with us for a long time. There is evidence that tea was consumed in China 5,000 years ago.Throughout the years, the aroma of their millenary tea varieties has made its way into the hearts and minds of many tea drinkers around the world, one leaf at a time.
Tea per capita consumption increased by 2.8 percent per year over the last decade.
Tea consumption can bring health benefits and wellness due to the beverage's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and weight loss effects. It also has cultural significance in many societies.
Tea production and trade contribute to livelohoods; export earnings food security and incomes
Moreover, there is an urgent need to raise public awareness of the importance of tea for rural development and sustainable livelihoods and to improve the tea value chain to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Tea thrives in bery specific agro-ecological conditions and in certain environments which today are often impacted by climate change.
Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns, with more floods and droughts, are already affecting yields, tea product quality and prices, lowering incomes and threatening rural livelihoods. These climate changes are expected to intensify, calling for urgent adaptation measures. In parallel, there is a growing recognition of the need to contribute to climate change mitigation, by reducing carbon emissions from tea production and processing.
Our ecosystem and 1/3 of the world’s food production depend on #bees & other pollinators, which are today under threat from human activities. Although farmers & policymakers play a pivotal role in safeguarding pollinators, we can all help
Aware of the problems facing beekeepers worldwide. Bee population decline at an alarming rate, with many commercial and hobby beekeepers reporting higher Bee colony losses than ever before. Beekeeping can be an expensive hobby, and costs of hive losses increase business overheads making it harder for commercial beekeepers to stay in business.
Digital transformation is about improving each citizen’s
experience and changing the way we do business.
It improves quality of life and enhances people’s
wellbeing, while ultimately aiming to meet UnitedNations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Factors
driving these changes range from increasingly diverse
technologies to new business models, aiming to deliver
excellence through services that are personalized,
paperless, cashless and mobile, as well as based on every
customer’s informed consent.
From Digital Transformation Centres in the Dominican
Republic to delivering life-saving information amid
COVID-19 in Niger to green digital responses
to COVID-19 in Slovenia, digital technologies
are driving development and spurring socioeconomic transformation.
ITU reports regularly about digital transformation
initiatives around the world.
Check out the latest stories Search — My ITU
FORUM: What’s next?
Everyone has a part
to play
We must all work together to bring everyone, everywhere
online.
WHAT TO DO?
Member States can:
• Continue leveraging telecommunications/ICTs by
developing digital policies and strategies to adapt and
respond timely and effectively to different challenges
that may occur.
• Report national progress with special focus on
the targets that particularly contribute to digital
transformation in the framework of the Connect
2030 Agenda, by providing data and statistics, as
appropriate, as well as initiatives to be included in the
Connect 2030 Agenda microsite.
Sector Members, Associates and Academia can:
• Continue to facilitate cooperation and partnership in
areas such as innovation, infrastructure, investment
and capacity development to advance digital
transformation for all and achieve the Connect
2030 Agenda.
• Share their technology-driven strategies with the
world, considering the possible opportunities and/or
challenges of digital transformation, and how these
challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic,
can be used as an opportunity to connect all.
Media can:
• Tell stories about how digital transformation is
benefiting citizens, consumers and society.
• Hold governments accountable, highlighting the
strengths and weaknesses of current policies,
strategies and plans, identifying policy gaps and
describing new challenges to address amid the rapid
evolution of technologies.
• Tell exciting stories — through talk shows, interviews,
radio debates and social media campaigns — about
how governments, companies or people are making
a difference.
All stakeholderscan:
• Identify a tangible problem — within your family, your
school, your university, your workplace, your network
or your community — and take action.
• Raise awareness of our key WTISD 2021
theme, Accelerating digital transformation in
challenging times.
• Reflect how ITU responds and adapts to new
challenges through ICTs.
• Enhance cooperation with governments, business
communities, United Nations bodies, civil society and
other stakeholders to accelerate digital transformation.
• Reinforce the importance of developing digital
strategies and other technology-driven initiatives.
• Share your story on social media to inspire others.
• Consider both the opportunities and the challenges
of digital transformation while seeking timely and
effective answers to broader global challenges.
• Share with ITU your expertise, guidelines, lessons
learned, success stories, case studies, good practices,
solutions, publications, and policies put in place to
better meet future challenging times.
ITU is united in connecting the world. Our Connect 2030 Agenda contributes to the UN Decade of Action to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDG9 in particular: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. Digital technologies, and the work of ITU, are vital to achieve all 17 SDGs. ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda includes key goals and targets related to digital transformation.
EVENTS: WTISD 2021 will take place virtually in the framework of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2021 (WSIS).
The event will address the importance of enhancing collaboration and cooperation across countries and sectors and showcase how governments, companies and academia can accelerate digital transformation through telecommunication/ICT in and for future challenging times. Related events within the WSIS Forum 2021 will address digital transformation in challenging times.
