WORLD NGO DAY

World NGO Day is observed annually on 27 February. It was officially recognised and declared on 17 April 2010 by 12 countries of the IX Baltic Sea NGO Forum to the 8th Summit of the Baltic Sea States in Vilnius, Lithuania. The World NGO Day was internationally marked and recognised on 27 February 2014 in Helsinki, Finland by Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Former Prime Minister of New Zealand who congratulated with the World NGO Day and highlighted the importance of NGO sector for the UN through her speech. Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for Development (European Commission) sent his regards and said “It’s only right that, on just one of those days, the world should celebrate NGOs and thank them for the tremendous work that they do.”

The World NGO Day initiative was founded in 2009 by university student Marcis Liors Skadmanis (at age 24); who first thought of the initial idea during his Masters in International Law and NGO Legislation. His desire to see a better future for all globally and his passion for finding new solutions for global development is what drove him to establish this initiative (International day) - while believing that innovation is the key for a more sustainable future.

The World NGO Day - intended to be a symbol of bringing together the world’s NGOs to build a stronger future for all - would aim to raise awareness of the many organisations working for good around the globe. A dedicated day - an important annual marking point - for all NGOs to commemorate and celebrate their achievements, ensuring that also small grassroots organisations gain the recognition they deserve. To inspire people to become more actively involved within NGOs, and encourage more collaboration between NGOs.  

 

The World NGO Day is for everyone, celebrating Non Governmental Organisations and the important endowment to society of the various people behind each one of them.

• A day for NGOs around the globe to share knowledge and experiences with one another.
• An opportunity for education, enabling individuals worldwide to understand more clearly what NGOs are doing for society locally, nationally and internationally.
• An international symbol that displays the efforts and achievements of all NGOs from all sectors.
• An opportunity to inspire people to consider a career within the third sector.
• An opportunity for individuals to learn more about the people behind NGOs.
• An opportunity for NGOs to discuss the issues that affect their work, and form partnerships that can resolve mutual problem.

What are Non-Governmental Organizations

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is basically a legally constituted organization which is operated by legal persons who act independently from any government. In those cases where the NGOs are funded partially or completely by governments, the NGO barred the government representatives from any membership in the organization in order to sustain its non-governmental status. The term is used for those organizations which have wider social target with political aspects. However, any NGO cannot be blatantly political organizations. The term “non-governmental organization” has no agreed legal definition and these are termed as “civil society organizations” in many jurisdictions.

Across the world, the number of internationally operating NGOs is around 40,000. The number of national NGO in countries is even higher with around 1-2 million NGOs in India and 277,000 NGOs in Russia. The remodelling processes of the welfare state have led to the rapid development of the non-governmental sector in western countries. With increasing globalization, the intensity of such processes has increased further. In the 20th century, the Globalization makes the people understand the importance of NGOs.

There are many problems which could not be solved effectively within a country. The international bodies at a global level including international organizations like World Trade Organization were considered to be too centred to favour the interests of capitalist firms. The growth and rise of NGO is seen as an attempt to offset this trend, where NGO emphasize the core issue related to human cause like sustainable development, developmental aid and other humanitarian issues. One such remarkable example of organization for raising the cause of people is World Social Forum. This organisation is an opponent convention to the World Economic Forum. In some cases, it represents the popular movements of the poor and other ways, it is regarded as an aristocratic form of politics. 

The NGOs can be classified into various types on the basis of different factors like orientation or level of cooperation.

NGO type by orientation can be grouped into Charitable orientation; Service orientation; Participatory orientation; and Empowering orientation.

NGO type by level of co-operation can be grouped into Community- Based Organisation; City Wide Organisation; National NGOs; and International NGOs;

The Non-governmental organizations forms a heterogeneous group and it has a long list of organization working in different areas with varied scope of work. The alternative terms used in addition to “NGO” include private voluntary organizations, civil society, independent sector, self-help organizations, grassroots organizations, volunteer sector, transnational social movement organizations, and non-state actors (NSA’s).

Some of the Famous terms used for NGO are mentioned below.

BINGO – It is a short term used for business-friendly international NGO

CITS – It is a type of NGO that basically devoted in helping the scientific community by motivating the young talent towards R & D.

CSO – It is short term for civil society organization

DONGO – It refers to the Donor Organized NGO

ENGO – It is an abbreviated form of environmental NGO like Global 2000;

GONGO – It refers to the government-operated NGOs

INGO – It is an abbreviated form of international NGO like Oxfam

QUANGO – It refers to the quasi-autonomous NGO like an ISO non-governmental organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

TANGO – It refers to the technical assistance NGO

GSO – it stands for the Grassroots Support Organization

MANGO – It refers to the market advocacy NGO

CHARDS – It is a short form for Community Health and Rural Development Society

As per the World Bank Typology, the NGOs can be classified into Operational and Advocacy NGOs.

Operational NGO – The main purpose of operational NGO is to design and implement the development-related projects. The scope of the Operational NGOs can be national, international or even community-based.

Advocacy NGO – The main purpose of an Advocacy NGO is to promote a specific cause. It makes efforts to raise awareness and knowledge by doing various activities like lobbying, press work and activist events.

International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.

 MALAYALAM - Our Mother Language

Malayalam /mʌləˈjɑːləm/ (മലയാളം, Malayāḷam [mɐləjaːɭəm]) is a language spoken in India, predominantly in the state of Kerala. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and was designated as a Classical Language in India in 2013. It was developed to the current form mainly by the influence of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century. Malayalam has official language status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken by some 38 million people. Malayalam is also spoken in the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; with significant speakers in the Nilgiris, Kanyakumari and Coimbatore districts of Tamil Nadu, and Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka.

Malayalam originated from Middle Tamil (Sen-Tamil) in the 7th century. An alternative theory proposes a split in even more ancient times. Malayalam incorporated many elements from Sanskrit through the ages.Before Malayalam came into being, Old Tamil was used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam, including present day Kerala state, a famous example being Silappatikaram. Silappatikaram was written by Chera prince Ilango Adigal from Chunkaparra, and is considered a classic in Sangam literature. Modern Malayalam still preserves many words from the ancient Tamil vocabulary of Sangam literature.

The earliest script used to write Malayalam was the Vatteluttu alphabet, and later the Kolezhuttu, which derived from it. As Malayalam began to freely borrow words as well as the rules of grammar from Sanskrit, the Grantha alphabet was adopted for writing and came to be known as Arya Eluttu. This developed into the modern Malayalam script. Many medieval liturgical texts were written in an admixture of Sanskrit and early Malayalam, called Manipravalam.The oldest literary work in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated from between the 9th and 11th centuries. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785.

Due to its lineage deriving from both Tamil and Sanskrit, the Malayalam script has the largest number of letters among the Indian language orthographies. The Malayalam script includes letters capable of representing almost all the sounds of all Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages.

Malayalam serves as a link language on the islands including the Mahl-dominated Minicoy Island.

 The Lost Numerals in Malayalam

 Numerals (അക്കങ്ങൾ akkan̄n̄alla)

WORLD DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

World Day of Social Justice is a day recognizing the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment. Many organizations, including the UN and the International Labour Office, make statements on the importance of social justice for people. Many organizations also present plans for greater social justice by tackling poverty, social and economic exclusion and unemployment. The United Nations General Assembly has decided to observe 20 February annually, approved on 26 November 2007 and starting in 2009, as the World Day of Social Justice.

As recognized by the World Summit, social development aims at social justice, solidarity, harmony and equality within and among countries and social justice, equality and equity constitute the fundamental values of all societies. To achieve “a society for all” governments made a commitment to the creation of a framework for action to promote social justice at national, regional and international levels. They also pledged to promote the equitable distribution of income and greater access to resources through equity and equality and opportunity for all. The governments recognized as well that economic growth should promote equity and social justice and that “a society for all” must be based on social justice and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.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 ofindigenous 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.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA (SAMAJIK NYAYA AUR ADHIKARITA VIBHAG)

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal Department for the overall policy, planning and coordination of programmes for the development of the groups mentioned. However, overall management and monitoring etc. of the sectoral programmes in respect of these groups shall be the responsibility of the concerned Central Ministries, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. Each Central Ministry or Department shall discharge nodal responsibility concerning its sector.

1. The following subject which fall within List III - Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution:
   Nomadic and Migratory Tribes.
2. To act as the nodal Department for matters pertaining to the following groups, namely:-
   (i) Scheduled Castes;
   (ii) Socially and Educationally Backward Classes;
   (iii) Denotified Tribes;
   (iv) Economically Backward Classes; and
   (v) Senior Citizens.
3. Special schemes aimed at social, educational and economic empowerment of the groups mentioned at (i) to (iv) under entry 2 above, e.g. scholarships, hostels, residential schools, skill training, concession loans and subsidy for self-employment, etc.
4. Monitoring of Schedule caste sub plan.
5. Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers in alternative occupations.
6. Programmes of care and support to senior citizens.
7. Prohibition.
8. Rehabilitation of victims of alcoholism and substance abuse, and their families.
9. Beggary.
10. International Conventions and Agreements on matters dealt within the Department.
11. Awareness generation, research, evaluation and training in regard to subjects allocated to the Department.
12. Charitable and Religious Endowments and promotion and development of Voluntary Effort pertaining to subjects allocated to the Department.
13. The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 (22 of 1955).
14. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (33 of 1989), (in so far as it relates to the Scheduled Castes, excluding administration of criminal justice in regard to offences under the Act).
15. National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 (27 of 1993).
16. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (56 of 2007).
17. National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
18. National Commission for Safai Karmacharis.
19. National Commission for Backward Classes.
20. National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation.
21. National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation.
22. National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation.
23. National Institute of Social Defence.
24. Dr. Ambedkar Foundation.
25. Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation
26. National Commission for Denotified and Semi-Namadic Tribes

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a UN-sponsored awareness day that takes place February 6 each year since 2003. February 6th has been dedicated to the intolerance of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM.) One of the beliefs in support for this day acknowledges that culture is in “constant flux,” and with the concerns begetting FGM being so high-risk, the abolition of such practices must be prompt. This is a movement for the rights of women and their bodies, as well as the protection of their physical health- which can be tremendously affected later in life. These efforts are to benefit actions fighting violence against women and girls as a whole. Every Woman, Every Child (a global movement), reports that “Although primarily concentrated in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, FGM is a universal problem and is also practiced in some countries in Asia and Latin America. FGM continues to persist amongst immigrant populations living in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.” In the United States alone, the recent reports of how many women and young girls are affected by FGM staggeringly tripled in numbers in comparison to the previous reports in 1990. About 120 to 140 million women have been subject to FGM over the years and currently at least 3 million girls are at risk each year, in accord to data presented by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is an effort to make the world aware of FGM and to promote its eradication. The World Health Organization has said that "Though the practice has persisted for over a thousand years, programmatic evidence suggests that FGM/C can end in one generation."

 What is Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The practice is mostly carried out by traditional circumcisers, who often play other central roles in communities, such as attending childbirths. In many settings, health care providers perform FGM due to the erroneous belief that the procedure is safer when medicalized.

• The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
• Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
• More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated¹.
• FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.
• FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

WHO strongly urges health professionals not to perform such procedures.

FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.

WORLD CANCER DAY

World Cancer Day is an International day marked on February 4 to raise awareness of Cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in 2008. The primary goal of the World Cancer Day is to significantly reduce illness and death caused by cancer by 2020.

World Cancer Day targets misinformation, raises awareness, and reduces stigma. Multiple initiatives run on World Cancer Day to show support for those affected by cancer. One of these movements is #NoHairSelfie, a global movement to have "hairticipants" shave their heads either physically or virtually to show a symbol of courage for those undergoing cancer treatment. Images of participants are then shared over social media. Local events also take place.

 What is Cancer?

 Cancer, also called malignancy, is an abnormal growth of cells. There are more than 100 types of cancer, including breast cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and lymphoma. Symptoms vary depending on the type. Cancer treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery.