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Greetings to each and everyone of you.


This section for English-speaking viewers –
and all those enjoying the culture –

has developed over the months and is now offering materials of all kinds:

texts, images, poems, videos, etc.

It will continue to provide you with rich contents week after week.

 

World Day for Decent Work – 7 October

Since 2015, the richest 1% has owned more wealth than the rest of the planet (Oxfam).

71% of people say governments should work towards a pay rise for workers (ITUC Global Poll 2017).

80% of people say the minimum wage in their country is too low (ITUC Global Poll 2017).

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Day for Decent Work (WDDW), which will fall on 7 October. Millions of people have taken part in WDDW events since 2008, and this year will also be a day for global mobilisation: all the trade unions in the world will stand up for decent work.

Decent work must be at the centre of government actions to bring back economic growth and build a new global economy that puts people first. No action is too big or too small for the World Day for Decent Work – i.e. a table discussion, a huge demonstration, a protest letter, a flash mob action or something completely different.

This year, the global focus is on the world struggle for living minimum wages and a pay rise for all workers. Governments should heed the call from working women and men for decent wages, safe and secure jobs, and an end to greedy corporations setting the rules of the economy. This means ensuring that minimum wage-floors must be enough to ensure a decent standard of living, and that all workers must have the right to join a union and bargain collectively.

Source: Text & Image: International Trade Union Confederation

27th Sunday of Year A

The gospel narratives give us many parables of Jesus.
All of them are inspiring, some are challenging, others rather disturbing.
I think that the one in this Sunday’s gospel (27th Sunday, Year A – Mt.21:33-43) must have appeared very shocking to Jesus’ listeners.
And it was!

For us, 21 centuries later, the meaning is obvious and the words leave no doubt as to what Jesus wanted to say.
But I believe that the scribes, the Pharisees and the leaders of the people who heard the words of Jesus also had a rather clear picture of what he meant.
It was aimed at them – at their obstinacy in refusing to recognize him as God’s messenger.
In the verse following the parable we are told: “The chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them” (v.45).

From the start they had challenged him, they opposed him, and they tried to trap him in all kinds of ways.
They saw all too clearly how his miraculous powers had a great influence on the crowds of people coming to hear him from all over the country.
They noted how his compassion for those whom they themselves despised was bringing more and more people to him.
“The crowd looked on him as a prophet but they would have liked to arrest him” (v.46).
A hard text, directed at people precisely hardened in their thoughts and settled in their ways – thoughts of pride and arrogance and ways of contempt and rejection.

Has the story, well-known as it is, anything to tell us in this day and age?
We like to believe that we would never have followed the ways of the Pharisees.
We would never have adopted such a behaviour as theirs.

Yet, one can wonder: are self-conceit, obstinacy, scorn, disdain, bad faith, exclusion, rejection,
are all these absent from our own attitudes in this or that situation?…
One can only wonder . . . and . . . possibly face an unpleasant truth never acknowledged until now.

Source: Image: LDS

World Teachers’ Day – 5 October

On October 5, 1966, the Special Intergovernmental Conference on the Status of Teachers in Paris, France, was closed and the « Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers » was signed by representatives of UNESCO and International Labour Organization. On October 12, 1997, the 29th session of UNESCO’s General Conference was opened. During this conference, on November 11, 1997, the « Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel » was adopted.

On October 5, 1994, the first World Teachers’ Day was held. This event has been organized on the same date each year since then. However, local events may be on some other date close to October 5, so that they do not fall during fall (northern hemisphere) or spring (southern hemisphere) school vacations. In 2002, Canada Post issued a postage stamp to commemorate World Teachers’ Day.

Source: Text: timeanddate.com Image: Wayne Highlands School District

World Animal Day – 4 October

It’s all about animals on October 04 – the World Animal Day (WAD). This is an international awareness day and puts the harm of animals caused by humans into the centre of attention. Often farm animals and pets are kept under bad conditions and neglected.

It was Heinrich Zimmermann, a German-Jewish author, who made an application to initiate a day dedicated to animals, in 1931 on the convention of ecologists in Florence. He had fought for animal rights for many years. His suggestion had been effectuated in shape of World Animal Day.

Animal rights groups support the rights of animals on a global basis on World Animal Day. They should be treated like living creatures and not as products or things. A species-appropriate husbandry means to care for medical treatment, feed them, and give them enough space and love. Extremely cruel treatments like violence, neglect or too long periods of transports are blasted. Very often animal homes, shelters and animal clinics organize open house on World Animal Day. Everyone shall be encouraged to rise up against cruelty towards animals.

World Animal Day takes place on the Saint’s day of Francis of Assisi. He was very fond of animals and godly monk. From his point of view even the smallest worm has to be seen as a creation of God and needs to be protected and honored. During his life he preached that animals are equal to humans and it is our sacred duty to protect them and treat them kind. That is exactly the basic idea of the modern World Animal Day.

Source: Texte:  www.cute-calendar.com  Images: Wikipedia, For Ever For Always No matter What

 

 

International Day of Non-Violence – 2 October

The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.

According to General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271 of 15 June 2007, which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to « disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness ». The resolution reaffirms « the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence » and the desire « to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence ».

Introducing the resolution in the General Assembly on behalf of 140 co-sponsors, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Anand Sharma, said that the wide and diverse sponsorship of the resolution was a reflection of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his philosophy.

Quoting the late leader’s own words, he said: « Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man ».

Source: Text & Image: UN

The sculpture « Non-Violence » by the noted Swedish sculptor Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, is a gift of the Government of Luxembourg to the United Nations. It’s a large replica of a .45 calibre revolver with a twisted barrel, to symbolize peace and non-violence. UN Photo/Pernaca Sudhakaran
The sculpture de Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, entitled “Non Violence” dates from 1985 and can be seen at Malmö.

 

 

 

 

International Day of Older Persons – 1 October

The theme of the International Day of Older Persons 2017 is:

“Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society.”

This year’s day is about enabling and expanding the contributions of older people in their families, communities and societies at large. It focuses on the pathways that support full and effective participation in old age, in accordance with old persons’ basic rights, needs and preferences.

This year’s theme underscores the link between tapping the talents and contributions of older persons and achieving the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, which is currently undergoing its third review and appraisal process.

Between 2015 and 2030, the target date for the Sustainable Development Goals, the number of older persons worldwide is set to increase by 56 per cent — from 901 million to more than 1.4 billion. By 2030, the number of people aged 60 and above will exceed that of young people aged 15 to 24.

Stepping into the future with pledges that no one will be left behind, it is starkly evident that the need to tap into the often overlooked and under-appreciated contributions of older persons is not only essential to older persons’ well-being, but also imperative for sustainable development processes.

The 2017 theme will explore effective means of promoting and strengthening the participation of older persons in various aspects of social, cultural, economic and civic and political life.

Source: Texte: UN  Image: alwaysonhealthcare.com

International Music Day – 1 October

International Music Day or World Music Day is a concept too good to believe and the best part is that it actually exists. Yes, International Music day or the IMD was initiated on the 1st of October in 1975 by Lord Yehudi Menuhin. It was first organized by the International Music Council on 1st of October, 1975, in accordance with the resolution taken at the 15th General Assembly in Lausanne in 1973.

The International Music Council (IMC) or the guardian of the IMD was founded by UNESCO in 1949. The IMC is the world’s largest network of organizations, institutions and individuals functioning in the field of music. The International Music Council encourages and fosters musical diversity, access to culture for everyone and unites organizations in some 150 countries worldwide in building peace and understanding among people cutting across class, culture and heritage.

The IMC in its bid to establish a global harmony through the music, celebrates the International Music Day and with special focus on organizing musical events, radio and television programs and press recordings. Amidst all this the onus is also on building up an environment more conducive and hospitable to music-on the practice, consumption and the general aura of music. So, an important zone of interest is also struggle against the pollution of the sound environment and quite interestingly the IMC proposes that each country should maintain a few moments of silence on the International Music Day, and use that silence to listen to music played out in main city squares.

On International Music Day, the desired aim is to create a global atmosphere of music, a platform for people to come together with their diversities and mingle to make one unified whole. Like any other artistic or cultural celebrations the day is generally to celebrate art and to successfully realize these activities, it is essential to mobilize all means at our disposal in the 21st century-the radio and television, concert societies, opera companies, amateur societies; a great many different types of localities should all be used to their best advantage.

Source: Text & Image: Calendarlabs.com

World Sea Day – 28 September

The World Sea Day has been marked since 1978 by decision of the 38th session of the International Marine Organization of November 1977, initially celebrated on March 17. Since 1980 it’s been celebrated on one of the days of the last week of September. The goal of the World Sea Day is drawing the community’s attention to problems, connected with the pollution of water basins, global warming and illegal fishing.

The sea always fascinated people. Many poets and artists worship the sea in their works while people of all walks of life annually dream about a holiday at the seaside.

At the same time, according to the UN, annually about 21 million barrels of oil leak into the ocean causing death of tens of thousands of seabirds and mammals.

Over the last 100 years 90% of the world reserves of tuna and codfish have been fished out. The global warming has led to the rise of the world ocean water level by 10-25 cm. The myth that the global water resources are inexhaustible has seriously affected the biodiversity of the world ocean, Alexei Knizhnikov, the coordinator of the World Wildlife Fund’s department for the environmental policy in oil and gas sector, says.

« Just two examples. Whale fishery has almost killed some species of whales. The classical example for Russia is the gray whale in the Okhotsk Sea. It had been considered to be extinct way back in 20th century. But in the end of the 20th century a hundred of these whales was detected and now we are doing our best to preserve the population of these whales. The second example is the extinction of sturgeon because of very aggressive fishing. »

The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in April when an explosion of an oil rig led caused a huge oil spill showed how terrible the negative impact of human beings on the environment can be, the expert says.

« That oil spill has halted the industrial fishing in the water area which size is equal to the size of Greece. The environment disasters are now getting country-scale and the next step is a continent-scale. »

Source: Text: IDEA International Dialogue for Environmental Action Image: dissolve.com

 

 

 

World Heart Day – 29 September

Heart Day is part of an international campaign to spread awareness about heart disease and stroke prevention. This is the perfect day to quit smoking, get exercising and start eating healthy – all in the name of keeping your ticker in good working order, and improving the health and well being of people the world over.

The World Heart Federation have found that heart disease and strokes are the world’s leading cause of death, killing 17.1 million people every year – that’s more than victims of cancer, HIV and AIDS and malaria.

Overeating, lack of exercise, unhealthy diets and high blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels are all factors which can trigger heart disease and threaten our own lives, and those of loved ones. Heart Day was set up to drive home the message that heart problems can be prevented.

The aim is to improve health globally by encouraging people to make lifestyle changes and promoting education internationally about ways to be good to your heart. This lesson is becoming increasingly relevant as reports of obesity, poor diet and physical inactivity in children and young people become more and more common.

Source: Text: DAYSoftheYEAR  Image: fr.dreamstime.com

 

International Day for Universal Access to Information – 28 September

The right of access to information is an important human right, necessary for the enjoyment of other human rights.
The right to information is essential for transparent and accountable government.
The right of access to information makes possible the public involvement in formulating social policies and in the decision-making processes of governance.
The right to information can only be effectively exercised and implemented on the basis of laws, regulating this right in accordance with international standards.
Source: Text & Image: www.righttoknowday.net