International Day of the Girl 2023; October 11th.

FORUM: "Invest in Girls' Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being." International Day of the Girl 2023.

This year, at a time when we are seeing a range of movements and actions to curtail girls’ and women’s rights and roll back progress on gender equality, we see particularly harsh impacts on girls. From maternal health care and parenting support for adolescent mothers, to digital and life skills training; from comprehensive sexuality education to survivor support services and violence prevention programmes; there is an urgent need for increased attention and resourcing for the key areas that enable girls to realize their rights and achieve their full potential. Responding to girls’ calls for change, the global community must move beyond reaffirming commitments and invest boldly in the action needed to make that change. When we pay attention, we see that, already, many girls are championing solutions and change in their communities. Together with our government and civil society partners, UNICEF envisions a world where girls have space to shape government policy and spending to inform the rules and norms by which businesses should operate, and to direct the priorities for new research and innovations. These examples should not be novelties, but the norm. Participate to the IDG global platform and advocate for the full spectrum of girls’ rights. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #GirlchildDay, #11october, #InternationalDayoftheGirlChild.

 

EVENTS: On October 11, 2023, a webinar will be organized with Plan International and other partners, this year's flagship International Day of the Girl event will explore opportunities for improving resourcing to girls and the issues that affect them. We hope you will be able to join us and organize a viewing party wherever you are, with and for girls.

INITIATIVE: UNICEF and partners call for a $1 billion increase in investments for adolescent girls.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED!

A call to action: From October 2023 – October 2024, UNICEF and our government and civil society partners collectively call for global stakeholders to:


1. Centre girls in the protection and promotion of rights: All like-minded partners must centre girls’ rights in their work to tackle the pushback against gender equality. Whether it is on maternal health care, parenting support, unpaid care work or access to financial literacy and resources, adolescent girls tend to be sidelined. Whether it is a debate in an international resolution, the crafting of a national policy, the funding of grassroots movements in response to a humanitarian emergency – start with the most marginalized girls at the centre to stop this happening.

2. Recognize, celebrate and support girls' leadership: Investing in girls' leadership includes creating space and platforms for girls to raise their voices at every level of policy-making, directly resourcing girls’ movements and networks, and centering girls’ voices, agency and leadership in all programmes.

3. Introduce and scale up multi-sectoral programmes that support adolescent girls' well-being: To quote many girl leaders, including most recently UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and climate activist Vanessa Nakate, we know that “girls don't live single-issue lives.” We also know that our best chance of scaling up sustainable programming to support girls’ well-being is building programmes around what already exists, and where girls are already finding support. Whether it is a health clinic that provides gender-based violence referrals, a cash transfer programme that includes financial literacy training, an adolescent-friendly maternal health clinic that includes a parenting programme, or a violence-prevention programme that takes place at school, we must introduce and scale-up multi-sectoral programming that address adolescent girls’ needs.

4. Ensure information, services and systems meaningfully change to be adolescent-girl-friendly: This includes tackling the stigma and poor treatment many adolescent girls have highlighted in accessing essential services, such as sexual and reproductive health services; coming to school if pregnant/having given birth; or in managing menstrual health and hygiene.

5. Make structural changes to scale up funding for girls (and not as a one-off): The paucity of funding for the issues affecting adolescent girls is stark. Major international development and humanitarian actors, governments, the private sector and civil society organizations can and must play their parts to make structural changes and policy decisions to fund adolescent girls. It is the right thing to do. But is also a smart investment – an investment in a demographic dividend that will only pay off if we invest in girls today. We are therefore amplifying Vanessa Nakate’s call at Women Deliver for $1 billion in new investments from the international development community for adolescent girls by 2025; a significant increase in public finance commitments by national policymakers, earmarked for girl-centred national policies and programmes in the long-term; and a significant increase in funding for girl-led groups, organizations and networks by 2025.

The challenge:


In almost every country, patriarchy and power dynamics afford boys comparative advantages compared to girls in most domains. These advantages accrue over time. During adolescence, paths diverge considerably. Social and gender norms constrict adolescent girls’ access to public spaces, socialize girls to be docile and obedient (“good girls”), and reinforce perceptions that girls’ appearances, and potential and actual role in care work, is valued more than their studies in school, leadership in business, or voice in policymaking.

This divergent path is fraught with multifaceted challenges and interconnected violations of girls’ rights. As a result of these patriarchal dynamics playing out at every level – from formal policymaking institutions to community norms, family behaviours and individual attitudes – we see stark ways in which girls are left behind across multiple dimensions. For example:

• Nearly 1 in 5 girls are still not completing lower-secondary and nearly 4 in 10 girls are not completing upper-secondary school today. And in certain regions, the numbers are even more dismal. Around 90 per cent of adolescent girls and young women do not use the internet in low-income countries, while their male peers are twice as likely to be online.
• Globally, girls aged 5-14 spend 160 million more hours every day on unpaid care and domestic work than boys of the same age. This unequal distribution in unpaid work intensifies in adolescence with serious implications for girls’ well-being.
• Adolescent girls continue to account for 3 in 4 new HIV infections among adolescents.
• Meeting adolescent girls’ demands for family planning with modern methods has been slow, increasing from 55% to 60% since 2012. This means that 4 in 10 adolescent girls aged 15-19 who want to avoid pregnancy are not using a modern method, and teenage pregnancy is a leading cause of mortality for adolescent girls.
• Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade. And now over the next ten years, up to 10 million more girls worldwide will be at risk of marrying as children because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Nearly 1 in 4 married/partnered adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.

Investing in girls:


Targeted and evidence-based investments in key areas that promote girls’ leadership and well-being are needed to secure their rights and development – in every setting and context. It is imperative to increase funding in key areas, including girls' health, education, violence prevention, and economic empowerment. Such investments represent a critical step to realize girls’ rights under the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Moreover, the international community will not meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets without investing in adolescent girls who, when supported, deliver returns and powerful change for girls themselves, their families, communities and societies. Consider the following:

• Education: For every additional year of secondary education a girl receives, her potential income increases by about 10-20%. This translates into greater economic productivity, reduced poverty rates, and improved overall well-being. Education confers compounding protective effects against several harmful outcomes in relation to their health and well-being.
• Health: Every dollar invested in sexual and reproductive health and rights for adolescent girls can yield economic returns of up to $120, leading to improved health outcomes and increased economic opportunities. A Lancet paper highlighted that targeted health and well-being interventions for adolescents can yield up to a tenfold return.
• Harmful practices: Despite the imperative to prevent child marriage, a 2022 review of official development assistance (ODA) reports that only 0.07% of official development assistance in 2020 went to fighting child marriage.
• Targeted resourcing for and with adolescent girls: A 2023 analysis by the Overseas Development Institute concluded that less than 6% of ODA by major bilateral donors is earmarked for gender and adolescents, despite the rights-based imperative and case for urgent action. We know multi-sectoral interventions can deliver the greatest impact, reaching adolescent girls wherever it makes the most sense for them in their context – whether a mobile health clinic, vocational centre, traditional classroom, or youth club. Evidence has indicated that multi-sectoral programming for adolescent girls can offer better value for money, delivering results across multiple outcomes for girls and their families.

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: Get the International Day of the girl child 2023 poster!

World Mental Health Day 2023; October 10th.

 

FORUM: “Mental health is a universal human right.“ World Mental Health Day 2023. It represent an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right. Mental health is a basic human right for all people. Everyone, whoever and wherever they are, has a right to the highest attainable standard of mental health. This includes the right to be protected from mental health risks, the right to available, accessible, acceptable, and good quality care, and the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.

Good mental health is vital to our overall health and well-being. Yet one in eight people globally are living with mental health conditions, which can impact their physical health, their well-being, how they connect with others, and their livelihoods. Mental health conditions are also affecting an increasing number of adolescents and young people. Having a mental health condition should never be a reason to deprive a person of their human rights or to exclude them from decisions about their own health. Yet all over the world, people with mental health conditions continue to experience a wide range of human rights violations. Many are excluded from community life and discriminated against, while many more cannot access the mental health care they need or can only access care that violates their human rights. The WHO continues to work with its partners to ensure mental health is valued, promoted, and protected, and that urgent action is taken so that everyone can exercise their human rights and access the quality mental health care they need. Follow the conversations with the hashtags #WMHD, #MakeMentalhealth4allAGlobalPriority, #10October, #MentalHealth, #Makewellbeing4allAGlobalPriority, #WorldMentalHealthDay; #MHUHR, #MHUniversalHR, #UHR4MH.

EVENTS: On October 10th, a webinar entitled “Mental health is a universal human right.“ will be organized to mark the World Mental Health Day 2023 and to promote awareness of Mental Health in people all over the world. Have a glance at the different events and initiatives being conducted by stakeholders across the world that are featured under the ambit of the Global WMHD Campaign 2023. Explore the Worldwide events!

WEBINARS:

As we mark the WFMH 75th Anniversary coinciding with World Mental Health Day 2023, the World Federation for Mental Health is proud to unveil a special bulletin!

STATEMENTS

Statement from the WFMH President on World Mental Health Day 2023; October 10th.

It gives me great pleasure to celebrate with you the Diamond Jubilee of the WFMH. It has been seventy-five years since its first meeting in London in 1948. This organisation has carried the flag of mental health advocacy on a global level. The letter from King George in 1948 to the Federation highlighted our mission of advocacy and support for mental health in our community, it went beyond the needs of the mentally ill and suggested the Federation would help world citizens live together in peace and a good neighbourliness.

Seventy-five years later, I look back at our achievements and shortcomings. Having inherited from my grandfather the details of that conference, I was able to observe with pride the energy towards a multi-disciplinary approach to mental health care.

The world has evolved over the years adopting the biological model for treatment of mental health problems, but it quickly became clear that without advocacy and anti-stigma efforts, access to care services becomes challenging. The work of the Federation has continued to grow choosing the theme for Mental Health Day since 1993, supporting the needs of immigrants and refugees in the crisis areas and advocating for women in mental health are some of the highlights of our work. We have been able to maintain the voice of people with lived experience of mental disorder in policy and regulation planning. Families and carers have worked actively with the Federation since its inception.

On the academic level, the Federation has organised and participated in over 100 scientific conferences. The current group headed by our president elect is actively working on producing a journal for the Federation, a step we all look forward to. Looking at the coming seventy-five years, the Federation stands on solid grounds of governance and transparency, the work of the secretariat in setting standards for management and procedural activities was essential in maintaining our good relations with the UN and other international agencies.

So congratulations dear friends on this milestone. I send you my best wishes for many more years of success and achievements for WFMH.

Yours sincerely,

Nasser Loza

President WFMH

President Egyptian Society for the Rights of People with mental illness

Statement from the WFMH Secretary-General on World Mental Health Day 2023; October 10th.

On 10 October 2023 we will be celebrating World Mental Health Day with the theme ‘Mental Health is a Universal Human Right’ chosen by a global vote open to the public, including World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) members, stakeholders, and supporters.

This year’s World Mental Health Day celebration coincides with the 75th Anniversary of the foundation of the WFMH in 1948. At its foundation a range of recommendations were made, including that specialised agencies of the United Nations (UN) should do everything possible to co-ordinate their activities in the interest of developing adequate mental health programmes within each member nation; and that the World Health Organization (WHO) give adequate attention to mental health principles in their health programmes, drawing on international professional organisations for co-operation.

1948 was an important year for human rights because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted on 10 December 1948 by the UN General Assembly with Article 1 thereof stating: ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’

Although the UDHR did not specifically mention mental health, and neither was it a treaty, by 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was adopted, Article 12 whereof stated: ‘The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.’

The United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) was adopted in 2007 with the vision ‘to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY 2023 – Mental Health is a Universal Human Right. 4 rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity’ and included people with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments.

Despite all efforts by the UN, WHO, WFMH, governments, institutions and other agencies, mental health discrimination, harmful stereotypes and stigma in the community, family, schools and the workplace still persist. The same prevents healthy relationships, social interactions and inclusive environments needed for the well-being of all members of society and presents barriers to the enjoyment of full well-being for all, especially those with mental health challenges.

Previous reports by the UN Human Rights office highlight that people with mental health conditions and those with psychosocial disabilities experience disproportionately higher rates of poor physical health and reduced life expectancy. Stigma is also a significant determinant of quality care and access to the full range of services required.

Investment and transformation in mental health is needed to help stop the widespread human rights violations that people with mental health conditions continue to experience worldwide.

This year’s theme enables us to re-double our efforts to ensure that everybody should receive quality mental health care and that the human rights and well-being of people with mental illness are respected in all parts of the world so that every person with a mental health difficulty has:The right to be protected from known harms to mental health; a universal right which applies to the entire population, but especially the vulnerable including children, minorities and the displaced peoples.
The right to access quality and affordable care when a person is struggling with their mental health.
The right to freedom and dignity, including the right of choice. The 2023 World Mental Health Day theme ‘Mental Health is a Universal Human Right’ provides us with an opportunity to re-kindle our efforts to make the world a better place.

We invite you to join this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign.

Professor Gabriel Ivbijaro MBE JP

WFMH Secretary-General

Visiting Professor Population Mental Health NOVA University Lisbon Portugal Honorary Visiting Fellow Bradford University School of Management UK Past President WFMH President & Founder The World Dignity Project.

Statement from the Founder of the Fahim Foundation for Mental Health Support. Member of the WFMH, Nabila Makram AbdelShahid, on World Mental Health Day 2023; October 10th.

“I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within” Rumi

“In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is impossible” Cicero

Social media exposure, digitalization of many aspects of life, natural disasters and political crises, economic burden and unemployability, spread of infection and disease, collapse of social norms, all this is causing distress on our soul and mind. As a result, we see violence, addiction, suicide, and depression more common in our societies.

Therefore, we need to emphasize that the right to mental health is a subject of ever-increasing importance. In September 2017, the Human Rights Council Resolution recognized the importance of integrating mental health services into primary and general health care.

However, it is a joint responsibility to act against stigmatizing psychiatric patients and mental health service providers, to raise awareness on the importance of mental health, to understand the needs and demands of psychiatric patients and their caregivers, to direct funding and resources to support and drive a paradigm shift in the field of mental health.

Only if we join forces, cooperate and exchange knowledge and expertise, only if we complement each other and bridge gaps and face challenges, we can build an inclusive society that integrates psychiatric patients socially, that is able to acknowledge mental illness, where mentally ill receive appropriate treatment at the right time without fear or shame.

Nabila Makram Abdel Shahid, Founder of the Fahim Foundation for Mental Health Support.

Statement from the World Organization Of Family Doctors (WONCA) on Mental Health Day 2023; October 10th.


Dear Dr. Nasser Loza, President of the World Federation for Mental Health, and Prof. Gabriel Ivbijaro, Secretary-General of WFMH, On behalf of the World Organization of Family Doctors, I extend our heartfelt congratulations to the World Federation for Mental Health on the momentous occasion of your 75th anniversary. WFMH’s dedication to mental health advocacy, policy formulation, and community engagement is an inspiration to us all. The breadth of your partnerships and the scope of your projects has touched lives across the globe. We are incredibly proud and grateful for our partnership with WFMH. Your commitment to dignity, rights, and equity in mental health aligns seamlessly with our own mission to improve the quality of life for families globally. As you celebrate this significant milestone, we look forward to strengthening our collaboration with WFMH in the years to come. Together, we can continue to make strides in mental health care and advocacy, ensuring a healthier and more equitable world for all. Once again, congratulations on 75 remarkable years! Sincerely.

Dr Anna Stavdal, WONCA President.

CAMPAIGN: ‘Mental Health is a Universal Human Right’.

As we mark 75 years of mental health advocacy, we at the World Federation for Mental Health bring to you one of our largest endeavours – The WFMH Global Campaign 2023, the WFMH 75th Anniversary and the World Mental Health Day 2023. The Global Campaign and its initiatives would be based on this year’s official theme of World Mental Health Day – ‘Mental Health is a Universal Human Right’. Mental health as a universal right to all citizens of the world is consistent with the 1948 founding principles of WFMH. The global campaign aims to place mental health in a human rights framework to re-cast the aspiration for sound mental health as a fundamental human right. The global campaign aims to engage individuals, communities, institutions, and stakeholders worldwide, with the objective of empowering grassroot advocacy for the cause of mental health and its intersection with human rights. While featuring theme-based global events and embracing diverse creative expressions through digital means, the campaign intends to promote awareness and put-forth the significance of mental health.

Join us in this journey as we unite to raise awareness about the importance of mental health as an indispensable universal human right, with the vision of fostering a world that values and nurtures the well-being of all.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED!

• Engage with the theme "Mental Health is a Universal Human Right".
• Join the Global Volunteers Team of World Federation for Mental Health and be a part of the Organizing Team of WFMH Global Campaign 2023. Help in increasing the campaign’s digital and on-ground outreach, along with encouraging participation in global activities.
• Commemorate this journey with our WFMH Global Campaign events, and information.

In recognition of World Mental Health Day 2023, the World  Federation for Mental Health is delighted to feature a composition by Chad Lawson from Decca Records US, a part of Universal Music Group – Stay as the official music of the WFMH Global Campaign 2023. Listen to the Official Music Of WMHD 2023!

World Post Day 2023; October 9th.

FORUM: "Together for trust: Collaborating for a safe and connected future." World Post Day 2023. The foundation of the Post's success as a service provider lies in the trust it has earned from people across the globe down the centuries. Today, more than 5 million postal employees are entrusted with a variety of essential and personal items, from messages, gifts and goods, to money and medicines. This trust has been cultivated through a steadfast commitment to safety and security. Posts have tirelessly worked to improve the safety of roads, providing training programmes for delivery drivers, and implementing security measures to keep dangerous goods out of the supply chain, safeguarding workers and customers alike. Furthermore, during times of disasters or conflicts, Posts have extended a helping hand, organizing supplies and emergency services for those in need; often, they are the first to assist in these situations. Posts can leverage this existing trust-based relationship to help bridge a gap facing billions: the digital divide. By connecting their expansive physical network to the digital sphere, Posts are embarking on a massive digital transformation to offer secure online services in this Fourth Industrial Revolution. The UPU has been a dedicated partner in building a safe and connected global network that serves nearly eight billion people each day with modern and secure services, and it is a key part of this transformation. It’s time to bring awareness to the Post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development. Follow the conversation with the hastags: #WorldPostDay, #PostalDevelopment #9October.

EVENTS: October 9th, The World Post Day 2023 Global Celebration will be held at UPU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. the panel discussion entitled “Together for trust” is a call to action for all governments and their postal operators to support the development of a digital single postal territory to match the physical network built over centuries. As a result, the UPU's member countries are encouraged to organize their own national activities to celebrate the event, including everything from the introduction or promotion of new postal products and services, to the organization of open days at post offices, mail centres and postal museums. Countries will participate in the UPU International Letter-Writing Competition, and the national winners will ve announced.

STATEMENTS: “This World Post Day, I urge you to work together with the UPU to ensure that people everywhere need look no further than their local post office to find access to the digital economy. Let us work hand in hand to create a world where everyone can benefit from the secure digital and physical services that our global postal network can offer. “ Read the full statement by the Director General of the UPU International Bureau on World Post Day 2023; October 9th.

COMMUNICATION MATERIALS: Stamps.

World Teachers’ Day 2023; October 5th.

 

FORUM: “The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage.” World Teachers’ Day 2023. Being a teacher provides the unique opportunity to make a transformative and lasting impact on the lives of others, contributing to shaping sustainable futures and offering personal fulfilment. However, the world faces an unprecedented global teacher shortage exacerbated by a decline in their working conditions and status. With the theme "The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage", the 2023 celebrations will aim to put the importance of stopping the decline in the number of teachers and then starting to increase that number at the top of the global agenda. Through various activities, they will advocate for a dignified and valued teaching profession, analyse their challenges, and showcase inspiring practices to attract, retain and motivate teachers and educators. It will also examine the ways in which education systems, societies, communities, and families recognise, appreciate, and actively support teachers. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #InvestInTeachers, #WorldTeachersDay, #5October.

EVENTS: The organizers and participants are invited to subscribe and participate to the World Teachers Day 2023 on October 5th and October 6th, at UNESCO Headquaters from 11:00 to 17:00 (Paris time, GMT+2). Celebrations will focus on the meaningfulness of being a teacher and the urgency of attracting and retaining qualified teachers into the profession. It will insist on the dual imperative of attracting youth to teaching programmes and the imperatives to make the profession attractive for those in service in order to curb teacher attrition. From a lifelong learning perspective, the commemorations will cover the teaching profession at different level of education, learning spaces and modalities. The Agenda programme of the Online events are "Teacher education in emergencies to support attraction and well-being" and "Global pathways to an attractive teaching profession"; The 2023 World Teachers' Day is framed within the wider context of a new social contract and the transformation of education. It will be informed by the work of the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession and the follow-up to the Transforming Education Summit. It will highlight recommendations coming out of both initiatives and will greatly benefit from the comprehensive analysis and valuable data gathered in preparation of the Global Report on Teachers to be published by UNESCO and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF) at the end of 2023. UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF and Education International, the four co-convening organizations of World Teachers’ Day, will encourage decision-makers, (notably Ministers of Education), development cooperation and aid agencies, and representatives of civil society, the teaching profession, youth and the private sector, to take action to make the teaching profession more attractive through local, national and regional policies and programmes. Advocacy events (e.g., meetings, exhibitions, campaigns, awards) will be organized to highlight the pathways that can be followed to ensure the teachers we need for the education that we want. Below is the list of international initiatives and resources envisaged for the 2023 edition of World Teachers’ Day on the theme of imperatives to make the profession more attractive: Four events open to the public at UNESCO HQ and online

1. Recognition and appreciation: the role of teacher prizes in enhancing the status of the profession - 5 October -11 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Paris time), Room IX or II (TBC), UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France - This panel aims to discuss the role of teacher prizes as symbols of recognition of the work undertaken by educators, as an essential form of contribution to the improvement of their status within the community and, ultimately, as a lever to raising the appeal of the profession. Register here to participate online.
2. 2023 World Teachers’ Day Opening Ceremony - 5 October - 2.30 - 4:30 p.m. (Paris time), Room IX or II (TBC), UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France -After opening remarks of the co-conveners of World Teachers’ Day, the event will present critical data on the appeal of the teaching profession, highlighting teacher voices on what they find attractive and challenging in the profession. Register here to attend online.
3. Teacher education in emergencies to support attraction and well-being - 6 October - 12 - 2 p.m. (Paris time), online event - The roundtable will be followed by a discussion on the support teachers need to realize their commitment and their vocation in the most difficult contexts. Register here to participate online.
4. Global pathways to an attractive teaching profession - 6 October - 3 - 5 p.m. (Paris time), online event.The workshop will explore national and regional policy responses and programmes to improve the appeal of the teaching profession in response to the global shortage on teachers Register to participate!

WORLDWIDE OBSERVANCES: Get the list of World Teachers’ Day 2023 celebrations at UNESCO Regional Offices, Institutes and Member States.

STATEMENTS: Joint Message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General, International Labour Organization, Ms Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF, Mr David Edwards, General Secretary, Education International for World Teachers’ Day, 5 October 2023.

"Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher” – Japanese Proverb.

If we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, in particular the goal of achieving equitable and quality education, we need relevant and innovative pedagogies that prepare the learners of today for the transformation needed by society in a rapidly changing world. Teachers are one of the pillars on which this transformation depends. Research has repeatedly found that teachers are the single most important school-level variable for improving student outcomes. The centrality of teachers to the future of education was reaffirmed at the United Nations Transforming Education Summit last year, culminating in the establishment of the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession. This renewed focus on teachers is timely, as the world currently faces a severe global teacher shortage. Halfway to the Sustainable Development Goals, 44 million teachers still need to be recruited globally to meet universal primary and secondary education needs by 2030, with 15 million of those required in sub-Saharan Africa, according to newly released data from UNESCO and the Teacher Task Force. Rural, marginalized, and forcibly displaced communities often face the most chronic shortages of qualified teachers. The fundamental cause of this global shortage is the diminishing attractiveness of the teaching profession, which undermines the recruitment of new teachers and produces high levels of attrition amongst those in service, especially within the first three to five years of entering the workforce. Teachers can typically expect to be paid less than if they entered other professions requiring similar levels of qualification, whilst also finding themselves increasingly overburdened by additional responsibilities and administrative tasks. Due to these poor working conditions, teaching is often viewed negatively as a ‘profession of last resort’, and teachers are not given the recognition and status that they deserve. The report from the International Commission on the Futures of Education – Reimagining our Futures Together: A new social contract for education – recommends that the teaching profession be reimagined as a collaborative profession. To do so, it is essential to shift the way in which we perceive teachers: they should be valued as key agents in renewing the social contract for education. Teachers are lifelong learners, catalysts for change, creators and facilitators of knowledge, and mentors who engage students and support them in understanding the complex challenges and realities of our world today.

Today,  on  World  Teachers’  Day,  we  celebrate  teachers’  critical  role  and  the  great  importance of reversing the global teacher shortage. We call upon countries to ensure that teaching is transformed everywhere into a more attractive and valorised profession where  teachers  are  valued,  trusted,  and  adequately  supported  to  meet  the  needs  of  every learner. Bold actions must be taken, if we are to reverse the current decline and successfully increase teacher number.

Photo exhibition: On World Teachers’ Day, UNESCO presents an exhibition that celebrates educators from all corners of our planet, recognizing their dedication, passion, and commitment to shaping the future. Delving into a range of topics — from digital transformation and inclusion to lifelong learning and sustainable development — the exhibition offers insights into how UNESCO and its partners champion educators globally. Explore the exhibition!

World Habitat Day 2023; October 2nd.

FORUM: "Resilient urban economies. Cities as drivers of growth and recovery." World Habitat 2023.

The Year 2023 has been a particularly challenging year for Urban Economies. The global economy growth itself is declining to about 2.5% and, apart from the initial COVID-19 crisis in 2020 and the global financial crisis in 2009, this is the weakest growth experienced since 2001. Given the size of the contribution of cities to the national economy, the future of many countries will be determined by the productivity of its urban areas. Cities are the engines that create value that boosts economic recovery. For this economic growth and recovery to be sustainable, we need cities that can absorb, recover, and prepare for future economic shocks. It is crucial that this is also packaged under the green recovery framework that scales up private and public investments to finance the transition to a climate-neutral economy in a post-COVID world. Cities all over the world have already embarked on this journey through implementing various models. UN-Habitat, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, believes that these models can be localised and scaled up through the Global Partnership for Local Investment, where experiences are shared to build a local finance framework for cities and communities, to help distribute existing funding and finance to where it can deliver the greatest impact. In the prevailing economic situation, local governments have faced increased difficulty to gain increased access to external resources to fund their development. The local finance framework integrates three key solutions to facilitate this access: 1. Cities Investment Facility (CIF); 2. UN-Habitat/UNCDF Guarantee Facility for Sustainable Cities; 3. Rapid Own Source Revenue Analysis (ROSRA).

Expected Outcomes: This year’s World Habitat Day aims to convene various city stakeholders to discuss the ways in which cities can be primed for recovery following the global intersecting negative economic shocks of COVID-19 and conflicts by:

Broaching the different dimensions of economic slowdown that cities are currently experiencing and identifying actions that cities can take to boost economic recovery.
Sharing experiences among different cities on how they are positioning themselves to tackle inflationary pressures and other tight global financial conditions.

Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #WorldHabitatDay, #UrbanOctober, #HousingattheCentre, #Right2Housing, #MindtheGap, #LeaveNoOneBehind, #adequatehousing.

EVENTS: On October 2nd, in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Global Observance of World Habitat Day 2023, under the theme "Resilient urban economies. Cities as drivers of growth and recovery", will look at how cities can position their economies to benefit residents. From 09:40 to 12:30 AM will be hold the High-Level Opening Ceremony of the Global Observance of the World Habitat Day, following by the Roundtable 1: Cities as national and regional drivers of socioeconomic resilience and growth and the Roundtable 2: Post-crisis urban recovery from 14:30 to 17:20. PM. The Closing Ceremony of the Global Observance of World Habitat Day 2023 will start at 17:20 PM. Get the draft Programme of the World Habitat Day 2023 and Click the link here to join the webinar.

SECOND NATIONAL URBAN FORUM OF AZERBAIJAN: The National Urban Forum is organized by the government of Azerbaijan in collaboration with UN-Habitat. It is preceding World Habitat Day. It will take place in the cities of Zangilan and Baku, from 29 September - 1 October 2023. The event will bring together a diverse range of national and international urban stakeholders. The forum will address key emerging urban challenges and showcase international experience focusing on the role of urban productivity and economic growth, hereby fully deploying the potential of the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda for economic resilience and transition to a more sustainable urban future. To register for the event.

SCROLL OF HONOUR: UN-Habitat, the United Nations agency focusing on sustainable urbanization, has launched nominations for its prestigious 2023 Scroll of Honour Award. Nominations were open from 20 March to 20 June 2023. Nominations closed on 20 June 2023 and five winners have been selected. The winners are the EcoVironment, Sierra Leone, the Assembleia de Moradores from Braga, Portugal, the FICA (Fundo Imobiliário Comunitário para Aluguel), from São Paulo, Brazil, the Dubai Municipality, United Arab Emirates, the Fundación Pro Empleo Productivo A,C., from Mexico City, Mexico. The winners will receive their awards at the global observance of World Habitat Day on 2 October 2023.

STATEMENTS

Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on World Habitat Day 2023.

This year’s World Habitat Day focuses attention on ‘Resilient Urban Economies’ and the potential of cities as drivers of inclusive, green, and sustainable growth.

To fulfil this promise, cities must confront a range of challenges – from economic shocks and escalating climate emergencies to widening inequalities.

Through our Local 2030 Coalition, we are mobilizing the entire United Nations system to tackle these crises from the ground up and advance sustainable urbanization.

Local zero waste initiatives are supporting the creation of circular economies. Public efforts to expand green spaces help cool urban landscapes during heatwaves. And community action to reduce food waste and promote local production are key steps in transforming our food systems.

Building greater resilience and better protecting vulnerable populations requires far greater investments in sustainable infrastructure, early warning systems, and affordable, adequate housing for all.

At the same time, we must work to improve access to electricity, water, sanitation, transport, and other basic services – while investing in education, skills development, digital innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Local action is vital, and global cooperation indispensable.

On this World Habitat Day, let us pledge to build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable human settlements for all people, everywhere.

António Guterres

Statement of UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif on World Habitat Day 2023, October 2nd.

As we gather today to celebrate World Habitat Day, set by the United Nations to reflect on the state of human settlements and human habitat, let us remember that cities are not mere collections of buildings and roads.
Cities are vibrant ecosystems of human potential and innovation. They are our future.
In our challenging times of conflicts, economic hardships, and climate disasters, cities have proven their resilience time and time again. Cities have emerged as islands of hope, where communities unite, ideas flourish, and dreams are achieved.
UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, works with cities and communities to unlock their potential and empower them to create a better urban future – with job opportunities, green spaces, and respect for diversity.
With your support, we can tell the real story about cities. Let us share examples of cities as drivers of growth and recovery.
Let us recognize that resilient urban economies are not only about financing growth and competing to be at the top. It is also about nurturing the human spirit, embracing innovation, putting technology to serve human needs, and creating inclusive societies. Many nations recognize this and have pledged support for the sustainable development of cities and human settlements.
The second United Nations Habitat Assembly in June this year reaffirmed housing as a basic human right and mandated us to develop recommendations for affordable housing. We will also develop international guidelines for people-centered smart cities and urban biodiversity.
Let us work together to implement these policies and recommendations. As we embark on the journey, remember that the power to transform our cities lies within each one of us.
Together, we can build resilient urban economies that stand as beacons of hope, lighting the way toward a brighter, more inclusive, and sustainable future for all.


Happy World Habitat Day 2023!

UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

COMMUNICATION MATERIALS

Posters

• Resilient urban economies. Cities as drivers of growth and recovery – World Habitat Dy 2023.
• Économies urbaines résilientes – Journée mondiale de l’habitat 2023.
• Economías urbanas resilientes – Dia Mundial Del habitat 2023, 2 de octubre.
• Устойчивая городская экономика. Города — движущая сила роста и восстановления.
• 韧性城市经济，城市推动经济增长和复苏.
• الاقتصادات الحضرية المرنة- المدن بوصفها دوافع للنمو والانتعاش.

LIVESTREAM: High-Level Opening Ceremony of the World Habitat Day 2023.

 

International Day of Non-Violence 2023; October 2nd.

FORUM: “Commemorating Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)” International Day of Non-Violence 2023. Mahatma Gandhi was the primary leader of India’s independence movement and also the architect of a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would influence the world. He was assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse. On this day, we commemorate not only the birth of Mahatma Gandhi but also the timeless values he championed: mutual respect and understanding, justice, and the power of peaceful action. Let’s work together for the establishment of a non-violent society. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #2october, #NonViolenceDay, #Ghandhi.

EVENTS: Join us on October 2nd for the celebration of Mahatma Gandhi 154 birth anniversary and for the observance of the International Day of Non-Violence 2023 at the UNHQ.

Statement from the  United Nations Secretary-General on the International Day of Non-Violence 2023; October 2nd.

On this International Day of Non-Violence, we commemorate not only the birth of Mahatma Gandhi but also the timeless values he championed: mutual respect and understanding, justice, and the power of peaceful action.

Our world confronts grave challenges: growing inequalities, rising tensions, proliferating conflicts, and worsening climate chaos.

We also see divides deepening within countries – with democracy under threat and hate speech and intolerance on the march.

We can overcome these afflictions and chart a course towards a brighter, more peaceful future.

If we understand – as Gandhi did – that the magnificent diversity of our human family is a treasure, not a threat.

If we invest in social cohesion, nurture the courage to compromise, and the determination to cooperate.

If we ensure that all of us – regardless of status, background, circumstance, or faith – can live lives of dignity, opportunity, and rights.

If we unite around our common humanity.

Let us remember Gandhi’s wise counsel: “Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.”

Let us heed his words today and re-commit ourselves to this essential purpose.

António Guterres.

COMMUNICATION MATERIALS: Biography of Mahatma Ghandi.