World Leprosy Day
2023-01-29 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)

World Interfaith Harmony Week
2023-02-01 08:00 - 2023-02-07 17:00

World Wetlands Day
2023-02-02 00:00 - 23:59
In 2021 World Wetlands Day marks the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention. Get more information about World Wetlands Day and a range of resources on how the Convention protects wetlands here.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, is called the Ramsar Convention, after the Iranian city where the Convention was adopted in 1971. It is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It came into force in 1975. Find out more about the Ramsar Convention here.

Coral reefs are among the wetland types covered by the Convention. In 2004, the Catholic Bishops of Queensland issued a pastoral letter ‘Let the Many Coastlands Be Glad!’ on the need to care for the Great Barrier Reef.

In safeguarding the integrity of the waters of the Pacific and the Great Barrier Reef, we are in a profound sense, honouring and sharing in the life of the risen Christ. As St Paul taught us, ‘So he who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence’ (Ephesians 4.10). This is the very same ‘presence’ that today fills the universe and lovingly graces, impregnates, stimulates and sustains the sparkling bluegreen waters and gloriously coloured coral necklace of Queensland’s eastern coastline we call, ‘the Reef’. It should be understood, that to do wilful harm to the integrity of the Great Barrier Reef is to diminish the image of Christ which is radiated to us through our world. Queensland Catholic Bishops, Let the Many Coastlands be Glad, 2004.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
2023-02-06 00:00 - 23:59
Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

It is an attack on the human dignity and physical integrity of women and girls. It undermines their well-being, and can threaten life itself.

Learn more about female genital mutilation here.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science
2023-02-11 00:00 - 23:59
In 2015 the General Assembly of the United Nations decided to establish an annual International Day to recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology. You can read about the decision in Resolution A/RES/70/212.

UNESCO and UN-Women are the two UN agencies responsible for the implementation of the Day’s celebration.

World Day of Social Justice
2023-02-20 00:00 - 23:59
On 26 November 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared that, starting from 2008, 20 February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice. It invited Member States to:

devote this special day to the promotion, at the national level, of concrete activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 26 November 2007

Learn more here.

International Mother Language Day
2023-02-21 00:00 - 23:59
As the United Nations’ website explains:

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

This is a great day to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. The website of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies provides extensive information here.

Zero Discrimination Day
2023-03-01 00:00 - 23:59
Zero Discrimination Day is an opportunity to promote everyone’s right to live a dignified life free from discrimination regardless of their age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, skin color, height, weight, profession, education, and beliefs.

While many countries have laws against discrimination, it is remains a problem in reality around the world. Some countries even use discrimination as a way of governing.

1999: International Treaty to Ban Landmines enters into force.
2023-03-01 00:00 - 23:59
Find our more about the Treaty here.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) provides advocacy tools for campaigners, including multimedia resources, ICBL statements, partner resources, and the Landmine Monitor, to keep you up to date on the landmine issue.

World Wildlife Day
2023-03-03 00:00 - 23:59
Find out more on the official United Nations website for the day here.

1970: International Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
2023-03-05 00:00 - 23:59

International Women's Day
2023-03-08 00:00 - 23:59
Pope Francis is making small but significant steps towards greater inclusion of women in decision making and leadership roles in the Church. He has amended Canon Law so that women may be officially recognized as exercising the ministries of Lector and Acolyte. And he has appointed a woman as Under-Secretary to the Synod of Bishops – with the right to vote. This is a good day to pay attention to women’s contributions in our local Church too. Here is a list women theologians in Australia and New Zealand 160+ Australian and New Zealander Women in Theology You Should Know About

In 2020 we marked the twentieth anniversary of the Australian Bishops’ response to research on the participation of women in the Catholic Church in Australia. The research results were published as Woman and Man: One in Christ Jesus (Harper Collins, 1999) and the Bishops’ Social Justice Sunday Statement for 2000 was titled Woman and Man: the Bishops Respond. In 2019 the Office for Social Justice published a collection of essays marking these anniversaries. Titled Still Listening to the Spirit: Woman and Man Twenty Years Later, the book was a collaboration with the Office for the Participation of Women.

In their foreword to the collection, Archbishop Christopher Prowse and Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen acknowledge:

… twenty years down the track, women are still listening to the Spirit and seeking to engage the whole Church in a conversation about a more fulsome development of the participation of women in the Church, for the sake of us all, and for the sake of the Reign of God. There is unfinished business from the action commitments made by the bishops in 2000. There is also an opportunity to contribute to the communal discernment process of the Plenary Council 2020. This collection of essays enrages creatively with both of these elements of the present moment. Archbishop Christopher Prowse and Bishop Vincent Long, Foreword, Still Listening to the Spirit

Buy Still Listening to the Spirit: Woman and Man Twenty Years Later here. Download the discussion guide for the book here.

2003: Invasion of Iraq by USA and Allies
2023-03-19 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Happiness
2023-03-20 00:00 - 23:59

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
2023-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Forests
2023-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

World Down Syndrome Day
2023-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

World Poetry Day
2023-03-21 00:00 - 23:59

Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination
2023-03-21 08:00 - 2023-03-22 17:00

World Water Day
2023-03-22 00:00 - 23:59
“The earth’s biodiversity, the functioning of the various biomes and of the atmosphere, the cycles of water and climate remind us of how versatile and fundamental this precious creature of God is.” Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, Acqua Fons Vitae, p 13.

World Water Day has been celebrated since 1993. Now a core focus of the day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. The theme of World Water Day in 2021 is valuing water.

In Aqua Fons Vitae, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development point out that as well as an economic value, water has a religious value, socio-cultural and aesthetic value, and even an institutional value and a value for peace. You can access a collection of Church statements, tools and initiatives related Aqua fons vitae here.

For Reflection

How do you value water?

Which of the proposals in Aqua Fons Vitae are the most important for your community?

World Meteorological Day
2023-03-23 00:00 - 23:59

International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
2023-03-24 00:00 - 23:59

International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing UN Staff Members
2023-03-25 00:00 - 23:59

1975: Biological Weapons Convention
2023-03-26 00:00 - 23:59

Earth Hour
2023-03-28 20:30 - 21:30

World Autism Awareness Day
2023-04-02 00:00 - 23:59

International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
2023-04-04 00:00 - 23:59
The United Nations established this day in 2005 through this resolution.

The annual message for the day, together with other resources, are available here.

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
2023-04-06 00:00 - 23:59
Find out more about why the United Nations declared this day here.

A Crown for Australia: Striving for the Best in Our Sporting Nation

Today is a great day to revisit the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement 2014–2015. It challenges us to look at the place of sport in our lives. Where are its strengths and how can we ensure that sport can thrive and in return can nourish our society? Equally, what are the influences that are undermining and distorting sport’s ideals? Most importantly, how can we work to realise sport’s potential to unite communities, overcome differences and be a force for social justice and reconciliation?

Prayer for Good Sports

God of all sports (and none);from our small minds,how amused you must bewhen our prayers about sportare about our own success or our team's.Whose side are you on?How do you choosewhen supporters from both sidesimplore your divine intervention?Remind us that in prayerour hearts are opened to youand our minds lifted beyond ourselves.Just as prayer changes us,not you, O God,so sport too, can lift us beyond ourselves.So we pray:We give thanks for the gift of our bodies,for the ability to run, walk, jump,swim, catch and throw.We pray for patience and discipline,that we may learn the joy of mastering new skills:achieving success, and cheerfully bearing failurein the company of others.We pray that our relationships be enrichedthrough the friendships we form.May we learn to include others across bordersof language, colour, gender and religion.We pray that we care for others.May we especially look out for thosewho are differently abled,and those often left on the boundaries.Through our vigilancemay we always play fair,and ensure that no one is abused or exploited.We ask this through Jesus your son. Amen.

International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda
2023-04-07 00:00 - 23:59

World Health Day
2023-04-07 00:00 - 23:59
