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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 hold these events in the light of a Higher Wisdom.
Millennium Goals & Climate Change
These International Days reflect important themes in the mobilisation of energies to:
2011 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 (October - 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 Meditation Room in the public lobby of UN Headquarters in New York.
Please link in from wherever you are. More information at: http://www.spiritualcaucusun.org/
In November the Spiritual Caucus invites you to link in with 30 minutes of silence in the UN Meditation Room on November 3, at 12:45 EDT and with the full one hour meeting on Thursday, November 17 at 1:15 PM EST.
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November Please Hold These Events in the Light
October 29
Robinhood Global March
As part of the global movement of gatherings in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement a global network of events is planned to precede the G20 Leaders Summit in Cannes, France, demanding the immediate establishment of a Robinhood tax on all financial transactions and currency trades.
www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/robinhood.html
robinhoodtax.org/
November 1 - 19
19 Days of Activism for Prevention of Abuse and Violence against Children & Youth
An international coalition of organizations and movements is launching this global campaign leading up to World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse.
By focusing during 19 days on the prevention of diverse types of abuse and violence against children and youth, the campaign aims to continue to bring to light the alarming problem, its multifaceted aspects, and the need to generate sufficient grass-roots interest and government and public support for better prevention measures.
www.woman.ch/index.php?page=19daysofactivism&hl=en_US
November 3 - 4
G20 Summit, Cannes, France
November 6
International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
In earlier times it was not uncommon for the environment to be damaged in warfare - crops were destroyed, water supplies poisoned and forests set alight. Modern technologies mean that environmental damage from wars can be far more serious and the consequences more long-term. The damage often extends beyond the limits of national territories and the present generation.
This Day reminds us that it is not only people who suffer in times of war. As universal ethics condition the conscience of humanity, there is a growing sense of responsibility for the well-being of all life on Earth: minerals, plants & animals.
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/environment_war/index.html
http://www.un.org/en/events/environmentconflictday/index.shtml
November 10
World Science Day for Peace and Development
November 14
World Diabetes Day
Over 240 million people are today living with diabetes - and it is one of the most common diseases of childhood.
World Diabetes Day, an official UN Day, aims to raise awareness of the rising prevalence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Early diagnosis and early education are crucial to reducing complications and saving lives. The healthcare community, educators, parents and guardians must join forces to help children living with diabetes, prevent the condition in those at risk, and avoid unnecessary death and disability. Millions of people in over 160 countries are involved in activities on the Day.
www.idf.org/worlddiabetesday
November 14 - 18
International Co-operative Alliance, General Assembly, Cancun, Mexico to launch International Year of Co-operatives
General Assembly Theme: Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World.
The ICA is an alliance of Co-operative movements from 94 countries. This bi-annual General Assembly will launch the 2012 UN Year of Cooperatives. ICA President, Dame Pauline Green, writes of the International Year as a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to take a massive step forward, and lead the growth of the co-operative movement in all parts of the globe.
In support of the launch of the Year, World Goodwill invites meditators to link in a special Cycles of Conferences Visualization - see www.lucistrust.org/en/cycle
www.ica2011.coop/ica/en/bienvenida_mensaje.aspx#
www.2012.coop/
November 16
International Day for Tolerance
Tolerance and the celebration of diversity are two of the essential characteristics of the emerging mind and heart. Yet while the sense of wholeness and universal responsibility grows, the absence of tolerance and the emotional power of intolerance continues to fuel violent and separative movements in all parts of the world.
This is an important United Nations Day when we can give energy, love and support to the countless initiatives around the world designed to nourish and nurture the growing spirit of tolerance and universal responsibility. It is observed as a day to promote Tolerance Education and to reflect on how tolerance can best be fostered in our communities, particularly in divided communities.
See the UNESCO Declaration on the Principles of Tolerance
http://www.un.org/en/events/toleranceday/
November 17
World Philosophy Day
This UNESCO Day is celebrated on the third Thursday of November. The Day aims to encourage the peoples of the world to share their philosophical heritage and to open their minds to new ideas, as well as to inspire a public debate between intellectuals and civil society on the challenges confronting our society.
www.un.org/en/events/philosophyday/
November 19
World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse
Held each year the day before Universal Children's Day, this is a day to focus on the creation of a culture of prevention of child abuse — particularly sexual abuse of children. A coalition of organizations from around the world organizes a range of activities on the Day to raise awareness of the problem and to promote various prevention programmes.
www.woman.ch/index.php?page=children_19nov&hl=en_US
November 20
Universal Children's Day
One of the outstanding keynotes of our present time is the focus that is being put on children: the rights of children; the needs of children; the importance of considering children in every area of life. At a global level this is reflected in The Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty that is transforming the lives of children and their families around the world. Under the Convention all but two of the world's countries (USA and Somalia) have agreed to meet universal standards, guaranteeing children the rights to survival, health, education, a caring family environment, play and culture ….
Universal Children's Day is observed on different days in different countries. It is a Day to celebrate children and to empower the vision of an interdependent world of families, communities and nations in which the rights and needs of children are accorded the highest priority. 20 November marks the day in which the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
There is no clearer way of measuring the progress we are making as a global community in acting on the ethics of universal responsibility than by measuring the progress we make in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Please hold this process in the light on Universal Children's Day.
www.un.org/en/events/childrenday/index.shtml
November 20
World Day of Prayer and Action for Children
2011 Theme: Stop Violence Against Children
Observed annually since 2008 on Universal Children's Day, the World Day for Prayer and Action for Children was initiated by the Arigatou Foundation, a Japanese based interfaith organisation. The Day brings people of all faiths together to pray and take action for the well-being of children. In 2010, more than 33,000 people in 47 countries participated in 69 events on the Day.
www.dayofprayerandaction.org/
November 20
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and their Families
Road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.3 million people every year and injure or disable as many as 50 million more. They are the leading cause of death among young people aged 10-24 years.
The Day of Remembrance responds to the great need of road crash victims for public recognition, which is so readily given to victims of other types of disaster. It also acknowledges the work of all those involved in the aftermath of a crash - fire, police and ambulance personnel, doctors, nurses and counsellors. And the Day draws attention to actions needed to reduce the number of accidents.
www.worlddayofremembrance.org/
November 25
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime - with the abuser usually someone known to her.
Women's activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence since 1981. The date commemorates the brutal assassination of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, in 1960 on orders of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo .
Each year, for 16 days, bookended by the International Day to End Violence Against Women (25 November) and Human Rights Day (10 December), groups from around the world join together to speak out against gender violence which all too often, is covered up or tacitly condoned.More
www.saynotoviolence.org/
www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/index.shtml
November 25 - 26
Buy Nothing Day
Traditionally the weekend following Thanksgiving Day sees some of the biggest shopping sprees of the year in the USA - and this is when hundreds of thousands of people around the world will be encouraging consumers to move towards a simpler lifestyle, and to Buy Nothing. In Canada and USA the Day takes place on the Friday following Thanksgiving Day - elsewhere on the following Saturday.
It's a day where you challenge yourself to switch off from shopping and tune into life.
www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd
www.ecoplan.org/ibnd/
November 25 - 27
Conference of Youth on Climate Change, Durban, South Africa
The Conference of Youth is an entirely youth run and organised event, held each year before the start of the UNFCCC Climate Conference. Last year's conference in Cancun, Mexico was attended by over 400 young people from more than 40 countries.
The Conference of Youth (COY) is about bringing together youth from all over the world who are passionate about sustainability and climate change. It's a place to connect, share skills and build a movement.
youthclimate.org/coy7/
November 28 - December 9
United Nations Climate Change Conference, Durban, South Africa
Continuing on from the Cancun conference in 2010, this major gathering of parties to the UN Climate Change Framework Convention will see national governments negotiating and struggling to reach agreement on a common approach to climate change. Out of all the negotiations a new economics acknowleding the welfare of the Earth and fostering human development is in process of emerging.
Although Durban is primarily a negotiation for governments, the new economics is emerging out of a vast, multi-faceted process involving peoples movements the world over, business, science, local government as well as national governments. Governments are pressured by popular opinion. So at Durban thousands of participants will gather from every part of the world representing a vast array of civil society movements and international organisations. We can expect wide coverage in the mainstream media but to see more deeply into the gathering and the dynamics of the negotiations, and to hold it in the light, it is helpful to check the web sites of climate change, development and goodwill movements.
Official United Nations Site: www.cop17-cmp7durban.com
Civil Society network www.c17.org.za/
Local Government for Sustainability: www.iclei.org/index.php?id=7694
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