Welcome
During International Days and major international conferences there is a special opportunity to serve in
the creation of a more unified and compassionate world.
As meditators we can symbolically stand together with all actively working in the spirit of the Charter of Compassion, and invoke the aid of the Forces of Light in support of these events.
Sustainable Development Goals & Climate Change
These International Days and events reflect important themes in the mobilization of energies to:
- End poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030 through practical actions to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals
- engaging people of goodwill all over the world in a common movement.
2016 United Nations International Year
2017 United Nations International Year
Silence at the United Nations
The Spiritual Caucus at the United Nations gathers in the vicinity of UN Headquarters in New York (September - June) on the third Thursday every month for 30 minutes of silence followed by 30 minutes of dialogue, sharing insights and exploring ways to use an inner focus in service of the work of the UN. On the 1st Thursday of the month the Caucus invites friends to sit in silence for 30 minutes in the newly renovated Meditation Room at UN Headquarters in New York.
Please link in from wherever you are. More information at: http://www.spiritualcaucusun.org/
In December the Spiritual Caucus will gather for silence in the UN Meditation Room at UN Headquarters, New York on December 1 from 12.45 - 1.15 PM and for silence and discussion at the Conference Room of the NGO Resource Center at UN Headquarters in New York on December 15 from 1.30 - 2.45 PM.
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December Please Hold These Events in the Light
December 1
World AIDS Day
2016 theme: Hands Up for #HIVprevention
A new report by UNAIDS Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV shows that countries are getting on the Fast-Track, with an additional one million people accessing treatment in just six months (January to June 2016). By June 2016, around 18.2 million people had access to the life-saving medicines, including 910,000 children, double the number five years earlier. If these efforts are sustained and increased, the world will be on track to achieve the target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020.
www.unaids.org/en/resources/
UN Aids Day
December 1 -4
17th International Anti-Corruption Conference, Panama City
2016 theme: Time for Justice: Equity, Security, Trust.
1500 participants are expected to attend this major conference which will focus on the enablers of corruption and investigative journalism and in depth discussions on the Panama Papers.
iaccseries.org
December 2
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Millions of men, women and children around the world are forced to lead lives as slaves. Although this exploitation is often not called slavery, the conditions are the same. People are sold like objects, forced to work for little or no pay and are at the mercy of their 'employers'. more
Slavery was, in a very real sense, the first international human rights issue to come to the fore. It led to the adoption of the first human rights laws and to the creation of the first human rights non-governmental organization….
On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us redouble our efforts so that the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- "no one shall be held in slavery or servitude" -- ring true. - Kofi Annan
www.un.org/en/events/
www.ilo.org
December 3
International Day for Persons with Disabilities
2016 Theme: Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want
Over a billion people, approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability. Following the historic passage of a global Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities there has been a growing recognition by governments and civil society that any plans for human development must include and involve the community of people living with disabilities.
This year's theme focuses on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the role of these goals in building a more purposeful and equitable world for persons with disabilities.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.un.org/disabilities/
December 5
World Soil Day
Theme 2016: Soils and pulses, a symbiosis for life
Soils have been neglected for too long. We fail to connect soil with our food, water, climate, biodiversity and life. We must invert this tendency and take up some preserving and restoring actions. The World Soil Day campaign aims to connect people with soils and raise awareness on their critical importance in our lives.
www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/
www.un.org/en/events/
December 5
International Volunteer Day
2016 theme: Global Applause – give volunteers a hand
A day to celebrate the goodwill energy radiated throughout the human family by volunteers. Every society in the world relies on a vast network of volunteers to bring the energies of heart into community.
Volunteer Day offers an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to make visible their contributions - at local, national and international levels - to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Over the years, rallies, parades, community volunteering projects, environmental awareness, free medical care and advocacy campaigns have all featured prominently on Volunteer Day.
In a world dominated by self, volunteers are catalysts in the generation of the selfless spirit. Volunteers bring soul into community. Because volunteers in human development and environment issues are, more often than not, acting from idealistic and altruistic motives they bring a spiritual force into their own communities and the communities they serve. In the process of serving others, volunteers become a source of inspiration. They help to create an atmosphere of hope and goodwill that can be the critical transforming factor in ending a cycle of poverty and despair.
Yet bringing soul into community is not only about inspiration and vision. It is about meeting the most basic human needs at all levels - physical as well as psychological. Volunteers play a crucial role in every area of life, in all parts of the world. Wherever people are in need, volunteers are at hand to assist. In times of disaster, governments turn to voluntary agencies for all manner of expertise and assistance. And volunteers are key agents in tackling the silent disasters and human tragedies associated with poverty, pollution, disease and conflict.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/
December 7 - 9
Open Government Partnership Global Summit, Paris
the Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative bringing together 70 participating countries, NGOs and representatives from civil society in a collegial governance.
Principles of open and transparent government are promoted at the Summit and best practices shared and supported.
www.opengovpartnership.org/
December 9
International Anti-Corruption Day
International Anti-Corruption Day
Attitudes on corruption are changing. As recently as ten years ago, corruption was only whispered about. Today there are signs of growing intolerance toward corruption and more and more politicians and chief executives are being tried and convicted.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption - which entered into force in December 2005 - is both a cause and an effect of this trend. Its provisions are the most comprehensive, universal and even-handed measures for tackling this global challenge. The Convention subjects all the State Parties to the same scrutiny and sets clear rules to be applied equally to all.
www.un.org/en/events/anticorruptionday/
www.actagainstcorruption.org/
www.transparency.org
December 9
International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime
First observed in 2015, this Day seeks to raise awareness of the 1948 Genocide Convention (adopted on 9 December) and its role in combating and preventing the crime of genocide, as defined in the Convention, and to commemorate and honour its victims.
www.un.org/en/events/genocidepreventionday/
December 10
Human Rights Day
2016 theme: Stand Up for Someone's Rights Today
On 10 December every year, Human Rights Day commemorates the date on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaiming its principles as the "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations."
Help break the toxic patterns of a fearful world and embark on a more peaceful, more sustainable future. We don't have to stand by while the haters drive wedges of hostility between communities – we can build bridges. Wherever we are, we can make a real difference. In the street, in school, at work, in public transport; in the voting booth, on social media, at home and on the sports field.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.ohchr.org/
December 11
International Mountains Day
2016 Theme: Mountain Cultures: celebrating diversity and strengthening identity
International Mountain Day is an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build partnerships that will bring positive change to the mountain peoples and environments.
Many of the world's great mountain regions have long been considered to be sacred. See for example:
Nine Sacred Mountains of China;
Sacred Mountains, Themes and Teachings by Edwin Bernbaum.
www.fao.org
www.un.org/en/events/mountainday/
December 11
International Migrants Day
International Migrants Day is observed on December 18 to mark the anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly, in 1990, of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. During the last decade migrants have made up around 3% of the global population — 214 million people are today classified as migrants.
Migrants contribute greatly to the sense of cultural diversity in modern societies, and to our appreciation of the oneness of the human spirit. They give us the experience of living in a global neighborhood. Yet migrants are often subject to discrimination and exploitation. In a world of unity in diversity all communities are challenged to ensure that migrants are treated with humanity and their rights respected.
The Day will be observed by Migrants groups as The Global Day of Action for the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.globalmigrantsaction.org/
www.gfmd.org/
December 14
Full Moon - Sagittarius
Since ancient times human beings have honored the full moon as a time when the sacred is most accesible. It is a time of light - the moon reflects the light of the sun onto the face of the earth. In astrology this is a time when the qualities and potentials of the zodiacal sign of the sun are especially available to humanity for use in service.
During the full moon religious and esoteric groups around the world use the opportunities of this time to vizualize light and love and spiritual power flowing into humanity and strengthening all that is being done to help prepare the way for a world of unity, justice and peace; a world in which the Sustainable Development Goals are in process of being achieved.
www.lucistrust.org
www.worldservicegroup.com
December 20
International Human Solidarity Day
Convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing was important for combating poverty, the UN General Assembly, in 2005, proclaimed 20 December as International Human Solidarity Day.
It is to be observed as :
- A day to celebrate our unity in diversity
- A day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements
- A day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity
- A day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals including poverty eradication
- A day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.
Once we truly grasp that we are brothers and sisters in a common humanity, then we can shape our attitudes towards life in the light of the solidarity which makes us one. This is especially true in all that relates to the basic universal project: peace. - John Paul II.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.facebook.com/
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