The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) was first pronounced by the General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995 – 2004).
In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade, from 2005 – 2015, with the theme of “A Decade for Action and Dignity.”
The focus of this year’s International Day will be Celebrating Indigenous Film Making, which ties in with the theme of the 2010 session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, "development with culture and identity."
On 17 December 1999, in its resolution 54/120, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) that 12 August be declared International Youth Day.
In an effort to raise public awareness of humanitarian assistance, the General Assembly has designated 19 August as World Humanitarian Day. The day honours those, who have lost their lives in humanitarian service and those, who continue to bring assistance and relief to millions. It also seeks to draw attention to humanitarian needs worldwide and to explain what humanitarian aid work entails.
Video contest: World Humanitarian Day 2011
If you had 30 seconds to pitch an idea to the UN chief that could change the world, what would it be? Submit your idea to empower women or advance gender equality by 8 September.
Recognizing women leaders and gender equality as critical to sustainable development, UN Women has partnered with the SEED Initiative this year and will support the 2011/2012 award cycle by sponsoring a 2011 SEED Gender Equality Award. This Award will support a women-led or owned initiative that prioritizes gender equality and/or women's empowerment as a core objective to their sustainable development enterprise. UN Women and the SEED Initiative are also working together to mainstream gender equality dimensions in the overall SEED programme.
The deadline for applications is 22 August 2011, 23:59 Central European Time (CET).
