World NGO Day


World NGO Day is an international calendar day annually observed on 27 February. Officially recognized and declared by the 12 member countries of the IX Baltic Sea NGO Forum of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in 2010 and first time marked by the UN, EU leaders and international organizations in 2014.

History

World NGO Day, February 27, was established by Mārcis Liors Skadmanis. It was officially recognized by the Baltic Sea NGO Forum of the Council of the Baltic Sea States on 17 April 2010.
The member countries of the Baltic Sea NGO Forum were Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Norway and Sweden. World NGO Day was officially adopted into the X Baltic Sea NGO Forum’s Final Statement Resolution on 23-25 April 2012, part of the German CBSS Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. The Forum was taking place at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.
On 27 February 2014, the Minister for International Development Pekka Haavisto, Executive Director of United Nations Office for Project Services Jan Mattsson, European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, Secretary General of the Secretariat to the Nordic Council, Britt Bohlin, UNESCO Assistant Director-General Eric Falt and United Nations Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark, former Minister of Women’s Affairs of Iran Mahnaz Afkhami and NGO leaders, marked the first commemoration of the World NGO Day in Helsinki, Finland.

Description

World NGO Day aims to inspire people to become more actively involved within NGOs and encourage a greater symbiosis between NGOs and both the public and private sector. The universal concept of the World NGO Day is Celebrate, Commemorate and Collaborate the various NGOs around the world, and the people behind them.
World NGO Day is a day for NGOs around the globe to share knowledge and experiences with one another. It aims to educate individuals worldwide on NGOs and their impact. The World NGO Day provides an opportunity to honour and remember NGO founders, employees, volunteers, members and supporters.
Past and present supporters include UNDP, UNESCO, UNOPS, European Union External Action Service, European Commissioner for Development, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Cigna, Finland's Slot Machine Association – RAY; Your Public Interest Registry, WANGO, The NGO World; Ubuntu Education Fund, Nonprofit Tech for Good in USA; Afghan Institute of Learning, AIESEC; WWF, Amnesty International, Oxfam, International Medical Corps, World Vision, FIFA and many others. City Mayors like Sergey Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow ; Lin Chia-lung, Mayor of Taichung City. Corporates like Johnson & Johnson ; Bank of America ; Microsoft, “du” Emirates Telecommunications Company and others.

Around the world

Organizations

Each year, World NGO Day is celebrated from New Zealand and Australia, to the North and South Americas, bringing together supporters from the NGO sector, international and government leaders, multi and bilateral organisations, private sectors, communities, teachers, learners and experts in the field.
World NGO Day was marked in more than 96 countries, six continents between 2010-2020.
Each year European External Action Service issues an official statement on the occasion of World NGO Day. The European External Action Service is the diplomatic service and foreign and defence ministry of the European Union.