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“Let us work together to balance the global economy and build a new social contract for the 21st century. Let us chart a development path that leads to greater social justice and the future we want.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the 2012 World Day of Social Justice
Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations.
We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants.
We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.
For the United Nations, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of our global mission to promote development and human dignity. The adoption by the International Labour Organization of the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization is just one recent example of the UN system’s commitment to social justice. The Declaration focuses on guaranteeing fair outcomes for all through employment, social protection, social dialogue, and fundamental principles and rights at work.
The General Assembly proclaimed 20 February as World Day of Social Justice in 2007, inviting Member States to devote the day to promoting national activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Observance of World Day of Social Justice should support efforts of the international community in poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for all.
As we look to the upcoming Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, we have a chance to rethink development strategies and business practices so that they point us toward a more sustainable and equitable future. Sustainability depends on building markets that do a better job of spreading the benefits of development. It means meeting growing consumer demand for greener products and services. And it means laying the foundations for dignity, stability and opportunity for all. As we strive to make this transformation, we must integrate social inclusion into our policies and other efforts.
“National Nest Box Week is great for birds. Starting on St Valentine’s Day, it’s the time we remind ourselves to provide homes for dozens of species, from Blue Tits to Barn Owls.
If you’ve never built a nest box before, why not give it a go this year? Or if you haven’t got the time, it’s easy to buy a good one. Go on, take part for Britain’s birds!”
National Nestbox Week (14-21 February 2012) aims to encourage everyone to put up nest boxes in their local area in order to promote and enhance biodiversity and conservation of our breeding birds and wildlife.
The natural nest sites on which many of our bird species depend, such as holes in trees and buildings, are fast disappearing as gardens and woods are ‘tidied’ and old houses are repaired. Since National Nest Box Week was launched in 1997, thousands of enthusiastic naturalists across the UK have put up boxes to compensate for this loss. It is estimated that there are now 5-6 million boxes in gardens across the UK.
Whether you’re a family with space for a box in your garden, a teacher, a member of a local wildlife group, or you belong to a bird club and could organise a work party, National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to contribute to the conservation effort in the UK whilst giving you the pleasure of observing any breeding birds that you attract to your garden.
It is estimated that there are more than 132 million children worldwide who have been orphaned by disaster, disease or poverty, or abandoned on the streets by their parents.
The goal of World Orphan Week 2012 (6 – 12 February) is to highlight their plight and help give more children a mother, a home, and a family for life. 
By taking part in World Orphan Week 2012, you can make a real difference to the lives of orphaned and abandoned children.
World Orphan Week 2012 is a time to remember and reach out to all those children throughout the world who do not have a family that nurtures and gives them a sense of belonging. Why not take part as an individual, a school, a community group, or work place?
Email emma@soschildren.org to request a fundraising pack for World Orphan Week 2012.
The Japanese bean throwing festival is celebrated every year on 3rd February and marks the beginning of spring.
Traditionally, people count out the number of beans to correspond with their age, then throw them out their door shouting “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (“Demons out! Luck in!”).
鬼は外! 福は内!
In February
Rich meanings of the prophet-Spring adorn,
Unseen, this colourless sky of folded showers,
And folded winds; no blossom in the bowers;
A poet’s face asleep in this grey morn.
Now in the midst of the old world forlorn
A mystic child is set in these still hours.
I keep this time, even before the flowers,
Sacred to all the young and the unborn.
To all the miles and miles of unsprung wheat,
And to the Spring waiting beyond the portal,
And to the future of my own young art,
And, among all these things, to you, my sweet,
My friend, to your calm face and the immortal
Child tarrying all your life-time in your heart.
Alice Meynell
There are many observances in February including Setsubun the Japanese bean throwing ceremony, UNICEF Day for Change, World Cancer Day, National Libraries Day, World Orphan Week, Safer Internet Day, International Day Against Use of Child Soldiers, Valentines Day, National Nestbox Week, World Community Arts Day, Mahashivratri, World Day of Social Justice, Shrove Tuesday (or Fat Tuesday or Pancake Day), Work Your Proper Hours Day, Fairtrade Fortnight and…as it’s a leap year….February 29th!
Keep checking this site (or better still, sign up for email alerts) for full details.
Work Your Proper Hours Day (24 Feb 2012) is the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves. We think that’s a day worth celebrating.
Over five million people at work in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime, giving their employers £29.2 billion of free work last year alone. If you’re one, why not take some time to reflect on how well (or badly) you’re balancing your life? This is one day in the year to make the most of your own time. Take a proper lunchbreak and leave work on time to enjoy your Friday evening – You deserve it!
Long hours are not good for us; they cause stress; they’re bad for our health; they wreck relationships; they make caring for children or dependents more difficult; and tired, burnt-out staff are bad for business.
People do long hours for a variety of very different reasons, and work life balance expert Professor Cary Cooper has helped us put together a long hours clinic tool, to give you tailored advice to fit your own situation.
You can also use our online balance check to diagnose what your workplace’s working style is, and then add yourself to our big interactive map to see how you stack up against everyone else. Or just check the map, to see what others have said.
Work Your Proper Hours Day for 2012 will be 24 February, but your own pay day may come earlier or later, depending on the hours you work above your contracted hours. Use our online unpaid overtime calculator to find out when you can celebrate paying off your long hours debt.
(via WorkSmart.org)
It is estimated that there are more than 132 million children worldwide who have been orphaned by disaster, disease or poverty, or abandoned on the streets by their parents.
The goal of World Orphan Week 2012 (6 – 12 February) is to highlight their plight and help give more children a mother, a home, and a family for life.
By taking part in World Orphan Week 2012, you can make a real difference to the lives of orphaned and abandoned children.
World Orphan Week 2012 is a time to remember and reach out to all those children throughout the world who do not have a family that nurtures and gives them a sense of belonging. Why not take part as an individual, a school, a community group, or work place?
Email emma@soschildren.org to request a fundraising pack for World Orphan Week 2012.
World Cancer Day – 4 February 2012
World Cancer Day takes place every year on 4 February and is the singular initiative under which the entire world can unite together in the fight against the disease.
The Japanese bean throwing festival is celebrated every year on 3rd February and marks the beginning of spring.
Traditionally, people count out the number of beans to correspond with their age, then throw them out their door shouting “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (“Demons out! Luck in!”).
鬼は外! 福は内!
“Children under the age of 16 years should not take a direct part in any conflict”
(Article 38 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child).
It is estimated that over 300,000 children under the age of 18, both boys and girls, are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide.
Africa has the highest number of child soldiers. However, UNICEF has also found an alarming number of child soldiers in the East Asia-Pacific Region. They also discovered that Burma has more children soldiers than any other country in the world – it is estimated that there are 70,000 children in the Burmese state army alone.
Red Hand Day on 12 February, is a worldwide initiative to stop the use of child soldiers. On Red Hand Day public protest, demonstrations and other activities take place. The Red Hand Day’s symbol is a red hand which has been used all over the world by many organizations in order to say NO to child recruitment and the use of child soldiers. If you want to participate, you can find information at www.redhandday.org.
“National Nest Box Week is great for birds. Starting on St Valentine’s Day, it’s the time we remind ourselves to provide homes for dozens of species, from Blue Tits to Barn Owls.
If you’ve never built a nest box before, why not give it a go this year? Or if you haven’t got the time, it’s easy to buy a good one. Go on, take part for Britain’s birds!”
National Nestbox Week (14-21 February 2012) aims to encourage everyone to put up nest boxes in their local area in order to promote and enhance biodiversity and conservation of our breeding birds and wildlife.
The natural nest sites on which many of our bird species depend, such as holes in trees and buildings, are fast disappearing as gardens and woods are ‘tidied’ and old houses are repaired. Since National Nest Box Week was launched in 1997, thousands of enthusiastic naturalists across the UK have put up boxes to compensate for this loss. It is estimated that there are now 5-6 million boxes in gardens across the UK.
Whether you’re a family with space for a box in your garden, a teacher, a member of a local wildlife group, or you belong to a bird club and could organise a work party, National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to contribute to the conservation effort in the UK whilst giving you the pleasure of observing any breeding birds that you attract to your garden.
The theme for the Safer Internet Day (7 February 2012) is Connecting Generations with the slogan “Discovering the digital world together safely”.
Get involved and help raise awareness of internet safety for this year’s Safer Internet Day. There are many things you can do, including helping to spread the word about the Day and running activities with children and young people, parents and carers and others in the community.
The Safer Internet Centre here in the UK have produced packs for schools, which include quick ideas for teachers, a lesson plan and an assembly.
Download your 2012 schools pack now at the Safer Internet Day web site.
Win a free annual subscription for your school!
To celebrate National Libraries Day on 4th February 2012, JCS Online Resources is running a competition which is open to all secondary schools and 6th Form Colleges in the UK and abroad.
The six best entries as judged by the JCS team will win a year’s free subscription to one of the following online resources:
- Bridgeman Education 355,000+ copyright cleared images providing access to the visual culture of every civilization and period from prehistory to the present.
- The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemistry World and Education in Chemistry – Two magazines which present authoritative review articles on a wide variety of chemical topics, from historical to state-of-the-art chemistry for teachers and students.
- Credo Reference – A multi-publisher online reference library offering a wide range of innovative features.
- eChalk – A broad and expanding range of curriculum-mapped games, puzzles, simulations and starter activities.
- Keesing’s World News Archive (including a 2012 print subscription) – A comprehensive, concise and regularly updated record of the world’s most important political, social and economic events since 1931.
- Scran – 360,000 images, sounds, movies and learning resources copyright-cleared for educational use.
Entries of no more than 500 words may be submitted from students, teachers and librarians from a school or 6th Form College in the UK or Worldwide:
Teachers:
- Describe how your use of online reference resources has helped and enhanced your teaching, and the benefits that have been gained by you and your students. How do you determine the quality of the online resources you use?
Students:
- How do you use online reference resources to help your studies, what do you like about them and how do you make sure the information is reliable?
Hints: Homework help? More fun than books? Quicker/easier? I can use my phone? Internet searches might not be right? Etc…
Librarians:
- How has the introduction of online reference resources to your library collections helped enhance the service you provide to your school? Describe their key benefits and how you evaluate their quality.
To enter the competition, follow this link and circulate it to your teaching staff and students! Print off this poster to promote the competition in your staff room, library and school notice boards.
