World Kindness Day is an

international observance Lists of holidays by various categorizations. Religious holidays Abrahamic holidays (Middle Eastern) Christian holidays *Christmas (Nativity of Jesus, Nativity of Jesus Christ, the beginning of Christmastide) *Solemnity of Mary, Mother ...

on 13 November. It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations' kindness

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. It is observed in many countries, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and

the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

observed the day for the first time in 2009.

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

also observed the day. In the UK, it is fronted by David Jamilly, who co-founded

Kindness Day UK Kindness Day UK is celebrated on World Kindness Day, every 13 November. Kindness Day UK is a celebration of kindness, which aims to increase the value of kindness in society as well as increase the amount of kind acts that take place, making kind ...

with Louise Burfitt-Dons.

History

In 2010, at the request of Michael Lloyd-White, the NSW Federation Parents and Citizens Association wrote to the Minister of The NSW Department of Education to place World Kindness Day on the NSW School Calendar. In 2012, at the request of the Chairman of World Kindness Australia, World Kindness Day was placed on the Federal School Calendar and then the Minister of School Education, Early Childhood, and Youth. The Hon

Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...

provided a Declaration of Support for World Kindness Australia and placed World Kindness Day on the National School Calendar for over 9000 schools. Schools across the globe are now celebrating World Kindness Day and work with local NGOs such as the Be Kind People Project and Life Vest Inside In the USA. In 2012 in Australia,

Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

, Governor of New South Wales, hosted an event for the first time at Government House to celebrate World Kindness Day and accepted a Cool To Be Kind Award from year 3 & 4 students. Australian Councils representing over 1.3 million residents have also signed Declarations of Support for World Kindness Australia placing World Kindness Day on the Council Calendar of Events. Events include THE BIG HUG, handing out Kindness Cards, Global Flashmob, which was coordinated by Orly Wahba from the US and was held in 15 countries and 33 cities with its images of the event making the big screens in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Canada celebrates with The Kindness Concert and in Singapore in 2009, 45,000 yellow flowers were given away. In 2017 World Kindness day was also celebrated in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, organized by volunteering organisation Humanitarček as part of their project Randomised Kindness.

Objective

World Kindness Day is to highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of

kindness Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. It is a subject of interest in philosophy, religion, and psychology. It can be directed towards o ...

for good which binds us. Kindness is a fundamental part of the

human condition The human condition can be defined as the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, reason, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered ...

which bridges the divides of race, religion, politics, gender and location. Kindness Cards are also an ongoing activity which can either be passed on to recognize an act of kindness and or ask that an act of kindness be done. Approaches are being made to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

by the peak global body, the World Kindness Movement, to have World Kindness Day officially recognized and its members unanimously sign a Declaration of Support for World Kindness. According to ''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. First launched in 1978, it is distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf countries. Its online edition was launched in 1996. Thro ...

'', "it is a day that encourages individuals to overlook boundaries, race and religion."{{Cite news, url=https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/general/gulf-news-readers-celebrate-world-kindness-day-1.526824, title=Gulf News readers celebrate World Kindness Day, last=Al Theeb, first=Alia, date=November 13, 2009, work=Gulf News

References

Unofficial observances International observances Recurring events established in 1998 November observances Kindness Volunteering