Today’s date commemorates a day in 1976 when ten thousand school children gathered for a march in Soweto, South Africa, to protest the poor quality of their education and demanding the right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of children were shot and more than a thousand were injured in the protest.

The International Day of the African Child has been celebrated since 1991. It is an important day for campaigning for children’s rights, and for essentials such as health care and education. Moreover, it is a day for African children to celebrate and voice their opinions through drama, poetry, or organized debates. In addition, thousands of football matches for children take place across African countries on this day.

Although every year has its own unique theme, most years so far have highlighted the lack of quality education for children in Africa. The gap between legislation and practice is enormous. All African countries recognize the United Nations declaration of Human Rights and agree that all children are entitled to good, basic education. According to the Right to Education project, however, there are 75 million children in the world who do not have access to basic education, and 150 million children currently enrolled will drop out before completing primary education and least two-thirds of them are girls. Out of the 75 million children approximately 40 million are in Africa.

Watch this video about how Mozambique celebrated International Day for the African Child two years ago.

Today is the longest day of the year, or Summer Solstice! It is not an official, religious, or even a UN observance day but Summer Solstice has had symbolic and spiritual significance around the world for thousands of years.

During summer solstice, people gather to celebrate in Stonehenge

Humans have always wondered and been mesmerized by the power of sun. The word ‘solstice’ derives from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).

 According to the BBC different religions have celebrated Summer Solstice in the following ways: “Celts celebrated with bonfires that would add to the sun’s energy, Christians placed the feast of St John the Baptist towards the end of June and it is also the festival of Li, the Chinese Goddess of light.”

In the UK alone, hundreds of different traditions are practiced during Summer Solstice. Gathering at Stonehenge is particularly popular for the ancient, religious significance of the place. Stonehenge is usually only accessible from a distance and visitors can admire it from the Visitor’s Center or from along a guided path. On the longest day of the year, however, the organization that protects English historic artifacts and environment, English Heritage, allows 20,000 people to come and celebrate among the stones freely.

Apart from the celebrating and praying, Summer Solstice used to have a third purpose: the day used to be absolutely essential for one’s well being. Associated with agriculture, the summer solstice was a reminder that a turning point in the growing season had been reached.

Today is the tenth time the world celebrates World Day Against Child Labor.

The International Labor Organization, (ILO), launched the day in 2002 as a way to bring attention to the hundreds of millions of working children deprived of a childhood.

Hundreds of millions of children start work too early.

Children who are forced to work are denied of the opportunity to go to school, and instead they are often forced to work in dangerous, hazardous conditions.

In 2010, the international community adopted a roadmap for achieving elimination for the worst forms of child labor by 2016. The document stresses children’s right to personal freedom and highlights that child labor is a hindrance for development. The document distinguishes the four following conditions as the worst forms of child labor: all forms of slavery, prostitution or use of children for pornographic material, use of children for production or trafficking drugs, and work which is likely to harm a child’s health.

Following up on World Environment Day, today we are celebrating World Oceans Day!

This day has been unofficially celebrated since 1992, when Canada proposed it in the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008.

Oceans cover 70% of our planet.

The World Oceans Day is largely about respecting our oceans and bringing issues like overconsumption and pollution into discussion. But, it is also an opportunity to remind everyone about the psychological, entertaining, and functional purposes of these large bodies of water. Oceans make up for 70% of the world’s surface and they connect us with each other…

In 1987, the World Health Organisation called for a world-wide
abstinence from smoking each year of 31st May. Called the  “World No Tobacco Day” this 24-hour long period is intended to draw global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco related illnesses and negative health effects which cause 5.4 million deaths each year. However, is it seems that non-Western nations take the day more seriously and protest loudest…

A little known day of celebration to most ‘Westerners’, May 24,
the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, is a huge festival for those in Eastern Europe: a day to celebrate cultural heritage. The peoples of Russia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Hungary, etc. venerate Saints Cyril and Methodius who created a Slavonic alphabet, translating the Bible and other writings from Greek and Latin into the language of the Slavic peoples. The invention of this ‘Cyrillic Alphabet’ is seen as the keystone that gave the Slavs access to written culture, vast sources of knowledge, and ultimately allowed them cultural independence from Muslim (as part of the Turkish Empire) and other religious or social invasions.

So, how much cultural competence do you think there is in
cheek kissing? Well, we recently started a conversation on SIETAR Europa’s Linked In group and the plethora of responses confirmed that there are various ways to greet with a kiss. But what may have come as a surprise to some of us was that the ways of kissing don’t only vary from one country to another, but from region to region, from day to night, from male to female, and from one person to the next. What I can conclude from the conversation is that my initially abstract title-phrase, the ‘art’ of cheek kissing, became to perfectly describe this social gesture: a gesture that has no rule-of-thumb, a gesture that is cultural as well as personal.

So, it seems that although cheek kissing is a common greeting across the globe, one has to be truly culturally competent to smoothly master the art of cheek kissing! Read about the differnces and learn that London is a one-kiss city.

The Europeans may be ahead of the US in terms of  accommodating climate change as a BIG issue, but it was a US Senator who brought about an awareness day forty years ago – Earth Day. Whilst we are trying to save the world one recyclable, reusable bag and low-watt light bulb at a time, it is interesting to note how the different nations of the world think about climate change and how differently they are planning their future energy needs…

Whether you are in Bulgaria or not,  why not do as Bulgarians
do – give a “Marteniza” with a wish for good health to each of your family, friends and colleagues. The first of March has been a special holiday for Bulgarians since old times. On this day they begin exchanging white and red tassels. They’re called Martenitzy, after the month of March (Mart in Bulgarian). During this month, Bulgarians wish friends and relatives “good health” through the symbolic red and white colours. According to folklore, a healthy and beautiful Bulgarian woman is always described with white skin and red cheeks.

This is a wonderful gesture of love and good will! It’ll bring you good luck as well!

Celebrated on the second Monday in March every year, 
Commonwealth Day is an opportunity to promote understanding on global issues, international co-operation and the work of the Commonwealth’s organisations that aim to improve the lives of its citizens. This year, the Queen is calling for people who live in the Commonwealth to celebrate the “extraordinary cultural tapestry” of the “unique gathering of nations” of the 54 member nations.

“The Commonwealth treasures and respects this wealth of diversity.”