Read this online at www.intuition-in-service.org/newsletter/February22.html


Please Hold in the Light
February 2022

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.
 
2022 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 February the Caucus will meet subjectively on February 17, 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.
 
 
 

February Please Hold These Events in the Light


February 1 - 7
World Interfaith Harmony Week

In November 2010, following a proposal by HM King Abdullah II and HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan, the United Nations General Assembly decided to observe the first week of February every year as World Interfaith Harmony Week. The resolution recognized that the moral imperatives of all religions, convictions and beliefs call for peace, tolerance and mutual understanding, and it reaffirmed that mutual understanding and inter religious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace.
Countless events are held around the world during the week.
worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com
www.un.org/en/events/
www.uri.org/

February 2
World Wetlands Day

2022 Theme: Wetlands Action for People and Nature
Wetlands are critical to human and planet life. Directly or indirectly, they provide almost all of the world’s consumption of freshwater. More than one billion people depend on them for a living and 40 per cent of the world’s species live and breed in wetlands. They are a vital source for food, raw materials, genetic resources for medicines, and hydropower; they mitigate floods, protect coastlines and build community resilience to disasters, and they play an important role in transport, tourism and the cultural and spiritual well-being of people.
Wetlands are also essential to efforts to regulate the global climate. Peatlands store twice as much carbon as the world’s forests despite accounting for just three per cent of the world’s land surface, with salt marshes, sea grass beds and mangroves also carbon-dense ecosystems. However, wetlands produce 20-25 per cent of global methane emissions and rising temperatures from climate change are expected to increase greenhouse gases from wetlands, particularly in permafrost regions.

On February 2,1971 an intergovernmental treaty, The Ramsar Convention, was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar. It commits member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the "wise use", or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories. It is the only environmental treaty governing a particular ecosystem.
www.worldwetlandsday.org

February 4
International Day of Human Fraternity

First celebrated in 2021, this is an annual event, observed by the UN, to celebrate the spirit of human fraternity and respect for diversity among all people across the globe.
The day commemorates the historic signing of the Document on Human Fraternity by His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 4, 2019. In these times we need — perhaps more than ever before — to recognize the valuable contribution of people of all religions, or beliefs, to humanity and the contribution that dialogue among all religious groups can make towards an improved awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all humankind.
www.un.org/
www.forhumanfraternity.org

February 6
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

2022 theme: Accelerating Investment to End Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. Over 140 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.The United Nations Population Fund and UNICEF jointly lead the largest global program to accelerate the abandonment of FGM.
www.un.org/
www.unfpa.org/
www.unicef.org

February 7 - 16
UN Commission for Social Development

2022 Priority theme: Inclusive and resilient recovery from COVID-19 for sustainable livelihoods, well-being and dignity for all: eradicating poverty and hunger in all its forms and dimensions to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Following the 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen the Commission for Social Development is the major UN body responsible for implementation and follow-up on the Programme of Action agreed to at the Summit. This means that the annual meetings of the Commission in New York provide an important arena for governments and civil society to review progress and develop dialogue around key themes, including poverty eradication, disability, youth, ageing, families.
This years Commission wil largely be held online and will include a Civil Society Forum.
www.un.org/development/
ngosocdev.org

February 10
World Pulses Day

World Pulses Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses and their contribution to sustainable food systems and a world without hunger. Pulses are critical in addressing the challenges of poverty, food security, human health and nutrition, soil health and environment, thereby contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals
Following the UN's International Year of Pulses in 2016, World Pulses Day has been observed since 2019.
www.un.org/
www.fao.org/
worldpulsesday.org

February 11
International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Over the past 15 years, the global community has made a lot of effort in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Yet women and girls continue to be excluded from participating fully in science.
Every year an International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly is held at the UN. This year's Assembly will be a Zoom event with the theme: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Water Unites Us www.un.org/
www.un.org/.../assembly en,unesco.org/
www.unwomen.org/

February 13
World Radio Day

2021 Themes: Evolution; Innovation; Connection
Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity and constitutes a platform for democratic discourse. At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. This unique ability to reach out the widest audience means radio can shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard.
www.un.org/
en,unesco.org/

February 16
Full Moon — Aquarius

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


February 16 - 18
World Sustainable Development Summit

2022 Theme: Towards a Resilient Planet
For the past 20 years the Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) in India has been convening this major global summit - one of the few summits on global issues regularly held in the developing world. Over the years, the Summit series has brought together 52 Heads of State and Government, 13 Nobel Laureates, 78 Ministers, 1827 Business Leaders, 2418 Speakers, and 26091 Delegates.. This year's event wil be held in a virual format.
wsds.teriin.org


February 20
World Day of Social Justice

The United Nations World Day of Social Justice celebrates the international agreements reached at the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen, 1995.
On this Day governments are called upon to undertake concrete activities towards the goals of poverty eradication, full employment and social integration.
The World Summit in 1995 recognised that social development aims at social justice, solidarity, harmony and equality within and among countries and social justice, equality and equity constitute the fundamental values of all societies.
http://www.un.org/en/events/

February 21
International Mother Language Day

2022 Theme: Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities
We live in One World, and are all part of One Life. Yet within this unified whole each individual unit is precious and significant. It is essential that cultural diversity be fostered to maintain richness and variety in the human community. At the heart of culture is language.
Each individual's mother language plays a vital role in their health and development: "It is the language of childhood, of intimate family experience and of our social relations". Yet in a world of increasing globalization small language groups find it increasingly difficult to survive.
UNESCO estimates that about half of the approximately 6,000 languages spoken in the world are under threat.
International Mother Language Day promotes linguistic and cultural diversity and multi-lingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh. The Day supports Target 6 of Goal 4 of the SDGs: "Ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy."
www.un.org
www.unesco.org/