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International Women’s Day March 8

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United Nation:  International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. The world has made unprecedented advances, but no country has achieved gender equality.

Fifty years ago, we landed on the moon; in the last decade, we discovered new human
ancestors and photographed a black hole for the first time. In the meantime, legal restrictions have kept 2.7 billion women from accessing the same choice of jobs as men. Less than 25 per cent of parliamentarians were women, as of 2019. One in three women experience gender-based violence, still. Let’s make 2020 count for women and girls everywhere.
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What is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic,
cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for
accelerating gender parity.

No one government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic institution, women’s network
or media hub is solely responsible for International Women’s Day. Many organizations
declare an annual IWD theme that supports their specific agenda or cause, and some of
these are adopted more widely with relevance than others. International Women’s Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity.
International Women’s Day is all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action – whatever that looks like globally at a local level.

International Mother Language Day

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Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social
integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people and planet. Yet, due to globalization processes, they are increasingly under threat, or disappearing altogether. When languages fade, so does the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression — valuable resources for ensuring a better future — are also lost.

At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered . Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.

International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. Every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual
heritage.

Linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear.
Globally 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Nevertheless, progress is being made in mother tongue-based multilingual education with growing understanding of its importance, particularly in early schooling, and more commitment to its development in public life.
Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages which transmit and
preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way.

Background
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) in
November 1999 ( 30C/62 ). The UN General Assembly welcomed the proclamation of the day in its resolution A/RES/56/262 of 2002.

On 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world”. By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages , to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism and named the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to serve as the lead agency for the Year.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

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On 11 February, the United Nations, partners worldwide, women and girls will mark
the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrating the theme, “Investment in Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth.”
The Day focuses on the reality that science and gender equality are both vital for the
achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, long-standing biases and gender stereotypes are steering girls and women away from science related fields. According to data from the UN Scientific Education and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), fewer than 30% of
researchers worldwide are women and approximately 30% of all female students select
STEM-related fields in higher education. Globally, female students’ enrollment is
particularly low in ICT (3%), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5%), and
engineering, manufacturing and construction (8%).
In order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and
girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,
the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/212 declaring 11 February as
the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

The International Day of Education

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The world will celebrate the International Day of Education on 24 January 2020, a day proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly to honor education and its entrality to human well-being and sustainable development. The 2020 celebration will position education and the learning it enables as humanity’s greatest renewable resource and reaffirm the role of education as a fundamental right, a public good and an enabler of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will frame ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all’ as a goal in and of itself, as well as a necessary means to accelerate progress to meet the targets of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. As the UN organization mandated to lead on education in the 2030 Agenda, UNESCO will draw on its convening power and engage with education and development partners to celebrate the Day around the world by focusing on the many ways learning can empower people, preserve the planet, build shared prosperity and foster peace.The 2020 theme ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace’, highlights the integrated nature of education, its humanistic aims, as well as its centrality to our collective development ambitions. It also gives stakeholders and partners flexibility to tailor the celebration for diverse audiences, a variety of contexts and for priority themes.

A humanistic approach to education implies an integrated approach to the multiple individual and collective purposes of education. Education is at the heart of both personal and community development. Its mission is to help all people develop their talents fully and to realize their creative potentials, including responsibility for their own lives and the capacity to contribute to society. Education is also a powerful catalyst – for combating poverty and inequality, improving health and well-being, and overcoming discrimination. It is the key to achieving gender equality and is vital for peacebuilding and reconciliation. Education initiatives have a proven potential to help marginalized populations gain access to justice that contributes to peaceful societies.

World Science Day for Peace and Development

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The World Science Day for Peace and Development (WSDPD) is annually held on November 10 to raise awareness of the benefits of science worldwide. The WSDPD is
also known as World Science Day.
Background:
It was recommended at the World Conference on Science in Budapest in 1999 recognition was required for the need for a new compact between science and society. It was discussed at the conference that a World Science Day would help strengthen commitments to attain the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge’s goals and to pursue the Science Agenda: Framework for Action’s recommendations.
Following the World Conference on Science, UNESCO established the WSDPD through
a proclamation at a general conference in 2001. The WSDPD was to be served a reminder of the organization’s mandate and commitment to science. The day was first celebrated on November 10, 2002 and has been held annually on November 10 since then.