International Day of Friendship is evidence of the existence of love, peace, and understanding. This day represents the importance of friends in our lives and the way they improve it. Whether it is by accompanying us on a vacation or just listening to our problems to help us solve them, a friend makes it much easier.
It is not only about them being available when we face hard times, but also sharing our happiness and celebrating our successes. It would not be wrong to say that the world would be a much more difficult place if we did not have friends.
The UN General Assembly designated 30 July as the International Day of Friendship in 2011, in order to build bridges of peace and friendship between communities. [1]
Prior to being designated by the United Nations, the first World Friendship Day was proposed in 1958 by the World Friendship Campaign; an international civic organization that campaigns to promote a peaceful culture through friendship. [2]
Friendship is an essential tool to make the world prosperous and peaceful, and it’s a major source of maintaining social harmony between communities. By developing the directions of friendship between people, communities, and states we can reach a better level of stability, solidarity, and peace. There has been increased interest in the international day of friendship over the last decade, as social media has adopted it as an occasion to honor friends and exchange gifts.
The International Day of Friendship is celebrated on different dates around the world, but it is mainly celebrated on July 30th.
This day is important in many ways. What would we be without that friend that makes life much easier?
In addition, the UN has stated that the world faces various challenges like poverty, violence, and human rights abuses – among many others- that undermine peace, security, development, and social harmony world’s peoples. Therefore, to confront and overcome these challenges, Promoting and defending the spirit of human solidarity is of the utmost importance. Friendship is considered the simplest and purest form of any relationship.
The culture of peace is the fundamental idea for creating the United Nations. UNESCO, a specialized agency of the United Nations that works with the international community in the fields of Education, Science, Culture, and communication, has been developing this mission for more than 70 years. The UNESCO Constitution, written in 1945, links the possibility of peace and hope with strong bonds of trust and friendship stating: ” Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defenses of peace must be constructed”. [3]
Also read: Nelson Mandela International Day.
Friends are not only important on an individual level, friendship can also be important on a global level. Friendships that cross borders can help bring peace and avoid war. Learning to think of other people, who are different from us, as our friends help us work together to build a culture of peace. That’s why the UN declared 30 July as its official International Day of Friendship.
The International Day of friendship promotes a culture of peace through several things, the most significant of which are:
Showing your love and support to your friend, and thanking your friend for being in your life have many forms. Gifts are not only presented on birthdays, on this day you can show your love to your friend by presenting a token gift or making one even if it is simple. You can spend this day with your best friend away from other people and strengthen the bond with each other. But when your friend is away from you and you can’t spend time together, you can make a short call to express how grateful you are for his existence in life.
Choose your own way to participate in this day, the most important thing is to spend a good time with your friend.
We, at Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative, seek to build friendship bonds between each other and with the world outside. We consider everyone our friends and encourage respect for human rights, building friendships and bonds with all human beings, because in this world, if we are not friends or brothers and sisters, we can’t promote international peace and security.
♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.
References:
[1] UN- International Day of Friendship
[2] National Today
[3] UNESCO