On Monday 19 August 2013 World Humanitarian Day was celebrated across the globe. It marked the beginning of a month long campaignduring which events will take place around the world to raise the necessary funds to continue the on-goinghumanitarian efforts. The first World Humanitarian Day (WHD) was held in 2009 and has been celebrated annual ever since. WHD was established to commemorate all the humanitarian aid workers who have lost their lives while carrying out missions that provide support and relief to some of the world’s most marginalised and vulnerable citizens. The UN General Assembly established the day of recognition as part of the Resolution aimed at Strengthening the Coordination of Emergency Assistance by the United Nations. August 19 was set as the date for WHD in memory of the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad in 2003. During this bombingthe Special Representative of the Secretary General to Iraq, Sergio Vieria de Mello was killed along with twenty one other humanitarian workers. WHD 2013 also marks the 10th anniversary of thisbombing.
In addition to honouring the humanitarian aid workers who have lost their lives during service, WHD is a symbol of renewed commitment to helping vulnerable and marginalised citizens across the globe and seeks to highlight the humanitarian efforts still necessary worldwide. From 2011 onwards each WHD had an individual campaign based on a specific subject. The theme for WHD 2011 was “People Helping People”. The aim of this theme was to instil the spirit of a humanitarian aid worker in everyone affected by the campaign. In 2012 the WHD theme was “I was here”. The purpose of this theme was to encourage all citizens to make their mark by doing something good for someone else. This campaign reached approximately one billion citizens worldwide.
The WHD campaign was the first of its kind. The campaign was entitled “The world needs more…” A number of words such as strength, water, action and bravery were funded by different sponsors. Citizens were asked to select one word which they felt the world needs more of and to share their chosen word via social media such as twitter and Facebook. The more frequently the word is shared on social media networks the more funding is raised. It is also possible for an individual to sponsor a word or make an individual donation. It is the first time a campaign of this nature was used. The funds raised by this campaign and the previous WHD campaigns go to the United Nations Foundation which then distributes the funds to humanitarian organisations and UN agencies to continue their humanitarian efforts.
On August 19 over fifty events took place around the world. These events included various culture fairs, football tournaments and a number of film screenings. In addition, memorial services were held to commemorate the victims and support the survivors of the Baghdad bombing in 2003. Further events will be held on 25 August, 17 September, 19 September and 22 September. The events will include the opening of the 68th General Assembly of the UN, “WHD one month on” which will take place in Geneva and the “Social Goods Summit” which will be held in New York. The Social Goods Summit will discuss the key results from this year’s campaign.
Prior to WHD the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response,KristalinaGeorgieva, made a statement on behalf of the Commission. She acknowledged that the European Union is the world’s largest aid donor, however she highlighted thatthe act of simply donating money can only go so far without the work carried out by humanitarian workers on the ground. She therefore called on European citizens to support the WHD campaign and pay tribute to all the aid workers who have lost their lives during their service. Finally she called on government and non-governmental organisation to provide greater protection for humanitarian workers while they carry out their missions.