International Human Solidarity Day 2025

Every December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day.

Started in 2005 by the UN, today is a day to observe, remind, and support the world's population in the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century. Of the observance, Ban Ki-Moon, eighth Secretary General of the United Nations succinctly said, "We all have a role in overcoming today’s economic, political, environmental and social challenges, and we must all share the costs and benefits of sustainable development according to needs and ability. This is the essence of justice, fairness and equity. It is the meaning of solidarity."

International Human Solidarity Day is:

• 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.

Background
Solidarity is identified in the Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century, wherein those, who either suffer or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most. Consequently, in the context of globalization and the challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of international solidarity is indispensable.

Therefore, the UN General Assembly, convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing is important for combating poverty, proclaimed 20 of December as International Human Solidarity Day.

Through initiatives such as the establishment of the World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and the proclamation of International Human Solidarity Day, the concept of solidarity was promoted as crucial in the fight against poverty and in the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

The U.N. has set forth a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. "The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030."

For those of us in the United States, it feels like our semblance of sanity as well as  our literal safety is in peril because we, as a nation, as in many other parts of the world, still struggle with hatred and divisiveness. We can be better than those leaders who wish to lead us away from humanism and core values of decency and solidarity, and we can be better than the small percentage of citizens who believe those leaders and are misguided enough to work against the interests of our species.

To learn more, visit:
https://www.un.org/en/events/humansolidarityday/

Winter World 2024

Vienna, Austria

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Rome, Italy | Photo by fabio_insta88

Gdańsk, Poland | Photo by Martyna Damska

Athens, Greece | Photo by Romanos Hiliarhopoulos

Chinatown, New York, New York | Photo by Christophe Jacrot

Kinkaku-ji Pavilion, Kyoto, Japan

International Human Solidarity Day 2024

Every December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day.

Started in 2005 by the UN, today is a day to observe, remind, and support the world's population in the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century. Of the observance, Ban Ki-Moon, eighth Secretary General of the United Nations succinctly said, "We all have a role in overcoming today’s economic, political, environmental and social challenges, and we must all share the costs and benefits of sustainable development according to needs and ability. This is the essence of justice, fairness and equity. It is the meaning of solidarity."

International Human Solidarity Day is:

• 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.

Background
Solidarity is identified in the Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century, wherein those, who either suffer or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most. Consequently, in the context of globalization and the challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of international solidarity is indispensable.

Therefore, the UN General Assembly, convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing is important for combating poverty, proclaimed 20 of December as International Human Solidarity Day.

Through initiatives such as the establishment of the World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and the proclamation of International Human Solidarity Day, the concept of solidarity was promoted as crucial in the fight against poverty and in the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

The U.N. has set forth a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. "The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030."

For those of us in the United States, it feels like our semblance of sanity is in peril because we, as a nation, as in many other parts of the world, still struggle with hatred and divisiveness. We can be better than those leaders who wish to lead us away from humanism and core values of decency and solidarity, and we can be better than the small percentage of citizens who believe those leaders and are misguided enough to work against the interests of our species.

To learn more, visit:
https://www.un.org/en/events/humansolidarityday/

International Human Solidarity Day 2023

Every December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day.

Started in 2005 by the UN, today is a day to observe, remind, and support the world's population in the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century. Of the observance, Ban Ki-Moon, eighth Secretary General of the United Nations succinctly said, "We all have a role in overcoming today’s economic, political, environmental and social challenges, and we must all share the costs and benefits of sustainable development according to needs and ability. This is the essence of justice, fairness and equity. It is the meaning of solidarity."

International Human Solidarity Day is:

• 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.

Background
Solidarity is identified in the Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century, wherein those, who either suffer or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most. Consequently, in the context of globalization and the challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of international solidarity is indispensable.

Therefore, the UN General Assembly, convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing is important for combating poverty, proclaimed 20 of December as International Human Solidarity Day.

Through initiatives such as the establishment of the World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and the proclamation of International Human Solidarity Day, the concept of solidarity was promoted as crucial in the fight against poverty and in the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

The U.N. has set forth a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. "The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030."

For those of us in the United States, it feels like our semblance of sanity is in peril because we, as a nation, as in many other parts of the world, still struggle with hatred and divisiveness. We can be better than those leaders who wish to lead us away from humanism and core values of decency and solidarity, and we can be better than the small percentage of citizens who believe those leaders and are misguided enough to work against the interests of our species.

To learn more, visit:
https://www.un.org/en/events/humansolidarityday/

International Human Solidarity Day 2022

Every December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day.

Started in 2005 by the UN, today is a day to observe, remind, and support the world's population in the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century. Of the observance, Ban Ki-Moon, eighth Secretary General of the United Nations succinctly said, "We all have a role in overcoming today’s economic, political, environmental and social challenges, and we must all share the costs and benefits of sustainable development according to needs and ability. This is the essence of justice, fairness and equity. It is the meaning of solidarity."

International Human Solidarity Day is:
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.

Background
Solidarity is identified in the Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century, wherein those, who either suffer or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most. Consequently, in the context of globalization and the challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of international solidarity is indispensable.

Therefore, the UN General Assembly, convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing is important for combating poverty, proclaimed 20 of December as International Human Solidarity Day.

Through initiatives such as the establishment of the World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and the proclamation of International Human Solidarity Day, the concept of solidarity was promoted as crucial in the fight against poverty and in the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

The U.N. has set forth a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. "The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030."

For those of us in the United States, it feels like things are returning to some semblance of sanity, and we hope light and reason are once again going to be guiding forces. But we as a nation, as many in other parts of the world, still struggle with hatred and divisiveness. We can be better than those leaders who wish to lead us away from humanism and core values of decency, and we can be better than the small percentage of citizens who believe those leaders and are misguided enough to work against the interests of our species.

To learn more, visit:
https://www.un.org/en/events/humansolidarityday/

"Out Sailing" by Axel Boman feat. Man Tear & Inre Frid

"My love is out sailing / All over the world"

And this amazing video for Axel Boman's news song "Out Sailing" was indeed filmed all over the world. Filmmaker Adam Chitayat used frames captured in sequence through Google Street View to create a tour of sites in many countries at breakneck speed. The list of locations is below the video.

Australia:
Melbourne Cricket Stadium

Austria:
Kunsthistorisches Museum

Brazil:
Marcana Stadium
Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
Rio de Janeiro Metro
Sao Paulo Biennale

Canadian Arctic

Czech Republic:
Charles Bridge

Denmark:
Christiansborg Palace
Thorvaldesens Museum

Faroe Islands:
Slættaratindur

France:
Arc de Triomphe
Château de Chenonceau
Grand Palais
Mont Blanc
Mont Saint-Michel
Museum of Fine Art Lyon
Palace of Versailles
Paris City Hall
University of Lyon

Germany:
Alte Pinakothek
Altes Museum
Hamburg Canals
Miniatur Wunderland
Sanssouci Palace
Staatliches Museum Schwerin

Greece:
Acropolis Museum

Greenland

India:
Himalayan Railway
Taj Mahal

Italy:
Florence Train Station
Grassi Palace
Municipal Library Teresian
National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art
The Floating Piers
Uffizi Gallery

Japan:
Bullet Train
Chiba Monorail
Fushimi Inari Taisha
Miraikan
Nagoya Station
Ryogoku Kokugikan
Suzuki Circuit

Mexico:
Archivo General de la Nación

Mongolia:
Khuvsgul Lake

Nepal

New Zealand:
Coronet Peak

Norway:
Fv36
Fv64

Portugal:
Coastal Railway
Mafra National Palace

Russia:
Bolshow Theater
Crocus City Hall
Saint Petersburg State University

Scotland:
National Museum of Scotland

Singapore:
Singapore Sports Hub

South Korea:
National Museum of Korea

Spain:
Bilbao Stadium
Catedral de la Almudena
Guggenheim Bilbao
La Sagrada Familia
Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada
University of Madrid

Sweden:
Avicii Arena
Gamla stan
Skokloster Castle

Switzerland:
CERN
Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge
Swiss Alps

Taiwan:
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum

United Arab Emirates:
Burj Al Arab

United States:
Chicago River
Crystal Bridges Museum
Denali
Dry Tortugas
Guggenheim
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Neues Museum
Seven Mile Bridge
Shedd Aquarium
Smithsonian Science Center
The Grand Canyon
The Intrepid
University of Michigan

https://soundcloud.com/axelboman
https://www.instagram.com/axelboman
https://www.adamchitayat.com/

Climate Catastrophe Change In A Chart

UK climate data scientist has charted the monthly/yearly change in global temperature from 1851 to 2020. We have always known it is not good news and here is the chart...

https://twitter.com/neilrkaye

The True Size

UK climate data scientist Neil Kaye has animated a map of the world that shows the distorted sizes of countries due to the Mercator Projection, and then their true sizes. For example: in reality, Greenland is not larger than Africa...

https://twitter.com/neilrkaye/status/1464874387698552832

International Human Solidarity Day 2021

Every December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day.

Started in 2005 by the UN, today is a day to observe, remind, and support the world's population in the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century. Of the observance, Ban Ki-Moon, eighth Secretary General of the United Nations succinctly said, "We all have a role in overcoming today’s economic, political, environmental and social challenges, and we must all share the costs and benefits of sustainable development according to needs and ability. This is the essence of justice, fairness and equity. It is the meaning of solidarity."

International Human Solidarity Day is:
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.

Background
Solidarity is identified in the Millennium Declaration as one of the fundamental values of international relations in the 21st Century, wherein those, who either suffer or benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most. Consequently, in the context of globalization and the challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of international solidarity is indispensable.

Therefore, the UN General Assembly, convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing is important for combating poverty, proclaimed 20 of December as International Human Solidarity Day.

Through initiatives such as the establishment of the World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and the proclamation of International Human Solidarity Day, the concept of solidarity was promoted as crucial in the fight against poverty and in the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

The U.N. has set forth a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. "The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030."

For those of us in the United States, it feels like things are returning to some semblance of sanity and light and reason are once again going to be guiding forces. But we as a nation, as many in other parts of the world, still struggle with pockets of hatred and divisiveness. We can be better than those leaders who wish to lead us away from humanism and core values of decency, and we can be better than the small percentage of citizens who are misguided enough to work against the interests of our species.

To learn more, visit:
https://www.un.org/en/events/humansolidarityday/

Zen and a Post-COVID World

In a conversation on NHK World Japan, internationally renowned garden designer, chief priest of the Sōtō Zen temple Kenkō-ji, professor at Tama Art University, and president of his own design firm Shunmyō Masuno told design strategist Eisuke Tachikawa that Buddhist principles will guide the post-COVID world.

International Human Solidarity Day 2020

Every December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day.

Started in 2005 by the UN, today is a day to observe, remind, and support the world's population in the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century. Of the observance, Ban Ki-Moon, eighth Secretary General of the United Nations succinctly said, "We all have a role in overcoming today’s economic, political, environmental and social challenges, and we must all share the costs and benefits of sustainable development according to needs and ability. This is the essence of justice, fairness and equity. It is the meaning of solidarity."

The U.N. has set forth a new set of Sustainable Development Goals. "The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030."

For those of us in the United States, it feels like a new day has dawned and light and reason are once again going to be guiding forces. But we as a nation, as many in other parts of the world, still struggle with pockets of hatred and divisiveness. We can be better than those leaders who wish to lead us away from humanism and core values of decency, and we can be better than the small percentage of citizens who are misguided enough to work against the interests of our species.

https://www.un.org/en/events/humansolidarityday/

A Series Of Interconnected Disasters

Yes.

200,000

As the US surpasses 200,000 Covid-19 deaths, survivors have a message: This is not a hoax

By Theresa Waldrop, CNN

Updated 7:40 PM ET, Tue September 22, 2020

Even as the nation surpasses 200,000 Covid-19 deaths, there are still people who think the coronavirus is a hoax. Survivors of the disease and members of victims' families beg to differ and are sharing their very real experiences with the deadly disease.

Ann and Marvin Robinson, a married couple in Casper, Wyoming, got the virus almost three months ago. Marvin, 73, still has shortness of breath, and both are battling fatigue.

"We have friends who still believe it's a hoax. They think that it's going to go away on Election Day," Ann, 72, told CNN's Brianna Keilar on Tuesday.

"It's trying to convince people that the 200,000 people who have died were important," Ann said of her efforts to assure people of the reality of the virus.

Their friends "kind of discount the fact that older people get it that have underlying conditions, that they were going to die anyway," Ann said. "Well, I'm an older person and I have underlying conditions, and I intend to live for a lot more years."

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 6.88 million people have contracted the virus nationwide, and at least 200,477 people have died.

Covid-19 is now the second-leading cause of death in the US, just after heart disease, according to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Heather-Elizabeth Brown, a 35-year-old police chaplain and corporate trainer in the Detroit area, spent about 100 days in the hospital with Covid-19. More than a month of her hospital stay was spent on a ventilator and in a coma in intensive care.

She said she still has trouble breathing and with fatigue.

"Simple things like getting up the stairs or walking to my car or outside to get something winds me, and the fatigue factor is also a really big part of the after effects," Brown said.

"I find that I can't get through a whole day without having to stop and lie down and rest, just because I'm absolutely exhausted from doing everyday simple tasks like, you know, getting a shower or making breakfast."

"I absolutely want people to know that Covid is a real disease," Brown told Keilar. "It's not fake, it's not made up, it's not a conspiracy. It is something that is communicable and it is something that can be very dangerous."

Sondra Wolfe lost her husband to Covid-19. She is frustrated that the pandemic has become a political issue in the United States.

"People see the numbers and so many of them don't care," Wolfe told CNN last week. "I want to put a human face and a family, what a family is going through, the grief that this has caused, and maybe change some minds that this is a real thing."

Diana Berrent was one of the first in her New York community to be diagnosed with the virus on March 18, she said.

She founded a support group for survivors, Survivors Corps, that has more than 90,000 members.

At the end of August, Berrent was "still having terrible GI issues, massive headaches, and what feels like a deep ear infection," she told CNN's Jake Tapper. "But it pales in comparison to what many of our members are experiencing, really dramatic things, neurological issues, tachycardia, things as dramatic as Covid-onset diabetes and Covid-onset lupus."

What she wants people to know, she said, is that "this is not a matter of either getting the flu or dying. There is a very, very large bucket in the middle, which seems to constitute a huge proportion of people who get Covid, who are not recovering. You do not want to end up in that group of people."

When you see people's stories on Survivor's Corps of, for example, a 25-year-old who is writing a living will and "don't think they're going to make it to see their wedding day, you'll have a change of heart," Berrent said.

Maureen Fagan's sister Adeline Fagan, 28-year-old and a second-year OB-GYN resident living in Houston, died Saturday after battling Covid-19 for a few months. Fagan's family has been speaking out since in an effort to save other lives.

"Everyone could be an Adeline and that's the scary part of this," Fagan told CNN's Kate Bolduan, asking people to follow the guidelines to protect other people.

"If you can do something as simple as wearing the mask, social distancing, even just using hand sanitizer, to do your part," she said.

"I think you have a right to do that, just as a human being and trying to be a good person."

Link to original article:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/us/covid-19-survivors-say-virus-not-a-hoax/index.html

Just Wear The Damn Mask Already

Digital art of famous statuary around thew world wearing a mask.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/94384459/Coronavirus-and-how-its-changed-our-world

STAY AT HOME!

https://www.restezalamaison.org/
https://www.facebook.com/mathieu.persan.1

...And this is how you guarantee a recession...

The UK has guaranteed that all employees out of work due to the virus will get 80% of their salaries so they can continue to live and not be homeless.
France has suspended all rent and utilities for small businesses so the economic fallout will be less of a catastrophe.
The United States response so far: *dithering*

BEAUTY: Photography--Hayden Williams

American photographer Hayden Williams addresses our Climate Catastrophe--and the immense frustration with the lack of acknowledgement of environmental problems, something very apparent in the US under a president who is a notorious climate change sceptic--in his series World Underwater.

In an interview with It's Nice That, Hayden said, "The spark that ignited this series was a trip to Venice. While travelling there I learned how the city is frequently flooded. It surprised me learning how Venice prepares, defends, and inevitably repairs itself from unforgiving tides. I began to imagine, 'what if the rest of the world lived like this?'

I usually have a very clear image in mind when I imagine a photograph I want to take or a scene I want to render. I imagined the two 'Pipe Dream' images of flooded subway trains when I was daydreaming about my move to New York for an internship. The subway is something many people are familiar with, so I thought it would be the perfect subject to flood.

Climate change is an obvious problem, and I find it absolutely ridiculous how many continue to deny its existence. We should be talking about how to solve it, but instead we somehow have to convince half of the world that there is something that needs to be solved in the first place."

I agree. Leaders and governments and businesses wasted nearly 30 years denying that our house is really on fire. It started in the basement, it is almost done consuming the ground floor (the images of the devastation in Australia and NSW have broken my heart), and it is about to start burning on the top floor. That is 30 years where solutions could have been proposed and implemented. How much farther along would we be right now if we had had that time? But no, financial greed and conservative/religious ignorance allowed the fire to grow. There's not much to mitigate anymore. The damage has been done and we are looking at a very grim future.

https://www.haydenclay.com/