The United Nations turns 71 this year, and United Nations Day is Monday, October 24th! Members of the UN cooperate to promote peace and prosperity for all.

What Does United Nations Day Celebrate?

United Nations Day is an annual global observance of the work of the United Nations, established in 1945. UN goals include preventing war, supporting economic development, safeguarding human rights and human health, and providing for basic human needs during disruptions. UN members work to solve the global problems that we see in the news every day.

One Humanity, Shared Responsibility

This year’s UN Day theme is “One Humanity, Shared Responsibility” to highlight awareness of the international refugee crisis. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) gives statistics on this problem. There are currently over 20 million refugees worldwide. (For reference, that is about double the population of New York City, including all five boroughs). Of these worldwide refugees, at least half are children.

Why Should We Celebrate?

The continued existence and activity of the United Nations is definitely worth celebrating, as it works to reduce these grim statistics about refugees and many other world problems. Seventy-one years of international problem-solving is a huge achievement that everyone deserves to know about.

What Can We Do to Celebrate?

United Nations Week is October 20th-26th. The World Federation of United Nations Associations lists chapters worldwide. The US chapter is The United Nations Association of the United States of America, or UNA-USA. They have prepared very well for UN Day!

Treasure Trove

UNA-USA offers a treasure trove of resources that you won’t want to miss. You can attend a local event in person, organize a classroom event, and promote UN awareness through social media.

The social media resources include tweetable images, Twitter and Facebook accounts, Instagram handles, hashtags, and much more. Another highlight is how to create a virtual reality station by using your smart phone, a downloadable app, and a virtual reality headset that you buy in advance. This great website also suggests films that support this year’s theme.

On United Nations Day, we celebrate the achievements and goals of the UN. Here’s to another bold year of problem-solving around the world!