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UN DAY - International Day of Friendship

  • Sun, July 30, 2017
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In 2011, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared July 30 to be the International Day of Friendship. This day is dedicated to building bridges and friendship among people, countries, and cultures.

The idea of a world friendship day is not new. Apparently, the concept first came from the greeting card industry back in 1930 when the founder of Hallmark cards, Joyce Hall, proposed a friendship. He wanted it to be marked by people sending cards to each other. Perhaps because of its commercial bias, the idea met with some consumer resistance and had largely died out by the 1940s.

Some South American countries, however, have been celebrating the idea of world friendship for years, especially Paraguay. The concept is said to have been first proposed by Dr. Artemio Brachio as he was having dinner with friends on the River Paraguay in 1958. The World Friendship Crusade resulted from that meeting. This foundation stressed friendship among all people of whatever race, religion, or color. The idea spread, largely through the Internet, and has now become very popular in countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

The World Friendship Crusade went on a crusade of its own to urge the United Nations to recognize such a day. With the recognition, the governments, civil groups, and all international organizations in all countries are encouraged to plan activities and events that will unite citizens in an effort to bring people of all beliefs and color together in international and lasting friendship.

The UN calls for the International Day of Friendship to be celebrated every July 30 in a way that will promote a “dialogue among civilizations” to bring “solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation” to all nations.


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