Today, 15 May 2012 is UN International Day of Families.
This Year Theme is ” Ensuring work family balance “
The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 with resolution A/RES/47/237 and reflects the importance the international community attaches to families. The International Day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.
In its resolution, the General Assembly also noted that the family-related provisions of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits of the 1990s and their follow-up processes continue to provide policy guidance on ways to strengthen family-centred components of policies and programmes as part of an integrated comprehensive approach to development.
The International Day of Families has inspired a series of awareness-raising events, including national family days. In many countries, that day provides an opportunity to highlight different areas of interest and importance to families. Activities include workshops and conferences, radio and television programs, newspaper articles and cultural programs highlighting relevant themes.
Samantha
Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society.
Commonly Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.
This year Mother’s Day falls on 13 May 2012.
Celebrate Mother’s Day by visiting http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=wellnrecr-20
to purchase a gift for your beloved Mother.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (”foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues (”auto” means “self”) and creates auto antibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These auto antibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.
Every day, more than 5 million people worldwide struggle with the often debilitating health consequences of lupus, a potentially fatal autoimmune disease capable of damaging virtually any part of the body, including the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain.
Adapted from http://www.worldlupusday.org/learn-more.html
World Lupus Day 10 May 2012.
Today (24 April) was the birth date of Gideon Sundback. He was well known for the development of the zipper.
Today is World Heritage Day 2012 - 18 April 2012.
2012 Theme: Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention
Welcome and join the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon on 24 June 2012 at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.
Say NO to tobacco.
Remember to celebrate World Information Society Day this year.
World Press Freedom Day was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December, 1993, as an outgrowth of the Seminar on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press. This Seminar took place in Windhoek, Namibia, in 1991 and led to the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration on Promoting Independent and Pluralistic Media (www.misanet.org/charters/windhoek.html). The Windhoek Declaration called for the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press and emphasized the importance of a free press to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development. World Press Freedom Day is celebrated annually on May 3rd, the date on which the Windhoek Declaration was adopted.
Although World Press Freedom Day has only been celebrated since 1993, it has much deeper roots in the United Nations: Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” (www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm).
Throughout the world, May 3rd now serves as an occasion to inform the public of violations of the right to freedom of expression and as a reminder that many journalists brave death or jail to bring people their daily news. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which coordinates activities each year on May 3rd, World Press Freedom Day is:
· a day of action to encourage and develop initiatives in favor of the freedom of the press; · a day to assess the state of press freedom worldwide; · a day to remind governments to respect their commitments to press freedom; · a day to alert the public and to increase awareness of the importance of freedom of the press; · a day of reflection to encourage debate among media professionals on the issues of press freedom and professional ethics; · a day of remembrance for journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession; and · a day of support for media which fall victim to any measures which restrain, or seek to abolish, freedom of the press.
Press freedom is considered to be a cornerstone of human rights and a guarantee of other freedoms. It encourages transparency and good governance and it ensures that society enjoys the rule of true justice. Freedom of the press is a bridge of understanding and knowledge. It is essential for the exchange of ideas between nations and cultures which is a condition for true understanding and lasting cooperation.
23 April is a symbolic date for world literature for on this date in 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.
It was a natural choice for UNESCO’s General Conference, held in Paris in 1995, to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity. In this respect, UNESCO created both the World Book and Copyright Day and the UNESCO Prize for Children’s and Young People’s Literature in the Service of Tolerance.
