WORLD Kindness Day is an international commemorative day that was formed in 1998, to promote kindness throughout the world, and it is observed annually on November 13 as part of the World Kindness Movement.
World Kindness Day was first introduced as a day of observation by the World Kindness Movement. In 2019, the organisation was registered as an official NGO under Swiss law, but the history of the group stretches back to a Tokyo-based convention in 1997.
According to the World Kindness Day Movement, the day is observed in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and the UAE. The website states that the day presents the public with the opportunity to reflect upon one of the most important and unifying human principles.
“On a day devoted to the positive potential of both large and small acts of kindness, try to promote and diffuse this crucial quality that brings people of every kind together. The initial configuration of the World Kindness Movement would form as a result of this event, with the written declaration of their inception stating their ‘pledge to join together to build a kinder and more compassionate world,’” their website said.
The purpose of World Kindness Day, as outlined by the World Kindness Movement, is “to highlight good deeds in the community, focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness which binds us.” Since its creation more than two decades ago, the day has achieved truly global notice, and events associated with the day have attracted participants from every inhabited continent. These have included activities such as concerts, dance mobs, and the distribution of ‘kindness cards’.
While, at present, the day is one of unofficial observance, it remains the hope of the World Kindness Movement to attain official recognition status by the United Nations. Should the group be successful in their efforts, World Kindness Day would join the ranks of recognized days of observance such as the International Day of Peace, Human Rights Day, and World Health Day.
The movement alluded that the objective of World Kindness Day is to spread kindness with small gestures. It added: “The main tradition of the day is to be kind and to try and encourage kindness to prevail over hatred. Whether it’s helping out someone with chores, taking the time out to ask how someone is doing, or complimenting someone, the name of the game is kindness, and we all have it in us.”
An array of institutions and associations, based in countries, including Australia, Thailand, the United States, and the United Kingdom, were assembled at this conference because of their dedication to championing kindness in society.
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