World Red Cross Day: Theme, History, and Significance
Every year, World Red Cross Day is observed on the 8th of May. On this day we celebrate the principles, the history, the values, and the impact of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement on the world today. As part of this day, people pay tribute to the members and volunteers of the organization who have contributed to the work of humanitarians.
We celebrate World Red Cross Day with the objective that we will save more lives and keep them healthy, that is the main task of the day. This day was first celebrated in 1948. In 1984, World Red Cross Day was officially approved by the United Nations. Each year since then, World Red Cross Day has been celebrated.
Theme Of World Red Cross Day 2023
This Year’s Theme of World Red Cross Day is “Everything we do comes #fromtheheart”.
Acts of kindness are all around us. No matter how big or small, they make a huge difference in people’s lives. We believe that acts of kindness have the power to spark a ripple effect, to multiply, to spread across communities, countries and the whole world.
History of World Red Cross Day
It was Swiss humanitarian Henry Dunant’s book Memory of Solferino about the suffering at Italy’s Battle of Solferino that became the inspiration for a number of relief societies. A chapter in this book deals with the creation of aid societies in order to protect wounded soldiers. A committee was therefore established by the Geneva Public Welfare Society in February 1863 as a result of the above. A few years later, this was transformed into the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The 8th of May has been chosen as the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day in honor of Dunant, since it is his birthday on that day. As a result of his contribution to humanitarian works, Dunant was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. At first, the occasion was known as World Red Cross Day, but it was renamed to World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day in 1984.
Significance of World Red Cross Day
World Red Cross Day’s purpose and main objective are to protect the helpless and injured soldiers and civilians. A great deal of importance has been attached to the World Red Cross during the Corona period. Fighting this epidemic is a major priority for the Red Cross. People in this organization serve the needy around the world to protect them against Corona. Also distributed masks, gloves, and sanitizer to the public.
Facts About World Red Cross Day
The 189 National Societies of the Movement represent 97 million volunteers. About half of them are youth volunteers.
About 50 percent of the volunteers of the Movement are women.
From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, there are 189 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world at present.
The Red Cross is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.
Programs and services from the National Societies address both urgent and long-term needs, including emergency response, disaster preparedness, community-based healthcare, first aid training and activities, restoring communication between family members and disaster victims, and youth and volunteer projects.
Throughout its history, the Red Cross has received the Nobel Peace Prize four times: in 1917, 1944, and 1963, as well as for the award given to Henry Dunant in 1901.
The Canadian Red Cross Society was established by the Canadian government in 1909 when they passed the Canadian Red Cross Society Act
Currently, there are more than 34,000 volunteers working in the Canadian Red Cross. That is amazing.
Read More: Important Days and Dates in May 2022
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