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Welcome
International Days and major international conferences reflect a growing sense that we are part of One Humanity and One Life. On these occasions there is a special opportunity to serve in the creation of a world that reflects this spirit of Oneness in all its diversity.
As meditators we can symbolically stand together with all those actively working to create right human relations, and invoke the aid of the Forces of Light in support of these events.
Sustainable Development Goals & Climate Change
These International Days and events reflect important themes in the mobilization of energies to:
- Build right relations in the world by addressing serious problems of poverty, inequality and climate change through practical actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030
- engaging people of goodwill all over the world in a common movement.
2025 United Nations International Years
Silence at the United Nations
The Spiritual Caucus at the United Nations gathers subjectively and online(September - June) on the third Thursday every month for 30 minutes of silence followed by 30 minutes of dialogue, sharing insights and exploring ways to use an inner focus in service of the work of the UN.
On the first Thursday of the month (October 2), from October to June, Caucus members and others gather in the Meditation Room at the UN HQ in New York, from 12:00 – 12:45 pm for 10-30 minutes in silence together, followed by optional conversation in the nearby cafe afterwards.
Please link in from wherever you are. More information at: http://www.spiritualcaucusun.org/
In December you are invited to gather in the UN Meditation Room for 10 - 30 minutes from 12.00 - 12.45 on December 4, and to join an online virtual gathering, including 30 minutes of silence, on Thursday, December 18, from 2.00- 3.15 pm EDT with a particular focus on supporting the UN. Write for details to info@spiritualcaucusun.org.
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December Please Hold These Events in the Light
December 1
World AIDS Day
2025 theme: Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.
In 2025, a historic funding crisis is threatening to unravel decades of progress. HIV prevention services are severely disrupted. Community-led services, vital to reaching marginalized populations, are being deprioritized while the rise in punitive laws criminalizing same-sex relationships, gender identity, and drug use is amplifying the crisis, making HIV services inaccessible.
UN Aids Day
www.unaids.org
December 2
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Although modern slavery is not defined in law, it is used as an umbrella term covering practices such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. Essentially, it refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power.
Modern slavery occurs in almost every country in the world, and cuts across ethnic, cultural and religious lines. More than half (52 per cent) of all forced labour and a quarter of all forced marriages can be found in upper-middle income or high-income countries.
On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us redouble our efforts so that the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- "no one shall be held in slavery or servitude" -- ring true. - Kofi Annan
www.un.org/en/events/
www.ilo.org
www.antislavery.org
December 2
World Futures Day
2025 theme: Anticipation in an Era of Volatility
UNESCO's World Futures Day will focus on how societies and governments can navigate volatility in an era marked by technological disruption, demographic transitions and the climate crisis through leveraging foresight, anticipation and futures thinking to inform policy and inspire collective actions.
www.unesco.org
December 3
International Day for Persons with Disabilities
2025 theme: Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.
Over a billion people, approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability. Following the historic passage of a global Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities there has been a growing recognition by governments and civil society that any plans for human development must include and involve the community of people living with disabilities.
The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy provides the foundation for sustainable and transformative progress on disability inclusion through all pillars of the work of the United Nations: peace and security, human rights, and development.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.un.org/desa/
December 4
International Day of Banks
2025 theme: Banks Powering a Livable Planet.
This year’s observance of the International Day of Banks highlights the essential role of multilateral development banks, international development banks and domestic banking systems in advancing sustainable development, supporting climate action and improving standards of living.
www.un.org/
UN Principles for Responsible Banking
December 4
Full Moon — Sagittarius
Theme: I see the goal, I reach that goal, and then I see another.
Since ancient times human beings have honored the full moon as a time when the sacred is most accesible. It is a time of light - the moon reflects the light of the sun onto the face of the earth. In astrology this is a time when the qualities and potentials of the zodiacal sign of the sun are especially available to humanity for use in service.
During the full moon religious and esoteric groups around the world use the opportunities of this time to vizualize light and love and spiritual power flowing into humanity and strengthening all that is being done to help prepare the way for a world of unity, justice and peace; a world in which the Sustainable Development Goals are in process of being achieved.
www.lucistrust.org
www.lucistrust.org/resources/
December 5
World Soil Day
Theme 2025: Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities.
World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually by the UN on 5 December to raise global awareness about the role soils play in agricultural development, ecosystem functions and food security. Our planet’s survival depends on the precious link with soil. Over 95 percent of our food comes from soils. Besides, they supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants. However, in the face of climate change and human activity, our soils are being degraded. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing water infiltration and availability for all forms of life, and decreasing the level of vitamins and nutrients in food.
This year's theme focuses on soils in cities and the challenges of soil ceiling and urbanization. Beneath asphalt, buildings, and streets lies soil that, if permeable and vegetated, helps absorb rainwater, regulate temperature, store carbon, and improve air quality. But when it's sealed with cement, it loses these functions, making cities more vulnerable to flooding, overheating, and pollution.
www.fao.org/
www.un.org
December 5
International Volunteer Day
2025 theme: Every Contribution Matters
A day to celebrate the goodwill energy radiated throughout the human family by volunteers. Every society in the world relies on a vast network of volunteers to bring the energies of heart into community. This year the Day marks the launch of the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026).
It is simply not possible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without including people at all stages, at all levels, and at all times. Volunteering makes people part of the solutions. Volunteerism lets people and communities participate in their development.
www.un.org
www.unv.org
December 6 - 7
Doha Forum 2025, Doha, Qatar
2025 Theme: Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress
Doha Forum is a global platform for dialogue, bringing together leaders in policy to discuss critical challenges facing our world, and to build innovative and action-driven networks.
The theme of Doha Forum 2025 calls on stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete actions to support sustainable prosperity and address injustice. It emphasizes the need for an integrated approach that combines policy innovation, fair and transparent resource allocation, and collaborative solutions to build a more just and sustainable future.
dohaforum.org
December 8 - 12
United Nations Environment Asembly, Nairobi, Kenya
2025 theme: Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet.
The United Nations Environment Assembly is the world’s highest-level decision-making body for matters related to the environment. It sets priorities for global environmental policies and international environmental law. Understanding these challenges and preserving and rehabilitating our environment is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Assembly was established at the 2012 Rio + 20 UN Summit as the governing council of the UN Environment Program and today all 193 member states of the UN are part of the Assembly. This year is the seventh gathering of the assembly.
unep.org
December 9
International Anti-Corruption Day
December 9
International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime
2025 Theme: A Decade Toward Preventing Genocide
First observed in 2015, this Day has now been observed for a decade. It seeks to raise awareness of the 1948 Genocide Convention (adopted on 9 December) and its role in combating and preventing the crime of genocide, as defined in the Convention, and to commemorate and honour its victims.
www.un.org/en/events/genocidepreventionday/
www.genocidewatch.com
December 9
World Negotiation Day
2025 Theme: Negotiating Peace in a Fragmented World: The Case for Preventive Diplomacy
Recognizing effective communication as the key to navigating the intricate terrain of the 21st century, World Negotiation Day serves to celebrate international commitments to securing peaceful settlements of disputes.
Led by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), this years Negotiation Day celebration is being held with the collaboration and support of the Doha Forum.Uniting some of the world’s most renowned contributors to peaceful negotiations and conflict resolution, Doha World Negotiation Day provides a high-level forum to discuss the role of negotiation in today’s challenging world, offering valuable perspectives on emerging challenges and opportunities in the field.
unitar.org/
December 9
UNESCO International Symposium on the Future of the Right to Education, UNESCO HQ, Paris.
Theme: The Right to Education at a crossroads: Renewing global commitments and charting future pathways.
On the eve of Human Rights Day, the Symposium marks the 65th anniversary of the 1960 Convention against Discrimination in Education. The convention is the first legally binding international instrument which is entirely dedicated to the right to education. It provides the basis for the UN's 2030 Education Agenda.
www.unesco.org
December 9 - 11
UN Mindfulness Conference: United and Present: Global Solutions from Within, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Theme: A Mindful Approach to Diplomacy,UN Work, and Beyond.
Anchored in the UN System Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy, the UN Human Rights Mindfulness Initiative, and the landmark UN General Assembly Resolution on World Meditation Day, the event explores how contemplative practices - such as mindfulness - can strengthen diplomacy, human rights, and systems leadership. It underscores that individual and collective wellbeing is not a luxury, but an essential and attainable foundation for protection,
inclusion, and shared progress.
www.un.org
December 10
Human Rights Day
2025 Theme: Human Rights, Our Everyday Essentials.
In this period of turbulence and unpredictability, where many feel a growing sense of insecurity, disaffection and alienation, the theme of Human Rights Day is to reaffirm the values of human rights and show that they remain a winning proposition for humanity.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.ohchr.org/
December 11
International Mountains Day
2025 Theme: Glaciers matter for water, food and livelihoods in mountains and beyond
In recognition that 2025 is International Year of Glaciers Preservation, Mountain Day highlights the importance of glacier preservation for agriculture, water security and the livelihoods of vulnerable mountain communities.
As we dedicate IMD 2025 to glaciers, it is our shared responsibility to preserve these ancient ice formations, which are a crucial testimony of the Earth's history, the source of life for billions, and sacred places for many cultures.
Many of the world's great mountain regions have long been considered to be sacred. See for example:
Nine Sacred Mountains of China;
Sacred Mountains, Themes and Teachings by Edwin Bernbaum.
www.fao.org
www.un.org
mountain.org
csvpa.org
December 12
International Universal Health Coverage Day
2025 Theme: Unaffordable Health Costs? We're Sick of it!
Established by the UN General Assembly in December 2012, Universal Health Coverage Day aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage with multi-stakeholder partners. The General Assembly voted to encourage governments to move towards Universal Health coverage on the understanding that everyone, everywhere should have access to quality, affordable health care - as an essential priority for international development.
www.un.org/en/events/
universalhealthcoverageday.org
www.uhc2030.org
December 12
International Day of Neutrality
Concerned to encourage the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means the UN General Assemby voted in 2017 to declare December 12 International Day of Neutrality
It is worth noting that the policy of neutrality — a key factor for providing conditions and building a platform for peaceful negotiations — is also closely interconnected with and based on the tools of preventive diplomacy, such as early warning and prevention of conflict, mediation, good offices, fact-finding missions, negotiation, the use of special envoys, informal consultations, peacebuilding and targeted development activities.
www.un.org
dppa.un.org
December 18
International Migrants Day
International Migrants Day is observed on December 18 to mark the anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly, in 1990, of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. During the last decade migrants have made up around 3% of the global population — 214 million people are today classified as migrants.
Migrants contribute greatly to the sense of cultural diversity in modern societies, and to our appreciation of the oneness of the human spirit. They give us the experience of living in a global neighborhood. Yet migrants are often subject to discrimination and exploitation. In a world of unity in diversity all communities are challenged to ensure that migrants are treated with humanity and their rights respected.
The Day will be observed by Migrants groups as The Global Day of Action for the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.gfmd.org/
www.iom.int
iamamigrant.org/
December 20
International Human Solidarity Day
Convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing was important for combating poverty, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 20 December as International Human Solidarity Day.
It is to be observed as :
- A day to celebrate our unity in diversity
- A day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements
- A day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity
- A day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals including poverty eradication
- A day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.
Once we truly grasp that we are brothers and sisters in a common humanity, then we can shape our attitudes towards life in the light of the solidarity which makes us one. This is especially true in all that relates to the basic universal project: peace. - John Paul II.
www.un.org/en/events/
www.ohchr.org
December 21
World Meditation Day - UN
On December 7, 2024, the UN General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution declaring December 21st every year as World Meditation Day
To raise awareness about meditation and its benefits, the General Assembly proclaimed 21 December as World Meditation Day, recalling the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Additionally, the General Assembly acknowledged the link between yoga and meditation as complementary approaches to health and well-being.
It is significant that the draft resolution before the General Assembly affirmed the importance, as a place for prayer and meditation, of the meditation room at United Nations Headquarters in New York, acknowledged the universality of meditation, practised in all regions of the
world, and recognized that meditation can contribute to health and well-being and that the wider dissemination of information about the benefits of meditation would be beneficial for the health and well-being of people around the world
The Mindfulness Initiative’s recent Global Political Forum (July 2025) showcased the growing impact of mindfulness in leadership and public policy. A keynote by Mara Arizaga, Head of the Well-Being Unit at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, highlighted how mindfulness has moved from personal well-being support during the pandemic to a system-wide initiative across UN departments. With collaborations from Oxford, Bangor, and Geneva University Hospital, and plans for the first UN Mindfulness Conference this December in Geneva, the initiative is setting a precedent for institutional transformation through contemplative practice.
www.un.org/
Seeking within: cultivating presence and well-being at the UN
documents.un.org
www.eamba.net/
December 21
Global Silent Minute
2025 Theme: Radiate Truth through Silence as Action.
The fifth annual Global Silent Minute will take place at 9pm GMT on 21 December 2025. Participate by ringing a bell and observing a minute of silence.
Together participants will radiate the living, radiant power of Truth that resounds in the Heart, that rings through from the Cosmic Bell to the Planetary Bell (Mount Kailash, the Mountain of the Bell, in Tibet), to the bell within each and every one of us.
www.globalsilentminute.org
www.facebook.com
December 21
World Basketball Day
In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, sport is recognized as an important enabler of sustainable development. Sports, the arts and physical activity have the power to change perceptions, prejudices and behaviours, as well as to inspire people, break down racial and political barriers, combat discrimination and defuse conflict. Basketball impacts global spheres of commerce, peace and diplomacy, and creates a unique space of cooperation, physical movement and an interdependence that allows participants to see each other as human beings first and foremost.
Like many other sports, basketball transcends borders, cultures, and languages. It serves as a unifying force where people from different backgrounds can come together, bond and communicate with each other, creating connections and breaking down barriers, and thereby contributing to peace.
www.un.org
December 27
International Day of Epidemic Preparedness
COVID-19 is a human tragedy. But it has also created a generational opportunity. An opportunity to build back a more equal and sustainable world. The response to the pandemic, and to the widespread discontent that preceded it, must be based on a New Social Contract and a New Global Deal that create equal opportunities for all and respect the rights and freedoms of all. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General.
www.un.org
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