United Nations Day
On October 24, 1945, theUnited Nations (UN) came into force when the five permanent members of the
security council ratified the charter that had been drawn up earlier that year.
These members were: France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United
Kingdom and the United States.
Since 1948, the event's
anniversary has been known as United Nations Day. It is an occasion to
highlight, celebrate and reflect on the work of the United Nations and its
family of specialized agencies.
World Development Information Day
The General
Assembly in 1972 instituted World Development Information Day to draw the
attention of world public opinion to development problems and the need to
strengthen international cooperation to solve them (resolution 3038 (XXVII)).
The Assembly decided that the date for the Day should coincide in principle
with United Nations Day, 24 October, which was also the date of the adoption,
in 1970, of the International Development Strategy for the Second United
Nations Development Decade.
Many events are organized to focus attention on the work that the UN does, particularly with regard to problems of trade and development. Many of these are aimed at journalists working for a range of media, including television, radio, newspapers, magazines and Internet sites. Direct campaigns may also be organized in some areas. These may use advertisements in newspapers and on radio and television as well as posters in public places.
ReplyDeleteIn South Africa, indabas (gatherings of community representatives with expertise in a particular area) are often held. Representatives of local, national and international bodies are invited to share, discuss and consolidate their ideas around a particular development issue of local or national importance.
On May 17, 1972, the UN Conference on Trade and Development proposed measures for the information dissemination and the mobilization of public opinion relative to trade and development problems. These became known as resolution 3038 (XXVII), which was passed by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 1972.
ReplyDeleteThis resolution called for introducing World Development Information Day to help draw the attention of people worldwide to development problems. A further aim of the event is to explain to the general public why it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation to find ways to solve these problems. The assembly also decided that the day should coincide with United Nations Day to stress the central role of development in the UN's work. World Development Information Day was first held on October 24, 1973, and has been held on this date each year since then.
In recent years, many events have interpreted the title of the day slightly differently. These have concentrated on the role that modern information technologies, such as Internet and mobile telephones can play in alerting people and finding solutions to problems of trade and development. One of the specific aims of World Development Information Day was to inform and motivate young people and this change may help to further this aim.
World Information Society Day is celebrated each year on 17 May to remind the world of the vision of the World Summit on the Information Society to build “a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented information society” based on fundamental human rights.
ReplyDeleteWhat do people do?
World Information Society Day promotes people’s awareness of the power of information and communication to build societies in which they can create, access, use and share information and knowledge to achieve their full potential. Organizations such as UNESCO actively take part in the day by inviting people to engage in various activities to promote campaigns centered on this event.
Public life
World Information Society Day is a global observance and not a public holiday.
Symbols
UNESCO has not allocated a specific symbol for the day, although it uses images of modern information and communication technologies to portray the importance of the day.