This year’s observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction is dedicated to the power of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge.

In March 2015 in Sendai, Japan, I met with the President of Vanuatu, His Excellency Baldwin Lonsdale, at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. On that very day, his island nation was devastated by Cyclone Pam, one of the strongest storms ever to strike the Pacific.

            The newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals rightly include key targets for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They offer an opportunity for a global commitment to breaking intergenerational transmission of poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination – and realizing our vision of a life of dignity for all.

World Mental Health Day, which this year focuses on “Dignity in mental health”, is an opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges faced by people with mental and psychosocial disabilities, and of efforts needed to ensure that they can lead fulfilling and satisfying lives.

Each year on World Habitat Day, we reflect on the state of human settlements and on what we want the cities of the future to look like.

This year’s observance follows the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – an inspiring new framework that will guide our efforts to end poverty and ensure prosperity for all on a healthy planet.  

This year, as we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, the International Day of Non-Violence has special importance.

At a time of escalating conflicts, violent extremism, displacement and humanitarian need, the courage and determination of Mahatma Gandhi, whose birthday we celebrate today, is an inspiration for us all.

On the 25th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons, we recognize that older persons are an enormous asset to society and make a significant contribution to global development.

Just  a  few  decades  ago,  the  population of the Asia-Pacific region was dominated  by  the  young.  Now,  as  birth  rates  have  dropped  and life expectancies  improved,  the  population  is  aging. Twelve per cent of our people  in  the region are already over the age of 60. By 2050, this figure will  rise  to  one-quarter  of  the  whole  population.  Never before have countries  aged as rapidly.

“One Billion Tourists, One Billion Opportunities”

This year´s World Tourism Day highlights the global potential of tourism for socio-economic development.  With more than one billion international tourists now traveling the world each year, tourism has become a powerful and transformative force that is making a genuine difference in the lives of millions of people.