Read this online at www.intuition-in-service.org/newsletter/December21.html


Please Hold in the Light
December 2021

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.

Daily Reminder
Check out a daily reminder of these events to hold in the light. Share this daily reminder with others by including the app on your website.

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 Sustainable Development Goals
  • engaging people of goodwill all over the world in a common movement.
 
2021 United Nations International Years
 
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.
Please link in from wherever you are. More information at: http://www.spiritualcaucusun.org/

In December the Caucus will meet subjectively on December 16, 2.00 - 3.15pm. The physical meeting has been cancelled as a precautionary measure due to the Coronavirus. All are invited to link together for 30 minutes in mind and heart with a particular focus on supporting the UN during this difficult time.
 
 
 

December Please Hold These Events in the Light


December 1
World AIDS Day

2021 theme: End inequalities. End AIDS. End pandemics.
Without bold action against inequalities, the world risks missing the targets to end AIDS by 2030, as well as a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and a spiralling social and economic crisis.
Forty years since the first AIDS cases were reported, HIV still threatens the world. Today, the world is off track from delivering on the shared commitment to end AIDS by 2030 not because of a lack of knowledge or tools to beat AIDS, but because of structural inequalities that obstruct proven solutions to HIV prevention and treatment.
UN Aids Day
www.unaids.org

December 1 - 3
World Cooperative Congress, Seoul, Republic of Korea

2021 theme: Deepening Our Cooperative Identity
The 33rd Congress of the International Cooperative Alliance will be a hybrid event with some participants in Seoul and others participating online. The programme has beend designed to enable the cooperative movement to explore its identity to build a more secure future. Using the current global crisis as a framework, discussions will aim to deepen the cooperative identity by examining its values, strengthening its actions, committing to its principles and living its achievements.
icaworldcoopcongress.coop

December 2
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Modern slavery is the severe exploitation of other people for personal or commercial gain. Modern slavery is all around us, but often just out of sight. People can become entrapped making our clothes, serving our food, picking our crops, working in factories, or working in houses as cooks, cleaners or nannies.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
www.antislavery.org
50forfreedom.org

December 3
International Day for Persons with Disabilities

2021 theme: Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible, and sustainable post-COVID-19 world
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.
The global crisis of COVID-19 is deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing the extent of exclusion and highlighting that work on disability inclusion is imperative. People with disabilities—one billion people— are one of the most excluded groups in our society and are among the hardest hit in this crisis in terms of fatalities.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.un.org/desa/

December 4
International Day of Banks

Well-run national development banks can help countries develop financing options for Sustainable Development Goal-related investments. Such banks should be aligned with the Goals in a holistic way and be considered in integrated national financing frameworks. Collaboration between national development banks and multilateral banks, through co-financing or on-lending arrangements, can enhance Goal-related finance through the complementarity of international resources and local market knowledge.
www.un.org/
www.unepfi.org/

December 4 - 5
One World Bearing Witness: Bearing Witness to the Creativity of Life

A 24-hour global online ritual of meditation, regeneration, and celebration. You are invited: to join in a celebration of LIFE’s endless, boundless creativity. After two years with the coronavirus, two more years of climate catastrophes, two more years in which the human heart has been tested, you are invited to bear witness to the creativity of life in all its power and beauty.
This event is co-ordinated by One World in Dialogue (established to develop a living global network of change-makers and activists committed to deep dialogue in order to create new approaches and collaborations that support change).
oneworldindialogue.com

December 5
World Soil Day

Theme 2021: Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity
Soil salinization and sodification are major soil degradation processes threatening ecosystem and are recognized as being among the most important problems at a global level for agricultural production, food security and sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions.
www.fao.org/
www.un.org

December 5
International Volunteer Day

2021 theme: Volunteer Now for our Common Future
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.
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
www.unv.org

December 7 - 8
Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit

2021 Theme: Food, Health & Prosperity for All
As a contrinution to the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition a coalition of governments and international non profit organizations the Summit provides a historic opportunity to transform the way the world tackles the global challenge of malnutrition.).
nutritionforgrowth.org

December 8
Turning Words Into Action: A People's Forum for the Future of the United Nations

Organized by the Coalition for the UN We Need (a coalition of international civil society organizations) The 2021 People’s Forum will provide an opportunity for Civil Society to come together and strategize on how to evaluate and further advance the many progressive proposals from the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report. Anyone interested can register for this online event
c4unwn.org/

December 9
International Anti-Corruption Day

2021 Theme: Your right, your role: say no to corruption.
Corruption thrives in times of crisis and the ongoing global pandemic has not been an exception either. During the COVID-19 health crisis, fighting corruption can mean the difference between life and death; adequate food or hunger; having a roof over one’s head or becoming homeless.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption - which entered into force in December 2005 - provides 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.anticorruptionday.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/
www.genocidewatch.com

December 10
Human Rights Day

2021 Theme: EQUALITY - Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.
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."
The principles of equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. … Equality, inclusion and non-discrimination, in other words - a human rights-based approach to development - is the best way to reduce inequalities and resume our path towards realising the 2030 Agenda.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.standup4humanrights.org

December 11
International Mountains Day

2021 Theme: sustainable mountain tourism
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
mountain.org
csvpa.org

December 12
International Universal Health Coverage Day

2021 Theme: Leave No One’s Health Behind: Invest in health systems for all
Established by the UN General Assembly in December 2012, Universal Health Coverage Day aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage with multi-stakeholder partners. The General Assembly voted to encourage governments to move towards Universal Health coverage on the understanding that everyone, everywhere should have access to quality, affordable health care - as an essential priority for international development.
www.un.org/en/events/
universalhealthcoverageday.org
www.uhc2030.org

December 12
International Day of Neutrality

Concerned to encourage the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means the UN General Assemby voted in 2017 to declare December 12 International Day of Neutrality
It is worth noting that the policy of neutrality — a key factor for providing conditions and building a platform for peaceful negotiations — is also closely interconnected with and based on the tools of preventive diplomacy, such as early warning and prevention of conflict, mediation, good offices, fact-finding missions, negotiation, the use of special envoys, informal consultations, peacebuilding and targeted development activities.
www.un.org

December 18
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.gfmd.org/
www.iom.int
iamamigrant.org/

December 19
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.lucistrust.org/resources/

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 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/

December 21
Global Silent Minute

The annual Global Silent Minute will take place at 9pm GMT on 21 December 2021: Regeneration through Silence. A live event, hosted by Unity Earth, SINE Network, Unify, and many partners around the world will begin at 8:40 pm GMT, leading up to the Global Silent Minute at exactly 9 pm GMT, followed by a period of silence and then a two hour program titled The Longest Night, featuring Indigenous Ceremony, Music, Dance, Silence, and the Byakko Shinko Kai Divine Spark In mudras. www.globalsilentminute.org
www.facebook.com

December 27
International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

Major infectious diseases and epidemics have devastating impacts on human lives, wreaking havoc on long-term social and economic development. Global health crises threaten to overwhelm already overstretched health systems, disrupt global supply chains and cause disproportionate devastation of the livelihoods of people, including women and children, and the economies of the poorest and most vulnerable countries.… It is important to strengthen epidemic prevention by applying lessons learned on epidemic management and how to prevent the stoppage of basic services, and to raise the level of preparedness in order to have the earliest and most adequate response to any epidemic that may arise, and recognizing also the value of an integrated One Health approach that fosters integration of human health, animal health and plant health, as well as environmental and other relevant sectors.
www.un.org